Gilson Willets

{{short description|American screenwriter}}

{{Infobox writer

| name = Gilson Willets

|image = Gilson Willets 1919.jpg

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1869|08|10}}

| birth_place = Hempstead, New York, U.S.

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1922|05|26|1869|08|10}}

|death_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S.

| resting_place =

| occupation = Author
Journalist
Screenwriter

| nationality = American

| genre =

| movement =

| notable_works =

}}

File:Cuban volunteers in the barracks (3465708912).jpg including many Cuban cigar workers from Tampa, Florida in 1898]]

Gilson Willets (August 10, 1869 - 1922) was a journalist, author, and screenwriter in the United States. He was born in Hempstead, New York. He wrote for Leslie's Weekly, Collier's Weekly and many other publications.{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bWdJAQAAMAAJ&q=gilson+willets&pg=PA55|title=The Writer: A Monthly Magazine for Literary Workers|first1=William Henry|last1=Hills|first2=Robert|last2=Luce|date=October 22, 1897|publisher=Writer Publishing Company|via=Google Books}} He covered the Spanish–American War in Cuba. He traveled widely{{Cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/10258685/willets_gilson_1911_his_42nd_birthday/|title=Willets Gilson 1911 his 42nd birthday|date=August 10, 1911|pages=4|via=newspapers.com}} before becoming a production manager for Pathé.{{Cite web|url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=SU19220526.2.71&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN--------1|title=Sacramento Union 26 May 1922 — California Digital Newspaper Collection|website=cdnc.ucr.edu}} His work includes several film serials.{{Cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/gilson_willets|title=Gilson Willets - Rotten Tomatoes|website=www.rottentomatoes.com}}

As a journalist, he covered a plague in India and E. H. Harriman's Harriman Scientific Expedition to Alaska. He was described as the American Guy de Maupassant for his terse writing style.{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MeFUAAAAYAAJ&q=gilson+willets&pg=PA56|title=The Writer|date=October 22, 1897|publisher=The Writer|via=Google Books}}

He wrote about New Mexico in 1905.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1905/08/20/archives/most-unamerican-part-of-the-united-states-strange-stories-of-people.html|title=Most Un-American Part of the United States; Strange Stories of People and Things in New Mexico -- A Large Proportion of the Population Ignorant of or Indifferent to Our Laws and Institutions -- Some Reasons Why Admission Has Been Refused.|first=Gilson|last=Willets|date=August 20, 1905|via=NYTimes.com}}

He married Daisy Van Der Veer and his son was named Gilson Vander Veer Willets.