Gladys Hall

Gladys Hall (April 26, 1891 - September 18, 1977) was an American journalist for several movie fan magazines including Modern Screen, Motion Picture Story Magazine, Photoplay, Screenland, and Shadowland. She wrote hundreds of photoplay editions, interviewed many of the stars of the silent film era, and was known as "The Grand Old Dame of the Fannies."

Early life and education Hall was born April 26, 1891, in New York City. She attended St. Gabriel's School for Girls in Peekskill, New York. She married photographer Russell Ball on February 1, 1912, when she was twenty years old.

Career She began writing short stories and poetry and was published in Cavalier, Munsey's Magazine, and The Smart Set. In 1913, her poem Fetterless was published in Motion Picture Story Magazine, the first movie fan magazine, and she soon became a regular contributor and an associate editor.

She wrote hundreds of photoplay editions, movie plot lines that were serialized into short stories.

Her first interview was with actor James Cruze in 1913. She went on to publish multiple interviews in the 1920s with stars of the silent film era including Charles Chaplin, Colleen Moore, Mary Pickford, Wallace Reid, Gloria Swanson, and Rudolph Valentino. These interviews were published in fan magazines including Photoplay, Modern Screen, Screenland,

Her papers are held at the Margaret Herrick Library of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.