Neely Dickson

She was born Nelie May Dickson on May 19, 1877 in Franklin Township, Allamakee County, Iowa, to Nancy Elmira Lamira Dickinson Dickson (1853–1917) and John Hussic or Huzzie Dickson (1843–1910). Both of her parents had similar surnames. Her father was born in Glasgow, Scotland. She had two brothers and four sisters, including Grace (1887-1969), who relocated to Los Angeles to live with her sister and work in the theater as an art director in charge of lighting, sets, and costumes.{{Cite news |date=4 April 1926 |title=Pilgrimage Play Date Announced: Neely Dickson Selected to Direct Annual Production of Hollywood Theater |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_los-angeles-times_the-los-angeles-times_1926-04-24/page/n25/mode/2up?q=%22neely+dickson%22 |work=The Los Angeles Daily Times (earlier name of the Los Angeles Times) |pages=7}} Nelie changed the spelling of her first name to Neely sometime before 1917, and may have lowered her age by five or six years when she launched her business in Hollywood. Dickson graduated from Northwestern University's School of Oratory circa 1895.

She received some of her funding from a noted playwright, William C. deMille, older brother of Cecil B. DeMille, who assured an all-star cast for opening night.{{Cite journal |last=Beymer |first=William Gilmore |title=The Hollywood Community Theatre |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_theatre-arts_1919-07_3_3/page/172/mode/2up?q=%22neely+dickson%22 |journal=Theatre Arts |volume=3 |issue=3 |pages=172–178 |via=The Internet Archive, archive.org}} She started the new theater in a building that had previously been a bowling alley, and was noted in magazines and the news as being modest.{{Cite journal |last=Burton |first=Richard |date=October 1920 |title=Theatre Activities in Southern California |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_theatre-arts_1920-10_4_4/page/346/mode/2up?q=%22bowling+alley%22&view=theater |journal=Theatre Arts Magazine |volume=4 |issue=4 |pages=346 |via=The Internet Archive, archive.org}} The Los Angeles Times hailed the theater as "one of the most artistically conducted little theaters in America." She received published, public praise for her accomplishment from many stars in England and the United States that included Sir J. M. Barrie, John Galsworthy, Charlie Chaplin, King Vidor, Douglas Fairbanks, and Katherine MacDonald.{{Cite journal |last=Russel |first=Mildred Lewis |date=November 1921 |title=The Community Theater Comes to Hollywood: The Theater Which Hosts Many Stars |url=https://archive.org/details/motionpicturemag22brew/page/n365/mode/2up?view=theater |journal=The Motion Picture Magazine |volume=XXII |issue=10 |pages=54–55, 94 |via=The Internet Archive, archive.org}}

As part of a nationwide little theatre movement, her theater may have inspired Harold Lloyd's 1931 effort, the Beverly Hills Little Theatre for Professionals. They both served as important incubators for new actors, and a means of helping established stage performers navigate to the burgeoning medium of cinema by getting them in front of Hollywood talent scouts. She advertised special coaching for those struggling to make the transition from silent to talking pictures.{{Cite journal |last=Advertisement |date=23 June 1928 |title=Neely Dickson, Speaking Voice, Special Coaching for Talking Pictures (advertisement) |url=https://archive.org/details/filmspectatorvol56welf/page/n199/mode/2up?view=theater&q=%22neely+dickson%22 |journal=The Film Spectator |volume=5 |issue=9 |pages=15 |via=The Internet Archive, archive.org}}

Her theater thrived for five years before losing its lease, and she continued as a successful teacher, sometimes continuing to use the Hollywood Community Theater name for subsequent productions.{{Cite book |last=Bokar |first=Camille Naomi Rezutko |title=An Historical Study of the Legitimate Theatre in Los Angeles: 1920-1929 and Its Relation to the National Theatrical Scene |date=September 1973 |publisher=University of Southern California |edition=1 |location=Los Angeles |pages=162–169 |language=en}} Actors such as Lawrence Tibbett, Edward Everett Horton, Dana Andrews, and Academy Award winner Conrad Nagle got their start in Hollywood films by debuting in her productions.{{Cite journal |last=Wallace |first=Irving |date=October 1940 |title=Nurseries for Newcomers |url=https://archive.org/details/Modern-Screen-1940-10-Vol-21-No-5/page/26/mode/2up?q=%22neely+dickson%22 |journal=Modern Screen |volume=21 |issue=5 |pages=26–27 |via=The Internet Archive, archive.org}} Other actors who studied with her included Betty Grable, Robert Taylor, Julie Haydon, Rosella Towne, and Paulette Goddard.{{Cite journal |date=1938 |title=Briefs for Fillers |url=https://archive.org/details/pressbook-wb-blondes-at-work/page/n1/mode/2up?q=%22neely+dickson%22 |journal=Warner Brothers Pressbook |pages=3 |via=The Internet Archive, archive.org}}

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Category:1877 births

Category:1946 deaths

Category:American theatre directors

Category:Acting teachers

Category:People from Allamakee County, Iowa

Category:Northwestern University alumni

Category:Place of death missing