Besides writing, what did Rand do?
After graduating college in Russia, Rand worked briefly as a tour guide at the Peter and Paul Fortress in Leningrad, then emigrated to the United States.[*] In the US, prior to her success with Night of January 16th, Rand worked in various jobs in Hollywood. Shortly after arriving there, she met, by accident, the famous director Cecil B. DeMille, who offered her a job as an extra in The King of Kings. As the movie was being completed, DeMille offered her a job preparing synopses of works that might be adapted for films. In 1927 she left DeMille’s studio and for a time worked what she later described as “a bewildering number of jobs,” such as waiting tables and selling newspaper subscriptions. In 1929 Rand took work as a filing clerk in the wardrobe department of RKO, eventually becoming head of the department. In 1932, while still running the wardrobe department, she made her first professional writing sale, a movie screenplay entitled Red Pawn (which was never produced). With $1,500 (
