Preston Sturgis was one of the top screenwriters and directors in Hollywood's history. His Sullivan's Travels manages to be wildly humorous, inventive, and touching while dealing with serious social issues. His mother, Mary Estelle Dempsey, married a traveling salesman, but moved to Paris to be a singer when Preston was just 3. She moved back to the U.S. and married a wealthy stockbroker named Solomon Sturgis (her previous marriage had been annulled). Sturgis adopted her son in 1902. Mary Stugis' father was Dominick d'Este Dempsey. She took that middle name and to occultists became known as Mary d'Este, Mary Desti, or Mary d'Este Sturgis. She also became a lover of Aleister Crowley