Ernest Richard Schayer - actor, journalist, movie screenwriter, scenario and story writer - rose to become a studio executive at Universal Pictures during its Golden Age in the 1930's. A graduate of Georgetown University, Washington, D.C., he trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City, followed by a four-year acting career in theater. He then studied journalism and worked as a journalist for major newspapers. He was a war correspondent, soldier, and officer in U.S. Reserves. After military service in World War I, he began writing for movies and magazines. He is credited in the writing of over 130 movies from 1916 until his death, including Trader Horn (Harry Carey), Frankenstein (Boris Karloff), The Mummy, Across to Singapore (Joan Crawford, Ramon Navarro) and comedies for Buster Keaton.

His father, Army officer George Frederick Schayer, born in Bavaria, Germany, fought for the North in the American Civil War.
His mother, American writer Julia Thompson von Stosch Schayer, born in Deering, Maine, was best known for her short stories published in the 1870s-1890s.
His half-sister, Lady Leonora Speyer, (née von Stosch) was a gifted violinist and Pulitzer Prize winning poet.

Marriages
1. To Ethel Cecelia ____ in 1917
2. To actress Aletha Prater in 1925

California Death Records
Name: Ernest Richard Schayer
Birth: 13 Dec 1880 at Washington [D.C.]
Death: 13 Mar 1956 at Los Angeles Co.
Father's Name: Schayer

California Marriage Record
Groom: Ernest Richard Schayer, 42
Bride: Aletha Prater, 21
Marriage Date: 16 Jun 1925
Place: Los Angeles, California
Groom's Father: Geo Frederick Schayer
Groom's Mother: Julia Thompson
Bride's Father: Charles M Prater
Bride's Mother: Edith Furnas
Page: 120
(See marriage record image for more details)

Census
1920 Census, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California; 6111 Carlos
-Ernest R Schayer, head, 38, b. Washington D.C., father Germany, mother ME, Writer scenarios
-Ethel Schayer, wife, 19, b. PA, parents MD

1930 Census, Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California; 333 S Peck Dr
-Richard Schayer, head, 47, 1st married age 30, b. District Of Columbia, owns home $22,000, Writer motion pictures, Veteran of WWI
-Aletha Schayer, wife, 22, 1st married age 17, b. Kansas
-Cecille Evans, sister-in-law, 27, single, b. Kansas, Actress motion pictures

News Articles
Variety (USA) 21 March 1956, "Richard Schayer"
Motion Picture World (USA) 14 May 1927, pg. 100, "Writer May Be Chosen Director"
Motion Picture World (USA) 25 December 1926, pg. 582, "New Contract for Schayer from M-G-M"
Motion Picture World (USA) 15 February 1919, pg. 895, "Schayer to Write for Mix"
Motion Picture World (USA) 1 September 1917, pg. 1393, "Honeymooners Begin World Tour"
Motion Picture World (USA) 23 June 1917, pg. 1922, "Schayer Retires from Selznick Staff"
(others may be found at newspapers.com)