Beulah Poynter (June 6, 1883 – August 13, 1960) was an American writer, playwright and actress. Though her career touched on

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and

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, Poynter was better known for her starring roles with stock and touring companies and as a prolific writer of mystery and romance stories. Poynter was probably best remembered by theatergoers for her title role in ''Lena Rivers,'' a drama she reworked for the stage from the novel by Mary J. Holmes.

Early life

Beulah Marguerite Poynter was born in northern Missouri at

Eagleville Eagleville may refer to the following places in the United States: * Eagleville, California * Eagleville, Missouri * Eagleville, Churchill County, Nevada * Eagleville, Mineral County, Nevada * Eagleville, Ashtabula County, Ohio * Eagleville, Wood C ...

and raised in nearby

Bethany Bethany (,Murphy-O'Connor, 2008, p152/ref> Syriac language, Syriac: ܒܝܬ ܥܢܝܐ ''Bēṯ ʿAnyā''), locally called in Palestinian Arabic, Arabic Al-Eizariya or al-Aizariya (, "Arabic nouns and adjectives#Nisba,

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of Lazarus (name), L ...

. She was the daughter of Henry Douglas Poynter and Lucy "Lula" Waltersbooks.google.com/books?id=qI0BAAAAMAAJ

Daughters of the American Revolution The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (often abbreviated as DAR or NSDAR) is a lineage-based membership service organization for women who are directly descended from a patriot of the American Revolutionary War. A non-p ...

Beulah Poynter Bowers, ID Number: 117643 born in Eagleville, Mo., wife of John Bowers ''Lineage Book,'' 1931, p. 199] Retrieved May 25, 2014Iowa, Select Marriages, 1809–1992 about Beulah Margurite Poynter, born 1883 Eagleville, Mo., married Burton S. Nixon Nov. 19, 1904 at Creston, Union, Ia., Ancestry.com and an older sister to brothers, Fred and Victor. Her father, a hotel manager, was a Missourian whose family came from Kentucky, while her mother was born in Iowa to parents who had migrated from Ohio. Poynter was a paternal descendant of James Nevill, a veteran of the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

from Virginia. In her youth Poynter attended area schools before joining the chorus of a local opera company at around the age of sixteen.''Who's Who in Music and Drama,'' 1914, p. 252
Retrieved May 18, 2014

Career

By 1904 Poynter was a leading actress touring with the Eastern Company in ''Out of the Fold'', a comedy-drama by

Langdon McCormick Arthur Langdon McCormick (1873 – June 25, 1954) was an American playwright. He started in theater as an actor before turning to writing. He specialized in melodramas, often with special effects that he designed using his engineering background. ...

. The following year she joined the Pavilion Stock Company to play Bossy in their road production of Charles Hale Hoyt's farce comedy, ''A Texas Steer''. In August 1905 Poynter began a tour playing the title rôle in a dramatization by Edward W. Roland and Edwin Clifford of Charlotte Mary Brame's novel, ''Dora Thorne''. A little over a year later, beginning October 1906, Poynter embarked on a tour with Nixon and Co. performing the title rôle in ''Lena Rivers'', a drama she had adapted from the novel by Mary J. Holmes. The play proved to be a hit with theatergoers and would tour with Poynter at the helm for four seasons. In August 1910 Poynter began a tour presenting ''The Little Girl He Forgot'', a drama that she both wrote and, as June Holly, starred in. The play toured into April 1911 and was followed that August by an engagement at the Majestic Theatre in

Fort Wayne, Indiana Fort Wayne is a city in Allen County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 at the 2020 census ...

with productions of her dramatization of

Edward Eggleston Edward Eggleston (December 10, 1837 – September 3, 1902) was an American historian and novelist. Biography Eggleston was born in Vevay, Indiana on December 10, 1837, to Joseph Cary Eggleston and Mary Jane Craig. The author George Cary Eggles ...

's novel, ''The Hoosier Schoolmaster'', and Poynter's original play ''Mother's Girl''. In October at the Park Theatre in

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

she played Rosalie in

Edward Peple Edward Henry Peple (August 10, 1869 – July 28, 1924) was an American playwright known for his comedies and farces. He was perhaps best remembered for the plays ''The Prince Chap,'' ''The Littlest Rebel'' and ''A Pair of Sixes.'' Biography Born ...

's drama ''The Call of the Cricket''. Poynter continued to tour with her own company often in revivals of ''Lena Rivers'', ''The Little Girl He Forgot'' and ''Mother's Girl''. By November 1911 she was starring in road productions of ''A Kentucky Romance'', a dramatic comedy written specifically for her by Joseph Le Brandt. Poynter's company remained on tour with ''A Kentucky Romance'' and ''Lena Rivers'' into the early months of 1913 before joining a

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

company that spring with a farce sketch entitled ''Dear Doctor''.

