124:, to Nancy Elmira Lamira Dickinson Dickson (1853–1917) and John Hussic or Huzzie Dickson (1843–1910). Both of her parents had similar surnames. Her father was born in Glasgow, Scotland. She had two brothers and four sisters, including Grace (1887-1969), who relocated to Los Angeles to live with her sister and work in the theater as an art director in charge of lighting, sets, and costumes. Nelie changed the spelling of her first name to Neely sometime before 1917, and may have lowered her age by five or six years when she launched her business in Hollywood. Dickson graduated from Northwestern University's School of Oratory circa 1895.
184:. They both served as important incubators for new actors, and a means of helping established stage performers navigate to the burgeoning medium of cinema by getting them in front of Hollywood talent scouts. She advertised special coaching for those struggling to make the transition from silent to talking pictures. Her theater thrived for five years before losing its lease, and she continued as a successful teacher, sometimes continuing to use the Hollywood Community Theater name for subsequent productions. Actors such as
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hailed the theater as "one of the most artistically conducted little theaters in
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112:(May 19, 1877 – January 25, 1946) was an American theater impresario, drama teacher, and founder of the Hollywood Community Theater (1917–1922) and its subsequent school.
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256:(42). Chicago, Illinois: Northwestern University Bulletin: 16–17 – via The Internet Archive, archive.org.
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The Los
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She received some of her funding from a noted playwright,
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