Grover Jones

Wabash Valley profiles : a series of tributes to hometown people and events that have shaped our history

Description:	One typed page including photograph; biography of Grover Jones, one of the most prolific screenwriters in the history of American cinema. ABASH VALLEY WP R O F I L E SA series of tributes to hometown people and events that have shaped our history.Grover Jonesefore Grover Jones embarked for California in 1913, he had toiled in several Vigo County coal mines with his father, painted a few signs and written some poetry. However, Jones passion was motion pictures. The West Terre Haute native attended flickers at local nickelodeons whenever possible. He even put together an amateur film about Terre Haute, a unique feat which earned mention in a local newspaper. Yearning for first-hand experience, Grover headed west by rail, arriving in Hollywood with 50 cents in his pocket. Each morning he walked to Inceville in Santa Monica Canyon to earn a dollar and a free lunch as an extra or a prop boy for Universal Studios. Sometimes he got to paint scenery. Finally, he got a job as a technical assistant. Paramount Studios then asked him to type scripts for other people and he found the work fascinating. Even though he was fired by Paramount, Jones knew what he wanted to do. For awhile, he was a gag man for Mack Sennett, creating Keystone Comedy episodes. Eventually, he found a permanent niche. Before his premature death at age 47 on Sept. 24, 1940, Jones was the most prolific screenwriter in the history of American cinema, authoring or co-authoring more than 350 feature movies and 121 shorts. Twice he was nominated for an Academy Award for best screenplay: Lady and Gent (1932) and Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935). Critic Leonard Maltin ranked two Jones films in the top 100 motion pictures of the 20th century: Duck Soup (1933) and Trouble in Paradise (1932). During the Depression, he commanded $3,500 a week and $40,000 a script. He also directed at least 13 movies and wrote short stories for magazines such as Colliers and the Saturday Evening Post, as well as his serialized autobiography. Composer Kurt Weill once wrote: Grover Jones understood the rules of film-making as intimately as...Picasso understood painting. Bespectacled and pudgy, with a rim of red hair surrounding a shiny bald head, Jones did not look like a movie mogul. However, he lived like one. Referred to as the Hoosier Horatio Alger, Grover, his wife Sue (a professional dancer), his parents and two children resided on a two-acre estate near Santa Monica, encircled by a brick wall which harbored a pony, a goat, 14 English sheep dogs, ducks, geese, chickens, ravens and a few friends. His endless work ethic prevented him from smelling the roses. Films like What a Night!, The Plainsman, One Sunday Afternoon, A Little Bit of Heaven, Gunsmoke, The Milky Way, Souls at Sea, Abe Lincoln in Illinois, The Trail of the Lonesome Pine, 52nd Street, Dark Command, The Virginian, The Shepherd of the Hills and Captain Caution always were waiting to be written. In June 1940, Jones underwent kidney surgery. Upon his release, he wrote A Girl, a Guy and a Gob for Edmond OBrien and Lucille Ball. In early September -- a few days after the script was finished -- he returned to the hospital for a second surgery. He died from complications. Grover Jones Press, a side business which published movie posters and lobby cards, continued to operate for at least two decades under Sue Jones guidance. Several cousins still reside in the Wabash Valley.BTERRE HAUTE(812) 238-6000NATIONAL BANKAlways Close to HomeDate published: Nov. 30, 2000Filename: Jones, Grover profile
Origin:	2000-11-29
Created By:	McCormick, Mike
Publisher:	Terre Haute Tribune-Star
Source:	http://indianamemory.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/vchs/id/553
Collection:	Vigo County Historical Society
Rights:	http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/
Copyright:	Copyright Undetermined
Subjects:	Jones, Grover, 1893-1940 Movie posters Motion picture posters Movies Motion pictures Motion picture industry Authors Famous Hoosiers People Social Life

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