Patterson Dial

Elizabeth Patterson Dial (May 19, 1902 – March 23, 1945) was a writer and silent film actress of the 1920s. Later she married novelist Rupert Hughes. She was born Elizabeth Patterson Dial in Madison, Florida.

Patterson Dial
From a 1923 film advertisement
Born
Elizabeth Patterson Dial

May 19, 1902
Madison, Florida
DiedMarch 23, 1945 (aged 42)
Los Angeles, California

Screen actress

Dial appeared in fourteen motion pictures, beginning with Gloria's Romance in 1916. The other films in which she appeared were in the three-year period from 1921-1924 and they included Get-Rich-Quick Wallingford (1921), Sonny (1922), Reno (1923), A Man's Mate (1924), and Married Flirts (1924).

Married to esteemed author

The actress became Mrs. Rupert Hughes on January 1, 1925. The famous author and Miss Dial were wed in Los Angeles, California and took their honeymoon in New York, New York. Patterson was a well-known writer herself, under her maiden name. With Hughes, the husband and wife became noted in literary circles and formed a writing team. Hughes called her his right arm, saying she assisted him with his work and carried out her own. She experienced intense depressions. During these times Patterson became morose because she felt her writing was not up to the goal she had set for herself. Her moodiness about her work usually lifted and she felt better.

Death

Patterson Dial died of a barbiturate overdose[1] at the age of 42 in 1945. The circumstances were mysterious and the police could not determine whether it was an accident or suicide. Mrs. Hughes was found unconscious in her bed at home, 4751 Los Feliz Boulevard, Los Angeles, by a maid. She died en route to a hospital in an ambulance sent by Hollywood Receiving Hospital. The Hughes had no children.

Filmography

References
  1. Hack, Richard (2007). Hughes The Private Diaries, Memons and Letters. Phoenix Books, Inc. p. 154. ISBN 978-1597775496.

Sources
  • The Los Angeles Times, "Sleeping Pills End Life of Rupert Hughes' Wife", March 24, 1945, Page A1.
  • The New York Times, "Mrs Hughes Dies; Wife Of Novelist", March 24, 1945, Page 32.
  • Ogden, Utah Standard-Examiner, "Rupert Hughes and Bride", January 1, 1925, Page 2.
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