Loos, Anita

Loos, Anita

(?1893–1981) writer, playwright; born in Sisson (now Mt. Shasta), Calif. Her father was involved in theatrical companies, and as the family moved, she was a child actress in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego. She wrote scenarios and dialogue cards for silent movies, married John Emerson (1919), and moved to New York City. She continued to write scores of films and plays, often with the assistance of her husband. They moved to Europe in the 1920s, and, after the stock market crash of 1929, returned to Hollywood. There and in New York City, she wrote screenplays for talking pictures. She is best known for her satiric story collection, "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes": The Illuminating Diary of a Professional Lady (1925). The escapades of the protagonist, Lorelei Lee, were adapted as a play, two musicals and movies.