Mary Murillo

Who is Mary Murillo?

Born Mary O'Connor was an actress and screenwriter.

Mary Murillo was born Mary O'Connor to Roman Catholic parents, Edward, an Irish commercial traveller, and Sarah Mary. She was the eldest of four sisters and was educated at St Monica's, Skipton, Yorkshire, and at the Convent of the Sacred Heart School in Roehampton. She reportedly adopted the professional name Mary Murillo after being compared in looks to a Murillo painting of the Madonna. In February 1909 she made her debut in the chorus of the Broadway musical comedy Havana. She toured the United States, finding only small parts until 1913, when she started sending scenarios to film companies. Her first script to be accepted was bought by the husband-and-wife team of Phillips Smalley and Lois Weber. Other commissions followed, and the first film known to be credited to her is A Strand of Blond Hair, a Vitagraph comedy short starring John Bunny and Flora Finch.

She wrote five melodramas for Theda Bara during the 1910s popularity of vamp films. She also wrote for Bara's Fox rival Valeska Suratt. Murillo served as the chief screenwriter for Fox Film from 1916–1917, writing 50 scripts in this time period.