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Grover, Frances Peck, 1886-1961

 Person

Dates

  • Existence: 1886 - 1961

Biography

Frances Peck, 1886-1961, was born in Colorado to Dean Arthur Claremont Peck and Frances Potter, and later married Jerry G. Grover. She joined the Chicago Tribune as a feature writer in 1911 and went on to become the paper's theatrical interviewer before taking over as movie critic in 1914. She succeeded Audrie Alspaugh who became the nation's first motion picture critic writing under the name of Kitty Kelly. The name "Mae Tinee" originated during the era when stage actors and actresses were usually interviewed before or after matinee performances. Grover used the by-line until her retirement in 1945, when it passed on to Grover's successor, Anna Nangle, and was used by her until Clifford Terry became the first male motion picture critic in 1966. Mrs. Grover died in Evanston, Illinois May 8, 1961.

Found in 1 Collection or Record:

Chicago Tribune. Frances Peck Grover (Mae Tinee) Papers

 Collection
Identifier: XI-203
Abstract

This collection consists of the personal and professional papers of Frances Peck Grover, whose career at the Chicago Tribune (1911-1945) was spent chiefly as movie critic (the first to write under the name "Mae Tinee"). This archive includes family correspondence and photographs, correspondence and pictures of movie stars of the 1920s, and scrapbooks of newspaper columns.

Dates: 1895 - 1944