Frances Kavanaugh (February 5, 1915 – January 23, 2009) was an American

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

known for penning B-

Westerns The Western is a genre set in the American frontier and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada. It is commonly referred ...

Biography

Beginnings

Born in Dallas, Texas, to Clyde and Robbie Kavanaugh, Frances grew up in

Houston Houston (; ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in Texas, the Southern United States#Major cities, most populous city in the Southern United States, the List of United States cities by population, fourth-most pop ...

around ranching, cowboys, and horseback riding. She graduated from San Jacinto High School and then studied accounting at the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

before moving to Los Angeles with her parents in 1940. She was married and divorced some time before 1940.

Hollywood career

She began writing scenarios after attending a workshop held by director Max Reinhart, and her scripts soon caught the eye of director

Robert Emmett Tansey Robert Emmett Tansey (June 28, 1897 – June 17, 1951) was an American actor, screenwriter, film producer and director. He was active in cinema in various roles from the 1910s to the 1950s. He was sometimes credited as Robert E. Tansey or Rober ...

. He gave her a job at his production company, and she eventually proved her talent for screenwriting. Due to her prolific output of Western scripts in the 1940s, Kavanaugh was dubbed "the Cowgirl of the Typewriter." In fact, she penned more than 30 scripts over the course of the decade, including ''

Song of Old Wyoming ''Song of Old Wyoming'' is a 1945 American Western film directed by Robert Emmett Tansey. It was shot in Cinecolor and released by Producers Releasing Corporation. Western star Lash LaRue debuted in this film playing the Cheyenne Kid (Eddie ...

'' and ''

Cattle Queen ''Cattle Queen'' is a 1951 American Western film directed by Robert Emmett Tansey and starring Maria Hart, Drake Smith and William Fawcett.Pitts p.57 It was shot at the Iverson Ranch. Sets were designed by the art director Vin Taylor. It w ...

''.

Personal life

She married fellow screenwriter Robert Hecker in 1951, after the pair met at a writing course at Hollywood High's night school, and the pair wrote several TV scripts together before Kavanaugh retired to raise her children. Once her children were grown, Kavanaugh attended

Cal State Northridge California State University, Northridge (CSUN or Cal State Northridge) is a public university in the Northridge neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. With a total enrollment of 38,551 students (as of Fall 2021), it has the second largest un ...

and earned degrees in psychology and art; she'd later work as an art therapist for children. She died in 2009 after a lengthy battle with lymphoma.

Selected filmography

* ''

'' (1951) * '' The Fighting Stallion'' (1950) * '' Forbidden Jungle'' (1950) * '' The Enchanted Valley'' (1948) * ''

Wild West The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...

'' (1946) * '' Stars Over Texas'' (1946) * ''

Driftin' River ''Driftin' River'' is a 1946 American Western (genre), Western film directed by Robert Emmett Tansey and written by Frances Kavanaugh. The film stars Eddie Dean (singer), Eddie Dean, Roscoe Ates, Shirley Patterson, Lee Bennett, William Fawcett ...

'' (1946) * '' Tumbleweed Trail'' (1946) * ''

Colorado Serenade ''Colorado Serenade'' (also known as ''Gentlemen with Guns'') is a 1946 American Western film directed by Robert Emmett Tansey and written by Frances Kavanaugh. The film stars Eddie Dean, Roscoe Ates, David Sharpe, Mary Kenyon, Forrest Tay ...

'' (1946) * ''

The Caravan Trail ''The Caravan Trail'' is a 1946 American Western film directed by Robert Emmett Tansey and written by Frances Kavanaugh. The film stars Eddie Dean, Lash LaRue, Emmett Lynn, Jean Carlin, Robert Malcolm and Charles King. The film was released ...

'' (1946) * ''Romance of the West'' (1946) * '' God's Country'' (1946) * ''

'' (1945) * '' Saddle Serenade'' (1945) * '' Wildfire: The Story of a Horse'' (1945) * ''

Springtime in Texas ''Springtime in Texas'' is a 1945 American Western film directed by Oliver Drake and written by Frances Kavanaugh. The film stars Jimmy Wakely, Dennis Moore, Lee "Lasses" White, Marie Harmon, Rex Lease and Pearl Early. The film was released ...

'' (1945) * '' Sonora Stagecoach'' (1944) * ''Outlaw Trail'' (1944) * ''

Arizona Whirlwind ''Arizona Whirlwind'' is a 1944 American Western film directed by Robert Emmett Tansey. It stars Ken Maynard, Hoot Gibson, and Bob Steele. Cast * Ken Maynard as U.S. Marshal * Hoot Gibson as U.S. Marshal * Bob Steele as himself * Ian Ke ...

'' (1944) * '' Westward Bound'' (1944) * '' Blazing Guns'' (1943) * '' The Law Rides Again'' (1943) * ''

Trail Riders ''Trail Riders'' is a 1942 American Western film directed by Robert Emmett Tansey. The film is the eighteenth in Monogram Pictures' " Range Busters" series, and it stars John "Dusty" King as Dusty, "Davy" Sharpe and Max "Alibi" Terhune, ...

'' (1942) * ''Where Trail Ends'' (1942) * '' Arizona Roundup'' (1942) * '' Western Mail'' (1942) * ''

Lone Star Law Men ''Lone Star Law Men'' is a 1941 American Western film directed by Robert Emmett Tansey and written by Robert Emmett Tansey and Frances Kavanaugh. The film stars Tom Keene, Frank Yaconelli, Betty Miles, Sugar Dawn, Gene Alsace and Glenn Stra ...

'' (1941) * ''

Riding the Sunset Trail ''Riding the Sunset Trail'' is a 1941 American Western film directed by Robert Emmett Tansey and written by Robert Emmett Tansey and Frances Kavanaugh. The film stars Tom Keene, Betty Miles, Frank Yaconelli, Sugar Dawn, Slim Andrews and Kenne ...

'' (1941) * ''

Dynamite Canyon ''Dynamite Canyon'' is a 1941 American Western film directed by Robert Emmett Tansey and written by Robert Emmett Tansey and Frances Kavanaugh. The film stars Tom Keene, Sugar Dawn, Slim Andrews, Evelyn Finley, Stanley Price and Kenne Dunca ...

'' (1941)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kavanaugh, Frances American women screenwriters 1915 births 2009 deaths 20th-century American women writers 20th-century American screenwriters Screenwriters from Texas California State University, Northridge alumni 21st-century American women