2013 Essays

Mrs. George Randolph Chester

Lane, Christina

For Lillian Chester, who wrote under the name Mrs. George Randolph Chester, the experience of “collaboration” guided not only her encounter with the Hollywood industry, but almost every facet of her professional and personal life. She was a very prolific writer, coauthoring with her husband, George Randolph Chester (1869–1924), a well-known playwright and short story author. Her first publication was their 1914 coauthored book, The Ball of Fire, and they remained a successful team until Mr. Chester’s premature death of a heart attack in 1924, at which point she apparently stopped writing altogether (Smith 127). In addition to writing hundreds of short stories and numerous stage plays with Mr. Chester, Lillian labored alongside him in the scenario department at the Vitagraph Company from 1916 to 1921. She also wrote with him for a stint at Universal Film Manufacturing Company, from 1922–1923, collaborating on such films as The Flaming Hour (1922) and Scarlet Car (1923). At Vitagraph, Lillian worked as a writer and editor until taking on the role of codirector for The Son of Wallingford (1921), which she helped shoot, title, and edit with her husband.