Alice Eyton

Origins

The third of five children, Eyton was born in Hokitika, South Island, New Zealand, to journalist Robert Henry Eyton (–1885) and Eleanor Maud Eyton (née Fosbery).^[1][2] Eyton's father died when she was young. Her brother, Charles Eyton, became a prominent actor and producer in Hollywood; her sister, Vera, become an American actress.

By 1900, Eyton had already had a number of short stories published in New Zealand and Australia, under such titles as 'Behind the hills',^[3] 'Queen Empress and the cotter's wife',^[4] 'Down by the sea wall',^[5] 'Woman in the clutches of the law: At the gaols',^[6] and 'The girl he left behind him: An incident of the Transvaal war'.^[7]

In January 1901, along with many of the Sydney Bohemian set such as sculptor Nelson Illingworth, writer Louise Mack, and poet Banjo Paterson, she attended the farewell dinner of Scottish-Australian poet and bush balladeer Will H. Ogilvie (1869–1963).^[8] Following her own testimonial dinner, in February 1902, Eyton travelled to London on board P&O's RMS Arcadia.^[9][10]

Hollywood career

She moved to Hollywood, California, by 1905, where she continued her literary efforts.^[11] By April 1909, Eyton's first play, based on Victor Cherbuliez's 1877 novel Samuel Brohl et cie, was accepted for production in New York City.^[12][13]

She married fellow writer Robert von Saxmar around 1920 in Los Angeles, where she found work as a stenographer at Paramount. After working her way up the ranks,^[14][15] she earned a spot on the studio's writing staff; her first known credit was on 1918's A Girl Named Mary. She wrote over a dozen scripts in the ensuing five years. By June 1921 she was listed as a writer for the Realart company.^[16]

Death

Eyton died of burns sustained when her Halloween costume caught fire at a party being held in Pasadena, California.^[17] The party was being held in a cabin in Arroyo Seco, where she was temporarily residing while working on a novel; a lit match or cigarette somehow landed on Eyton's cotton snow maiden costume, which quickly went up in flames.^[17] She was rushed to the nearby Pasadena Hospital, but her burns were fatal.^[17]