Helen Meinardi

Helen Meinardi was an American screenwriter and songwriter who wrote a string of films in the 1930s.

Helen Meinardi
BornJuly 7, 1909
Chicago, Illinois, USA
DiedMarch 31, 1997
Carmel, California, USA
EducationIndiana University
OccupationScreenwriter
RelativesHoagy Carmichael (brother-in-law)

Biography

Helen was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Garrett Meinardi and Sarah Henderson. Her parents separated when she was young, and her father won custody; however, Sarah briefly kidnapped Helen and Helen's younger sister, Ruth.[1]

She attended the Lucy Cobb Finishing School in Georgia as a young woman before graduating from Indiana University. After college, she worked in New York City for a time before heading to Los Angeles, determined to forge a career for herself in Hollywood.[2]

Helen began writing songs and screenplays in the 1930s; she wrote a number of songs for musician Hoagy Carmichael, who eventually became her brother-in-law.[3] Helen won an RKO contract after writing the story that inspired the 1937 film I Met Him in Paris. In her later years, she worked as a journalist for CBS in New York before retiring to Maine.[4]

Selected filmography

References
  1. "Mother Kidnaps Children From Home of Minister". The Dayton Daily News. 15 May 1913. Retrieved 2019-11-13.
  2. Sudhalter, Richard M. (2003-09-17). Stardust Melody: The Life and Music of Hoagy Carmichael. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195168983.
  3. "Little Old Stardust". The Republic. 12 Aug 1937. Retrieved 2019-11-13.
  4. "A Maine Writer: Maine State Library". www.maine.gov. Retrieved 2019-11-13.
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