True Boardman (screenwriter) explained

True Boardman
Birth Name:	True Eames Boardman
Birth Date:	25 October 1909
Birth Place:	Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Death Place:	Pebble Beach, California, U.S.
Occupation:	Actor, scriptwriter
Yearsactive:	1912–1974
Spouse:	Thelma Joyce Hubbard (m. 1935; died 1978) Kathleen Gilmour (m. 1982)
Parents:	Virginia Eames True Boardman
Relatives:	Lisa Gerritsen (granddaughter)

True Eames Boardman^{[1] [2] [3] [4]} (October 25, 1909  - July 28, 2003) was an American actor and scriptwriter.

Life and career

Boardman, whose given names were derived, respectively, from his paternal grandmother's maiden name and his mother's stage name,^[1] was born in Seattle, Washington. He was the only child of actress Virginia Eames and action-adventure star True Boardman.^[5] Boardman's education included a bachelor's degree in English literature from UCLA and a master's degree in theater from Occidental College.

He began acting in 1912 and had acted in six films by the age of 10. He acted with Charles Chaplin in Shoulder Arms in 1918.Boardman was a writer for Silver Theater, a dramatic anthology series on CBS radio in the 1930s and 1940s.^[6] On May 21 and May 28, 1939, he also appeared as an actor on the program, starring with Helen Hayes in "Crossroads for Two," a two-part drama.^[7]

During World War II, Boardman was an Army captain whose duties included creating radio programming for American troops via the Armed Forces Radio Service.

Personal life and death

Boardman's first marriage, to radio/voiceover actress and television writer Thelma Joyce Hubbard, lasted from 1935 until her death following a long illness in 1978.^{[8] [9]} Their union produced two daughters.^[9] The second and final marriage, dating from 1982 until his own death, was to the former Kathleen Gilmour.^[10]

On July 28, 2003, Boardman died in Pebble Beach, California, aged 94, survived by his wife and both daughters from the previous marriage, as well as six grandchildren, one of whom was former child actress Lisa Gerritsen.^[11]

Selected filmography

As a writer

• Pardon My Sarong (1942)
• Arabian Nights (1942)
• The Painted Hills (1951)

As an actor

• Broncho Billy's Heart (1912)
• The Reward for Broncho Billy (1912)
• Broncho Billy Reforms (1913)
• Snakeville's Fire Brigade (1914)
• The Conquest of Man (1914)
• Sophie's Birthday Party (1914)
• The Hazards of Helen (1914)
• Shoulder Arms (1918) (in unused scenes)
• The Flirt (1922)
• Dan August

Bibliography

• Holmstrom, John. The Moving Picture Boy: An International Encyclopaedia from 1895 to 1995, Norwich, Michael Russell, 1996, pp. 40 – 41.

Notes and References

1. Kiehn, David (2003). Broncho Billy and the Essanay Film Company. Berkeley, CA: Farewell Books. p. 98. .
2. "United States Census, 1920", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MHQX-VNT : Sun Jul 14 08:07:43 UTC 2024), Entry for Margaret Boardman and True E Boardman, 1920.
3. University of California at Berkeley (1934). Register of the University of California, Volume 2. Berkeley, CA: University of California. p. 6. .
4. "California, World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1940-1945", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QGFS-2516 : Fri Mar 08 15:30:26 UTC 2024), Entry for True Eames Boardman and Thelma Hubbard Boardman, 16 October 1940.
5. Web site: True Boardman, 94; Child Actor, Scriptwriter - Los Angeles Times . Articles.latimes.com . 2003-08-03 . 2014-03-30.
6. Book: Dunning, John . On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio . John Dunning (detective fiction author) . 1998 . Oxford University Press . New York, NY . 978-0-19-507678-3 . 615-616 . Revised . 2019-10-22.
7. News: Boardman to Act with Helen Hayes. Belvidere Daily Republican. May 20, 1939. 5. Newspapers.com. March 31, 2015.
8. https://www.newspapers.com/image/678510883/?clipping_id=154115296 "Wedding March"
9. Boardman, True (May 11, 1978). "Chariot Rider Works a Miracle on Her Beat; Now the Regulars Miss Her". The Los Angeles Times. p. 45. Retrieved August 27, 2024.
10. "California Marriage Index, 1960-1985", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V6NB-5JJ : 26 January 2024), Kathleen Gilmour, 1982.
11. https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-peninsula-times-tribune/154144211/ "Granddad's Writing Keeps Her Riding"