13 Facts About Florence Ryerson

Florence Ryerson was an American playwright, screenwriter and co-author of the script for the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz.

The books were based on a short story series Ryerson had started in 1925.

Florence Ryerson continued to write for most of her life, writing plays for Broadway in the 1940s.

Florence Ryerson was the daughter of Charles Dwight Willard and Mary McGregor.

Florence Ryerson published more than 30 short stories in magazines between 1915 and the early 1930s.

Florence Ryerson's writing appeared in Munsey's Magazine, The American Magazine, Woman's World, Ladies' Home Journal, and numerous other magazines.

In 1926, Florence Ryerson joined Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to work on silent film scripts, among them Adam and Evil and Wickedness Preferred.

Florence Ryerson was co-author of the screenplay for The Wizard of Oz, along with frequent collaborator Edgar Allan Woolf and British author Noel Langley.

Florence Ryerson wrote other short stories and mystery novels with Clements.

Florence Ryerson renamed the estate Shadow Ranch for the amount of shade provided by the numerous large Blue Gum eucalyptus trees, originally planted in the 1860s during the Workman era.

Florence Ryerson co-wrote The Wizard of Oz screenplay while living there.

Florence Ryerson retired to Hampton Falls, New Hampshire, in 1951, where she continued to write plays, some for the local high school.

Florence Ryerson Clements died in Mexico City of cardiac insufficiency in 1965.