Fred de Gresac


Fred de Gresac, born Frédérique Rosine de Grésac, was a French librettist, playwright and screenwriter. She was the wife of opera singer Victor Maurel.

Early life

Frédérique Rosine de Grésac was born at Lamalou-les-Bains, in the south of France. She used the name "Fred de Gresac" professionally because, as she explained to a newspaper reporter, "I rather think the public likes its plays written by men."

Career

In 1917, theatre critic Alan Dale wrote that "The most brilliant feminine playwright I have ever met is the lady who signs herself 'Fred de Gresac'." She wrote more than 100 plays and screenplays, including The Marriage of Kitty, La Passerelle , The Enchantress, The Wedding Trip, The Purple Road, Sweethearts, and Flo-Flo. Of the musical comedy Flo-Flo, she explained in 1919, "There is enough tragedy outside the theater. And so I have created Flo-Flo – I call her my spiritual cocktail – for America."
Films written by de Gresac included The Marriage of Kitty, The Kiss of Hate, The Great Secret, The Eternal Temptress, La Bohème, The Son of the Sheik, Afraid to Love, Camille, Breakfast at Sunrise, She Goes to War, and Hell Harbor.
In 1909 she was named artistic director of the Little Theatre in New York, offering "Elaborate and Costly Amusement in a Luxurious Setting for the Elect."

Personal life

Fred de Gresac was married to opera singer Victor Maurel. She was widowed when he died in 1923. Fred de Gresac died in Los Angeles in 1943, probably in her eighties. Her papers are archived at Stanford University.