[PW] Bessie Mae Hopper

[Andrew W. White]

Bessie Mae HopperWhat I'll do is forward this question to my colleagues on the academic listserv -- this is a good one, and I'm afraid I don't have the answer to hand.

Thanks for thinking of me!

Andy White, Dramaturg
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Fuller, Thomas (US - Washington D.C.) 
  To: list at project-wombat.org 
  Cc: awhite at wam.umd.edu 
  Sent: Monday, March 12, 2007 3:26 PM
  Subject: Bessie Mae Hopper


  I suspect that Bessie Mae is fictional.  I'm copying Andrew White, the dramaturg for my theater's current production of one-act plays by women in the early part of the twentieth century, to see if he has a view;  he's well-versed in women dramatists of the period.

  Andrew, this was just posted to a reference librarians' website.  Any insights?  Thanks. 

  -- Tom 

  ************************** 

  Tennessee Williams' _The Glass Menagerie_ mentions Bessie Mae Hopper, 
  who had supposedly just written _Honeymoon for Three_.  I have searched 
  Google's homepage for "Bessie Mae Hopper," and all the links point back 
  to _The Glass Menagerie_.  I searched IMDb.com, and the three movies 
  with that name (from 1915, 1935, 1941) were written by men.  I checked 
  IBDB.com, and the 1932 play _Goodbye Again_ (on which the 1941 movie 
  _Honeymoon for Three_ was based) was also written by men.  I have looked 
  for "Bessie Mae Hopper" without success in the following reference 
  books: 

  Freeman, William.  _Dictionary of Fictional Characters_.  Boston: 
  Writer, 1963. 
  Heintzelman, Greta.  _Critical Companion to Tennessee Williams_.  New 
  York: Facts on File, 1963. 
  Kolin, Philip C., ed.  _Tennessee Williams Encyclopedia_.  Westport, 
  Connecticut, 2004. 

  I tried the database Xreferplus without finding her listed. 

  My questions are: 
  1) is there a reference source that mentions that "Bessie Mae Hopper" 
  is a fictional character?; 
  2) if fictional, is she based on anyone in particular (Hedda Hopper was 
  powerful at that time, but she was a columnist, not a movie script 
  writer)?; 
  3) if, on the other hand, "Bessie Mae Hopper"  was real (or based on 
  someone) please mention what she wrote. 

  Sincerely, 
  Mick Williams, MA, MLS 
  Assistant Director, Head of Reference Services 
  The Bailey Library 
  Nyack College 
  One South Boulevard 
  Nyack, NY 10960-3698 
  845-675-4435 
  Fax: 845-353-0817 
  Mick.Williams at nyack.edu 




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