Wanda Tuchock

Wanda Tuchock
Born (1898-03-20)March 20, 1898
Pueblo, Colorado
Died February 10, 1985(1985-02-10) (aged 86)
Woodland Hills, Los Angeles
Occupation screenwriter, director, producer, copywriter
Nationality American
Education University of California at Los Angeles
Spouse George DeNormand
Finishing School - Film Directed by Wanda Tuchock

Wanda Tuchock was an American advertising copywriter, screenwriter, director, and producer during the early 20th century. She was credited with writing for over thirty films, and was one of the two women in the 1930s to be credited as a director on a Hollywood film. She retired in 1973 and died in 1985 at the age of 86.

Personal life

Tuchock was born on March 20, 1898 in Pueblo, Colorado.[1] Tuchock attended the University of California at Los Angeles.[1] She married the actor and director George DeNormand, who was born on September 22, 1903 in New York and died on December 23, 1976 in California.[1] Tuchock retired at the age of 75 in 1973. She died on February 10, 1985 at the Motion Picture and Television Hospital in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles of an undisclosed illness at the age of 86.[2]

Career

Tuchock began her career as an advertising copy editor. In 1927, at the age of 30, she entered the silent film industry. She only had one silent film credit which allowed her to become "one of the few women who began her career in the silent era and was able to maintain her career in Hollywood during the early sound years".[3] She was one of the few female screenwriters who worked at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in the early 1930s.[3] At RKO Radio Pictures she became one of only two women in the 1930s, next to Dorothy Arzner, to be credited as a director on a Hollywood film.[3] Between the 1930s and the 1950s, she drew in thirty-one writing credits, two directing credits, and one producer credit.[4] In the 1950s, Tuchock was credited as a producer, writer, and direcector of a short called Road Runners.[4]

Milestones

In 1929 Tuchock wrote Hallelujah,[1] the first black-cast film produced by a major studio. In 1931 she wrote the adaptation for the film Susan Lenox (Her Fall and Rise).[1] In 1932 she did the original adaptation for the film Little Orphan Annie[1] based on the comic strip. In 1934 Tuchick co-directed and wrote the film Finishing School with George Nichols Jr.[1] In 1940 she wrote the musical Youth Will Be Served.[1] In 1947 she wrote the screenplay for The Foxes of Harrow.[1]

Achievements

Tuchock achieved more in the 20th century than most women in the film industry did during that period. Apart from Dorothy Arzner, Tuchock was the only woman to receive directing credit on a Hollywood studio film in the 1930s. She wrote and co-directed the film "Finishing School" with George Nicholls Jr., and directed "Ready For Love". [5]She also achieved recognition during the early 20th century as a female screenwriter at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.[3] Tuchock was a charter member of the Screen Writers Guild.[3] She was named as a lifetime member of the Board of Trustees of the Motion Picture and Television Fund.[4]

Filmography

Tuchock wrote for over thirty films,[6][4] directed three,[1][4] and produced one.[3][4]

Writer

Director

Producer

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Maltin, Leonard (2010), Overview for Wanda Tuchock, Turner Classic Movies, retrieved 12 June 2016
  2. ↑ "Writer, Film Producer Wanda Tuchock, 86". Chicago Tribune. United Press International. 13 February 1985.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Koerner, Michelle (27 September 2013), "Wanda Tuchock", in Jane Gaines, Radha Vatsal, and Monica Dall’Asta, Women Film Pioneers Project, Center for Digital Research and Scholarship, Columbia University Libraries
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Wanda Tuchock". IMDb. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  5. ↑ Staff, Hollywood.com (2014-05-23). "Wanda Tuchock | Biography and Filmography | 1898". Retrieved 2016-10-03.
  6. ↑ Maltin, Leonard (2010), Filmography for Wanda Tuchock, Turner Classic Movies, retrieved 12 June 2016
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