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Fast Facts About Mary Pickford

February 8, 2019 By Joi

Mary Pickford in The Little Princess

 

Gladys Louise Smith was born on April 8, 1892 in Toronto. The Canadian beauty (of Irish and English descent) would go on to become a household name and American film legend as Mary Pickford.

America’s Sweetheart began in the theater at age seven, when she toured with her family. During this time, she was nicknamed Baby Gladys Smith.

Mary Pickford was married three times and divorced twice. She was married to actor/writer Owen Moore from 1911-1920, legendary actor/writer/producer Douglas Fairbanks from 1920-1936, and to Charles ‘Buddy’ Rogers from 1937 to her death in 1979. They had two children.

Below are more fast facts about this groundbreaking and phenomenal actress:

  • She was one of the 36 founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
  • Douglas Fairbanks, Jr’s Stepmother
  • Probably the silent era’s best-known and most-loved actress.
  • Formed United Artists company with Douglas Fairbanks, D.W. Griffith, and Charles Chaplin.
  • Mary Pickford was the first actress to receive a percentage of a film’s earnings.
  • The first artist to have her name in marquee lights and is often described as the world’s first “International” Star.
  • She turned down the role of Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard, which (of course) went to Gloria Swanson.
  • The house she lived in in Hollywood was named Pickfair (in tribute to her and Douglas Fairbanks).
  • She and Douglas Fairbanks were the first stars to officially place hand and footprints in the cement at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre.
  • Her last silent movie was the romance comedy My Best Girl (1927).
  • Coquette (in 1929) was her first talkie.
  • Was Joan Crawford’s mother-in-law, while Crawford was married to Douglas Fairbanks Jr.
  • She was the 2nd actress to receive an Academy Award when she won the Best Actress Oscar for Coquette at The 2nd Academy Awards on April 3, 1930.
  • In her autobiography, Sunshine and Shadow, Mary Pickford reveals that as a child, she would buy a single rose and eat the petals. She believed they would make her as beautiful as the rose.

Mary Pickford Quotes:

“If you have made mistakes… there is always another chance for you… you may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing we call ‘failure’ is not the falling down but the staying down.”
“I never liked one of my pictures in its entirety.”
“Make them laugh, make them cry, and back to laughter. What do people want to go to the theatre for? An emotional exercise… I am a servant of the people. I have never forgotten that.”
(About Douglas Fairbanks): “A little boy that never grew up.”
(About Charlie Chaplin) “That obstinate, suspicious, egocentric, maddening and lovable genius of a problem child.”
“I left the screen because I didn’t want what happened to Chaplin [Charles Chaplin] to happen to me. The little girl made me. I wasn’t waiting for the little girl to kill me. I’d already been pigeonholed. I know I’m an artist, and that’s not being arrogant, because talent comes from God. My career was planned, there was never anything accidental about it. It was planned, it was painful, it was purposeful. I’m not exactly satisfied, but I’m grateful.”

 

Filed Under: Mary Pickford Tagged With: Mary Pickford, Silent Movie Stars, Silent Movies

Welcome to Hollywood Yesterday!

Ann Sheridan, It All Came True

Ann Sheridan
My name is Joi (“Joy”) and I created Hollywood Yesterday as my personal tribute to Old Hollywood. It’s my effort to help keep the stars from Old Hollywood, Classic Television, and Old Radio Shows alive and shining forever. Old Hollywood was positively magical and I see no reason for the magic to ever die.

Be warned, I am (by nature) overtly positive, I never take anything too seriously, I say extraordinary so often you’d think I invented the word, and I overuse exclamation points to distraction. I’m perpetually over-caffeinated.. we’ll blame that.

Read more about Hollywood Yesterday (and see my personal favorites) here!

Old Hollywood Actresses

Lena Horne, Meet Me in Las Vegas

See the Old Hollywood Actresses page for the index of Classic Hollywood Actresses and Classic TV Actresses.

Old Hollywood Actors

Henry Fonda, Behind the Scenes The Grapes of Wrath

See the Old Hollywood Actors page for the index of Old Hollywood and Classic TV actors.

Old Hollywood Book Reviews

Ann Dvorak: Hollywood's Forgotten Rebel by Christina Rice

I love reading old Hollywood biographies and memoirs as much as I love watching classic movies, and that’s truly saying something!

To see my Old Hollywood book reviews, please see the index listed here: Book Reviews.

Pictures of the Day

Maureen O'Hara, The Parent Trap

Maureen O’Hara

The Old Hollywood & Classic TV Pictures of the Day are published as regularly as possible. If I miss a few days, please just know that the husband, daughters, sons-in-law, grandbabies, and/or my cats were demanding my attention. I’ll be honest, nothing comes before any of them! Not even Maureen O’Hara or Henry Fonda.

Priorities, y’all.

Movie Collections on Amazon

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Recent Posts

  • Duel in the Sun: The Cast was an Embarrassment of Riches!
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  • Perfect Cast, Perfect Script, Perfect Director, Perfect Movie… The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
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Movie Night, ANY Night…

John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, and Arthur Hunnicutt in El Dorado
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Thank You for Visiting!

