Mary Pickford is a versatile silent film actress who has gone down in history for her talented performance of various characters, even the most insignificant. The calling card in her career has become the role of homeless tomboy girls. In addition, Mary Pickford was a producer, director in the world of cinema, and together with Charlie Chaplin she founded the United Artists film studio.
The American actress of Canadian origin, Mary Pickford, left her home in search of a better life on Broadway, but soon found herself in demand in the world of the Hollywood film industry. Her face has become a symbol of the silent film era.
Childhood and early career of Mary Pickford
Born Gladys Smith, she was born in Toronto, Canada in 1892 to a poor family. The girl's father was a drunkard and died soon after. Then the widow Smith was alone, with three children, penniless. The family joined the cast, traveling by rail in the United States, giving performances at low cost.
At the age of 15, young Gladys made her first debut in a Broadway production. Producer David Belasco insisted that the girl take a different name from the family tree. The name Mary Pickford was borrowed from her father's English ancestors. The girl's family also adopted a new surname.
When the rental time of the production came to an end, Pickford plucked up courage and impudence and went in search of work to the Biograph film studio, where the young girl was allowed to screen tests. At that time, Mary Pickford received about $ 50 a week - a good amount for those times. Under the direction of David Work Griffith, an American filmmaker, Mary Pickford honed her skills and gained experience.
The work went on at an intense pace, sometimes the young actress had to act every week in a new short film. “I played a mother of many children, a cleaning lady, secretaries and women of different nationalities, in particular, Mexicans and Indian women,” admitted Mary Pickford.
In 1912, the actress left Griffith's direction and returned to the theater stage, performing roles in several productions. After 1914, the name Mary Pickford gradually began to gain popularity.
The actress used her fame for patriotic purposes. During the First World War, she agreed to participate in films that raise the military spirit of American soldiers.
In 1916, Mary Pickford no longer just independently chose the projects in which she would like to appear, but completely controlled the filming process from the quality of the script to the release.
In 1919, the actress, together with Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, and Douglas Fairbank, founded a new film studio, United Artists.
The heyday and decline of Mary Pickford's career
In the mid-1920s, Mary Pickford played homeless street children with curly hair, often representatives of the working class - it was this image that became the most recognizable in the actress's career. At this time, the films "Poor little rich girl", "Bully", "Little Lord Fontleroy" were released.
The last silent film in her career was the romantic comedy My Favorite Girl, where Mary Pickford, at the age of 34, played a young saleswoman who is in love with the son of a store owner.
At the end of the 1920s, the era of sound films began. During this time, the actress starred in several films under her own direction. The tragic drama "Coquette" was enthusiastically received by the audience and brought Mary Pickford her first Oscar.
Subsequent film works were not successful and therefore the actress decided to end her career.
“I left the screen. The image of "little girls" made me famous. I didn’t wait for this image to “kill” me,”Mary Pickford said in an interview.
Decades later, the actress became addicted to alcohol, but continued to be the face of Hollywood. She became a mentor in the career of American actress Shirley Temple, like Mary Pickford, playing tomboy children.
In 1976, Mary Pickford was awarded another Oscar for Lifetime Achievement. The award was presented live. Mary Pickford accepted the award with tears in her eyes.
Three marriages of Mary Pickford
At the age of seventeen, at the very beginning of her career, at the Biograph film studio, Mary Pickford met the actor Owen Moore. Tall, blue-eyed, with dark hair, Owen was popular with women. Irish by birth, Owen Moore immigrated to America with his family as a child. Moore was seven years older than Mary. The actress's family did not support this relationship, but the couple nevertheless decided to get married in 1911.
Soon, Mary Pickford's popularity began to skyrocket, as did her income. The contractual amount per week first became three-digit and later four-digit. Owen Moore's husband became very jealous of his wife's fame and her earnings. He is addicted to alcohol. The marriage ended in divorce.
The actress's second marriage took place with a successful Broadway and Hollywood actor, Douglas Fairbanks. Mary and Douglas first met in 1915 at a New York party. The friendship grew into a romantic relationship, which was kept secret, since the actor was already married and had a son. Douglas Fairbanks divorced his first wife and married Mary Pickford in 1920.
This was one of the most beautiful and famous couples in Hollywood. However, in 1936, the marriage broke up, as both had too busy work schedules and a zealous nature that separated the spouses. Plus, Douglas Fairbanks had an affair with another actress.
In 1937, Mary Pickford entered into a third marriage with actor and musician Charles "Buddy" Rogers. The couple adopted two children and have been married for over 40 years.
The actress and legend of silent American cinema passed away on May 29, 1979.
