Harriete Underhill

Biography

American film critic who dabbled in screenwriting. A native of Troy, New York, she grew up in Passaic, New Jersey. She married at 16 and went on the stage, appearing on Broadway and on tour in productions ranging from Shakespeare to the "Floradora Sextette." Her career faltered, as did her marriage and a subsequent one, and she entered the newspaper business with the help of her father, Lorenzo Underhill, who owned the "New York Sportsman." She was hired by the "New York Tribune" in 1908 and wrote dramatic criticism, eventually becoming the now-rechristened "Herald-Tribune"'s film reviewer. An automobile accident in 1919 nearly ended her career and completely undermined her health permanently. She was forced to leave her position for some months while recuperating. She began writing film scenarios in the mid-Twenties, although films she was actually credited on are scant. She succumbed to her longtime health problems, dying in her apartment at the Whitby Hotel in New York City on May 18, 1928.