Katherine Russell Bleecker (May 5, 1893 – February 1, 1996), later in life Katherine Bleecker Meigs and later still Katherine B. Jobson, was an American filmmaker in the

silent film era A silent film is a film without 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) ...

. She is sometimes credited as the first professional camerawoman in American film.

Early life

Katherine Russell Bleecker was born in New York, the daughter of Russell Bleecker and Emily Fisk Blunt Bleecker.Nanette Lincoln
"Society Goes in for the Films"
''Green Book Magazine'' (August 1916): 355–359.

Career

Katherine Bleecker was a pioneering professional camerawoman, who used her own personal camera equipment. She made three documentary films for the Joint Committee on Prison Reform, on location at New York state prisons,"New York State Prisons in Movies"
''The Delinquent'' (October 1915): 9–11.

Sing Sing Sing Sing Correctional Facility is a maximum-security prison for men operated by the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision in the village of Ossining (village), New York, Ossining, New York, United States. It is abou ...

, Auburn, and Great Meadow: ''A Day in Sing Sing'' (1915), ''A Prison Without Walls'' (1915), and ''Within Prison Walls'' (1915). The films were used in lectures about prison conditions and

prison reform Prison reform is the attempt to improve conditions inside prisons, improve the effectiveness of a penal system, reduce recidivism or implement alternatives to incarceration. It also focuses on ensuring the reinstatement of those whose lives are ...

. "I've had a varied experience with my pictures," she explained. "I've been up in a flying machine, have taken from tugboats and automobiles, and always there are plenty of bystanders ready and eager to jump in and play mob or be shot." In 1916 she directed "Man and Millionaire", a film scenario written for a contest in ''

The Pittsburgh Press ''The Pittsburgh Press'', formerly ''The Pittsburg Press'' and originally ''The Evening Penny Press'', was a major afternoon daily newspaper published in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for over a century, from 1884 to 1992. At the height of its popul ...

.'' In 1918 she completed ''Madame Spy'', a film starring

Jack Mulhall John Joseph Francis Mulhall (October 7, 1887 – June 1, 1979) was an American film actor beginning in the silent film era who successfully transitioned to sound films, appearing in over 430 films in a career spanning 50 years. Early years Mu ...

, Wadsworth Harris, George Gebhardt and

Claire Du Brey Claire Du Brey (born Clara Violet Dubreyvich, August 31, 1892 – August 1, 1993) was an American actress. She appeared in more than 200 films from 1916 to 1959. Her name is sometimes rendered as Claire Du Bray or as Claire Dubrey. Early y ...

. She also advertised her services as available for documenting "children and social events ... factories and machinery." She filmed the 1918

Memorial Day Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. It is observed on the last Monday of May. It i ...

parade in

Nutley, New Jersey Nutley is a Township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 30,143, an increase of 1,773 (+6.2%) from the 2010 United ...

. She also made some of the first "society films," a novelty version of club theatricals,"To Act Before the Camera is the Latest Fad of Society" ''The Sun'' (February 6, 1916): 31. via

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with titles including ''The Perils of Society'', ''Skeins of Destiny'', ''The Flame of Kapthur'', ''The Smuggler's Revenge'', ''Gloria'', ''A Question of Fortune'' and ''A Romance by the Sea''. Bleecker would create the film, with wealthy amateurs playing the roles for their friends' entertainment or for fundraising events. Bleecker was manager of a movie theatre in New York in 1918, when her predecessor went to war. "I am going to prove that theater managing is like housekeeping – a woman's job", she quipped. Also during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, she made films for the

American Red Cross The American National Red Cross is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Humanitarianism, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. Clara Barton founded ...

Later life

Bleecker married businessman Willis Noel Meigs in 1918. They had a son Henry Meigs II (1921-2014), who became a judge, and a daughter Elizabeth Bleecker Meigs Averell (1923-1957), who became a children's book author. The Meigses divorced in 1939. As Katherine Bleecker Meigs, she started an etiquette advice service by telegraph, scheduling bouquet deliveries, and even providing chaperones by request. She also lectured on etiquette at

Hunter College Hunter College is a public university in New York City, United States. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools ...

in 1937 and 1938. Katherine Bleecker Meigs was president of the New York League of Business and Professional Women in the 1930s. She remarried, to insurance executive Alfred Pears Jobson. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

she organized radio broadcasts for child refugees to speak on the air to their parents abroad. In 1943, she was appointed chair of Vocational Services for the Civilian Activities Division of Army Emergency Relief, tasked with finding jobs for the wives and mothers of soldiers. She was widowed when Jobson died in 1974. Katherine Bleecker Jobson died in early 1996, aged 102 years. Her estate of over $2 million was donated to establish scholarships and the Alfred P. and Katherine B. Jobson Professorship at

Centre College Centre College, formally Centre College of Kentucky, is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Danville, Kentucky, United States. Chartered by the Kentucky General Assembly in 1819, the col ...

in Kentucky; her son Henry Meigs II was a trustee of the school."Centre College Receives Bequest"
''Courier-Journal'' (July 22, 1996): 2. via

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bleecker, Katherine Russell 1893 births 1996 deaths 20th-century American women writers American women film directors Filmmakers from New York (state) American women in World War I Women film pioneers