Grace Kingsley (August 10, 1873 – October 8, 1962) was the first motion-picture editor and columnist of the ''Los Angeles Times,'' beginning the position in 1914 and ending when she retired in 1933.
["Grace Kingsley, Film Pioneer, Dies," ''Los Angeles Times,'' October 10, 1962, page A-2]
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Life
Kingsley was born in Lansing, Michigan, August 10, 1873 and was brought to California by her parents when she was six years old.[
As an adult, she studied law and took classes in literature. She worked in a law office, and then at night she did drama reviews and features, first for a weekly publication, ''The Capitol'', and then for the '' Los Angeles Herald''. She began working for the Los Angeles City Schools as a secretary to three successive ]school superintendent
In the American education system, a superintendent or superintendent of schools is an administrator or manager in charge of a number of public schools or a school district, a local government body overseeing public schools. All school principa ...
s.[
Her work attracted the attention of Harry Andrews, city editor of the '']Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
,'' and he hired her to do special features. She began working full-time for the ''Times'' in 1910, and in 1914 became the paper's motion-picture editor.[
In his memoir, filmmaker Karl Brown described Kingsley's reporting style:]She would not touch scandal in any way, no matter how juicy it might be. She reported picture doings only, not bedroom escapades, brawls, separations, or desertions. Her idea of picture news was to tell who was doing what, where, when, and for how long. This sort of information was vital to free-lance actors, cameramen, and technicians. It gave them a daily guide to where jobs were open or were about to open. Her section of the ''Times'' was a sort of trade paper, read by everyone in the business as the first thing to do every morning.
After leaving full-time employment, she continued to write movie reviews and features until she was 80.silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) ...
to "talkers" and in her significant role in the film industry, she introduced such figures as Gary Cooper
Gary Cooper (born Frank James Cooper; May 7, 1901May 13, 1961) was an American actor known for his strong, quiet screen persona and understated acting style. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice and had a further three nominations, ...
to the Hollywood scene.
Kingsley died in Los Angeles on October 8, 1962, at Garden Crest Sanitarium and was survived by a sister, Dr. Mildred Mossman, and a niece, Mrs. Grace Nolan. She was buried at Rosedale Memorial Cemetery.[Certificate of Death: Grace Greenwood Kingsley. Filed October 9, 1962. State of California--Dept. of Public Health. Local Registration District and Certificate number: 7053, 19412. Informant: Grace Nolan, Los Angeles, California.]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Kingsley, Grace
1873 births
1962 deaths
American film critics
American women film critics
American editors
American women editors
American columnists
American women columnists
Los Angeles Times people
American women non-fiction writers