Mary O'Hara
Mary O'Hara Alsop, born on July 10, 1885, in Cape May Point, New Jersey, was a notable American author and screenwriter. Growing up in a family led by an Episcopal minister, she faced health challenges that prevented her from attending school, leading to a private education that included music and languages. O'Hara worked as a screenwriter for silent films in Los Angeles before shifting her focus to literature after moving to Wyoming, where she found inspiration in the natural landscape and ranch life. Her most famous work, "My Friend Flicka," published in 1941, tells the story of a boy and his horse and became a classic, leading to sequels and film adaptations. O'Hara's writing continued to reflect her love for the West, resulting in other novels such as "Thunderhead" and "Green Grass of Wyoming." Despite personal challenges, including two marriages and health issues, she remained dedicated to her craft throughout her life. O'Hara passed away on October 14, 1980, and her autobiography was published posthumously in 1982. Her legacy includes contributions to both literature and film, particularly in how she portrayed the bond between humans and nature.
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Mary O'Hara
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- Born: July 10, 1885
- Birthplace: Cape May Point, New Jersey
- Died: October 14, 1980
- Place of death: Chevy Chase, Maryland
Biography
Mary O’Hara Alsop was born on July 10, 1885, in Cape May Point, New Jersey, one of four children. Her father was Reese Fell Alsop, an Episcopal minister, and her mother was Mary Lee Spring Alsop. In part because she was often ill as a child, Alsop never attended school; instead, she was privately tutored while the family was at home in Brooklyn Heights, New York. She learned other languages and music during extended stays in Europe. She also became an accomplished pianist and violinist.
In 1905, she married her third cousin, Kent Kane Parrot, and moved with him to Los Angeles, California. She became a screenwriter for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer silent pictures, using the name Mary O’Hara. She also gave birth to two children, Mary and Kent. The couple divorced after a few years, and in 1922, she met and married a Swedish actor, Helge Sture-Vasa. After her son Kent entered West Point and young Mary died of Hodgkin’s disease in 1931, Sture-Vasa suggested that he and O’Hara move to Wyoming, where he could raise sheep and she could concentrate on writing.
The change suited O’Hara. She loved the landscape, the horses, and the quiet life at Remount Ranch. In 1940, she went to New York City for a summer course in fiction writing. There she found her training in writing screenplays served her well, for the work she produced in the course was hailed for its vividness and drama. One of the stories she presented in the class became her first and best-known novel, My Friend Flicka (1941), about a boy and his horse in Wyoming. This book led to a sequel, Thunderhead (1943); both books were made into feature films, as was her third novel, Green Grass of Wyoming (1946). During this period she also composed several works for the piano.
During the 1940’s, O’Hara’s marriage began to unravel. She and her husband sold their ranch and moved to Santa Monica, California, hoping the change would help bring them back together, but in 1947 they divorced, and O’Hara legally changed her name from her married name back to Mary O’Hara Alsop. The following year she moved back to Connecticut, and eventually settled in Chevy Chase, Maryland. She continued writing novels about the West, and wrote a musical, The Catch Colt (1964), and adapted it as a novel in 1979.
O’Hara died of arteriosclerosis on October 14, 1980. Her autobiography, Flicka’s Friend: The Autobiography of Mary O’Hara, was published in 1982, although she had begun writing it in 1975 after a successful battle with breast cancer. O’Hara’s most important work was My Friend Flicka, which was a successful novel and film; it was translated into several languages, and adapted as a television series in 1957.