Paulette Goddard and Charlie Chaplin, Modern Times
Thank you so much for visiting Hollywood Yesterday! You truly HONOR me with your presence. ~ Joi (“Joy”)

Olivia de Havilland

Olivia de Havilland, The Adventures of Robin Hood

My main goal with Hollywood Yesterday is to keep the names, faces, and films of the stars that mean so much to me shining brightly. When I’m guilty of focusing more time on my personal favorites (such as Olivia de Havilland) than other stars, I hope you’ll forgive me. I am, by all indications, very human!

Also, please know that I try to keep my posts (except for book reviews) short and to the point, so you can enjoy the pictures, grab the information, and get back to your life. I don’t appreciate anything that’s overly wordy, so I don’t want to do that to others. For better or worse, I write as I talk, so if you ever feel like you’re reading the words of someone who’s a cross between Lucy Ricardo, Daisy Duck, and a Jerry Lewis character, that’s just because you are!

Wait. What did I just admit to?? 

Barbara Stanwyck Quotes

Another personal absolute favorite of mine is Barbara Stanwyck. Not only was she beautiful and outrageously talented, she was exceptionally bright, charismatic, and colorful. This growing collection of Barbara Stanwyck Quotes will give you an idea of just how colorful she was!

Old Hollywood Movies

Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire Top Hat Cheek to Cheek

There’s nothing quite like watching a movie from the Golden Age of Hollywood. Whether it’s a Musical, Western, Comedy, Romance, Film Noir, or Drama – if it’s on, I’m not too far away… with popcorn and raspberry tea in hand and a couple of cats nearby.

Below are a few Old Hollywood movie reviews I’ve done on the blog. There are, as you’d imagine, a lot more to come. – Joi (“Joy”)

We’re in the Money (Joan Blondell, Glenda Farrell)

The Naked Spur (James Stewart, Janet Leigh)

The Prince and the Showgirl (Marilyn Monroe, Laurence Olivier)

The White Sister (Helen Hayes, Clark Gable)

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (Howard Keel, Jane Powell, Russ Tamblyn, Julie Newmar)

Rio Bravo (John Wayne, Dean Martin, Angie Dickinson, Ricky Nelson, Walter Brennan)

El Dorado (John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, James Caan, Charlene Holt, Michele Carey)

Rio Grande (John Wayne, Maureen O’Hara)

Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein (What is it With Me and These Movies??)

The Stooge (Jerry Lewis’ favorite Lewis and Martin Movie… for good reason.)

Critic’s Choice (Hilarious movie starring Bob Hope and Lucille Ball)

To Please a Lady (Clark Gable and Barbara Stanwyck team up in a fast track movie)

Grand Hotel (Joan Crawford, Greta Garbo, John Barrymore, Lionel Barrymore)

Hearts Divided (Marion Davies, Dick Powell)

The Quiet Man (John Wayne, Maureen O’Hara, Barry Fitzgerald)

More Old Hollywood Movie Reviews

Classic Hollywood Books & Biographies (Reviews)

Maureen O'Hara's Autobiography 'Tis Herself

‘Tis Herself by Maureen O’Hara
I Know Where I'm Going (Katharine Hepburn Biography) and Princess

I Know Where I’m Going: Katharine Hepburn

 

Debbie Reynolds Unsinkable
Unsinkable: A Memoir by Debbie Reynolds

 

Ginger Rogers Autobiography - Ginger: My Story

Ginger by Ginger Rogers
Love, Lucy by Lucille Ball

Love, Lucy by Lucille Ball
Vitagraph by Andrew A. Erish
Vitagraph by Andrew A. Erish
More Old Hollywood Book Reviews!

Dorothy Dandridge

Dorothy Dandridge Carmen Jones Poster

Getting to Know the Gorgeous and Talented Dorothy Dandridge

My Lucy Obsession

Lucille Ball

Find out just how much I (truly) Love Lucy in the Lucille Ball category. I’m warning you, I call it an obsession for a very good reason…

Legalities…

Aside from pictures of books I review, I do not claim to have taken any of the pictures on this website, nor do I own the pictures – the ones of the stars or the affiliate (product) pictures.  Other, far more talented photographers than me have the credit for the beautiful photos you see. If you would like credit for a photograph or would like one removed, please e-mail me (joitsigers@gmail.com).

Movie posters and promotional photos are used in the belief that they qualify for the Fair Use law. Fair use is a doctrine in the law of the United States that permits limited use of copyrighted material without having to first acquire permission from the copyright holder. Fair use is one of the limitations to copyright intended to balance the interests of copyright holders with the public interest in the wider distribution and use of creative works by allowing as a defense to copyright infringement claims certain limited uses that might otherwise be considered infringement.

When you click through an affiliate (product, book, dvds..) link, I earn a small portion of the money you spend IF you purchase anything. This does not cost you any extra money, of course. This is how I am able to work from home and support my cats! – Joi (“Joy”)

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