Essays

Gladys Hall

Hall, Barbara

The remarkably prolific fan magazine writer Gladys Hall was born in New York City in 1891. According to typed biographical notes located in folder 541 of the Gladys Hall Papers at the Margaret Herrick Library, the young Gladys graduated from St. Gabriel’s School for Girls in Peekskill, New York. By her own account, Hall began writing popular poetry and short stories at an early age, and was published in magazines like Munsey’s, Cavalier, and H. L. Mencken’s The Smart Set. Hall married photographer Russell E. Ball on February 1, 1912, when she was twenty years old. That same month, a poem by Hall entitled “Fetterless” was published in The Motion Picture Story Magazine, the first movie fan publication, which had been launched by J. Stuart Blackton and Eugene V. Brewster the previous year. By December 1913, Hall was a regular contributor to the magazine and was on staff as one of several associate editors.

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More About This Work

Academic Units
Film
Libraries
Series
Women Film Pioneers Project
Published Here
October 15, 2019