Florence Ryerson was a renowned American playwright, screenwriter, and short story writer, best known for her work on the classic fantasy film "The Wizard of Oz" (1939). Born Florence Willard in 1892 in Glendale, California, she was the daughter of journalist Charles Dwight Willard and his wife Mary McGregor.
Charles Willard worked for prominent newspapers such as the "Los Angeles Times" and "Los Angeles Herald", and also authored several books, including a history of Los Angeles. Florence was educated at Stanford University and Radcliffe College, and later married Harold Swayne Ryerson, who worked in the manufacture of ladies' clothing.
Ryerson began her writing career in 1915, publishing over 30 short stories in various magazines, including "The American Magazine", "Ladies' Home Journal", "Munsey's Magazine", and "Woman's World". In 1926, she joined Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer as a screenwriter, initially working on silent films before transitioning to sound films. Some notable highlights of her career include entries in popular series such as Fu Manchu and Philo Vance.
Ryerson co-wrote several novels with her second husband Colin Clements, including "This Awful Age" (1930) and "Mild Oats" (1933),which were among the first novels to focus on the lives of female teenagers. The couple also adapted these novels into the play "June Mad" (1939) and the film "Her First Beau".
The Ryersons purchased the Workman Ranch in San Fernando Valley, which they renamed the Shadow Ranch, inspired by the shade of its eucalyptus trees. They restored and expanded the 19th-century adobe on the ranch, which became their primary residence for the late 1930s and the entirety of the 1940s.
In 1939, Ryerson co-wrote the screenplay for "The Wizard of Oz", adapting a children's novel by L. Frank Baum. She is credited with creating Professor Marvel, the Kansas counterpart to the Wizard of Oz.
Ryerson and Clements continued to collaborate on Broadway plays throughout the 1940s, but their partnership ended with Clements' death in 1948. Ryerson retired to Hampton Falls, New Hampshire in 1951 and continued to write theatrical plays, which were produced by the local high school.
Florence Ryerson passed away in Mexico City in 1965 at the age of 72 due to heart failure. Her former residence at Shadow Ranch was designated a Historic-Cultural Monument in 1962 and still stands today.
