America's first sweetheart Mary Pickford was actually born Gladys Smith on April 8th 1892. She was the first queen of films as far as I'm concerned. In the days of silent film it was just facial expressions, body language and a few well placed title cards that told you what was going on in a particular scene. The greats from that era are truly geniuses. Mary ranked high above them all. She was a brilliant comedian. Her fans loved to see her play a child and because she was only 5'0" she could pull it off. Mary herself wasn't very thrilled with her film persona, but did it nonetheless because her fans loved her for it.

Mary made her screen debut in 1909 in a film by the great director D.W. Griffin. He gave her a screen test and put her in a film that very day. And while this may sound like a lot, Mary made 51 films that year, almost one a week! This was common in those days. They churned out movies faster then you could count them.

Mary was the first actress to become completely involved in a film. She just didn't act in it and she felt that women could do that and direct, produce or whatever just as well as a man could! And in those days it was very rare to find any actor, male or female, to become involved in any movie that involved more then acting. In 1919 she got together with fellow actors Charlie Chaplin and Douglas Fairbanks along with director D.W. Griffin to create United Artists Pictures. The film company gave the performers full control over their pictures, which was unheard of at the time. One observer said, "The lunatics have taken over the asylum." She was also one of the 36 founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences which gives out the renowned Oscar award.

One of the most famous landmarks in Hollywood is what use to be Mary's home, Pickfair in which she and her second husband Douglas Fairbanks lived. She divorced Fairbanks in 1936 and married Charles 'Buddy' Rogers in 1937. She lived in Pickfair and was married to Rogers until her death.

Mary's last silent film was probably the film she is most known for, My Best Gal in 1927. She retired from films in 1935 making about 236 films in her career. She passed away on May 29th 1979 from a cerebral hemorrhage.

Back