Broadway

Poynter wrote two plays that appeared on

, ''The Unborn'' in 1915 and ''One Way Street'' in 1928. At the Harris Theatre in

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she played Ethel Tate in Stephen Gardner Champlin's 1919 farce comedy, ''Who Did it?'' Of the three productions, only ''One Way Street'' reached a modicum of commercial success with fifty-eight performances at George M. Cohan's Theatre between December 1928 and February 1929. ''The Unborn'', in which the villain is an illegal

abortionist Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriage, miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of ...

, became the center of a

plagiarism Plagiarism is the representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.From the 1995 ''Random House Dictionary of the English Language, Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary'': use or close ...

lawsuit between Poynter and the producers of the 1916 motion picture ''The Sins that Ye Sin''. In the end the court ruled that there was insufficient evidence to support the allegation that the film's producers had plagiarized Poynter's play and the case was dismissed.

Hollywood

Poynter reprised her leading rôles in

adaptations of ''Lena Rivers'' (1914) and ''The Little Girl That He Forgot'' (1915), and appeared in four additional

silent films A silent film is a film without synchronized 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) or key lines of dialogue may, wh ...

, ''The Ordeal'' (1914), ''Born Again'' (1914), ''Hearts and Flowers'' (1914) and ''Heats of Men'' (1915). Three later films, ''The Miracle of Money'' (1920), ''The Splendid Folly'' (1933) and '' Love Is Dangerous'' (1933) were adapted from Poynter's works.

Personal life

On November 19, 1904, Poynter married actor Burton S. Nixon at

Creston, Iowa Creston is a city in and the county seat of Union County, Iowa. The population was 7,536 at the time of the United States Census, 2020, 2020 Census. History Creston was originally settled in 1868 as a survey camp for the Burlington and Missou ...

. A native of

Nevada, Missouri Nevada ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Vernon County, Missouri, Vernon County, Missouri, United States. The population was 8,386 at the 2010 census, and 8,254 in the 2018 estimate. The local government has a council-manager model. Histo ...

, Nixon became Poynter's stage and business manager over the years of their marriage. Poynter married twice more, John Bowers (''né'' Bowersox), her leading man over the early 1910s. and by 1930, George Leffler (1874–1951), a one-time actor turned theatrical producer and booking agent. The latter union would end with his death in 1951. Poynter died nine years later, aged 77, at Manhasset, Long Island.

Selected literary works

*''Lena Rivers: Dramatized from Book by Mary J. Holmes; Drama in 4 Acts'' (1906) *''The Queen of the Sea'' (1907) *''Molly Bawn,'' a dramatization of the book by Margaret Wolfe Hungerford (1908) *''The Little Girl That He Forgot'' (1910) *''The Hoosier Schoolmaster,'' a dramatization of the book by

(1910) *''The Cause of the War: A Comedy in 1 Act,'' with John Bowers (1914) *''Marrying Off Emmy'', short story (1919) Beulah Poynter 002

*''The First Thrill,'' a three-act mystery-farce (1921) *''Thumbs Down: a Comedy in Three Acts'' with Edwin Levin (1921) *''The Murillo Mystery'' (1927) *''The Girl at the Stage Door: A Love Story'' (1929) *''The Gingham Bride: A Love Story'' (1929) *''The Splendid Folly'' (1929) *''Gay Caprice: A Love Story'' (1929) *''Fires of Youth: A Love Story'' (1929) *''Helping Hortense,'' syndicated story (1930) *''The Squatter Girl: A Love Story'' (1930) *''Joan of the River: A Love Story'' (1930) *''Love is Like That: A Love Story'' (1930) *''The Husband Hunter'' (1930) *''Cinderella on Broadway,'' syndicated story (1931) *''Honeymoon Cruise: A Love Story'' (1931) *''Mad Marriage: A Love Story'' (1931) *''Murder on 47th Street'' (1931) *''The Make-Believe Bride: A Love Story'' (1931) *''Everything but Love'' (1933) *''Dancing Man: A Love Story'' (1933) *''The Circus-Girl Wife: A Love Story'' (1934) *''Donna of the Big Top'' (1934) *''Love's Labor Won: A Love Story'' (1934) *''Lost Rapture'' (1934) *''The Disappearance of Mary Amber'' (1934) *''A Woman Dies'' (1935) *''The Enchanted Hour'' (1935) *''Love is not Enough: A Love Story'' (1936) *''Mad Folly: A Love Story'' (1937) *''No Time for Tears; or, Faith, Hope and no Charity'' (1945)''Catalog of Copyright Entries, Part 1, Group 3 - Dramatic Compositions, Motion Pictures, NOS. 1-12'' 1945, p. 53
Retrieved May 25, 2014 *''White Trash'' (1952)

Resources

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Poynter, Beulah 1883 births 1960 deaths American women dramatists and playwrights American women novelists American stage actresses American silent film actresses 20th-century American actresses People from Harrison County, Missouri 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American women writers People from Bethany, Missouri