Douglas Fairbanks
Douglas Elton Fairbanks Sr. (born Douglas Elton Thomas Ullman; May 23, 1883 – December 12, 1939) was an American actor and filmmaker, best known for his swashbuckling roles in silent films. One of the biggest stars of the silent era, Fairbanks was referred to as "The King of Hollywood",. He was also a founding member of United Artists as well as the Motion Picture Academy and hosted the 1st Academy Awards in 1929.
Douglas Fairbanks | |
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Fairbanks, late 1910s | |
| Born | Douglas Elton Thomas Ullman May 23, 1883 Denver, Colorado, U.S. |
| Died | December 12, 1939 (aged 56) Santa Monica, California, U.S. |
| Resting place | Hollywood Forever Cemetery |
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| Years active | 1899–1934 |
| Spouses | Anna Beth Sully
(m. 1907; div. 1919)Mary Pickford
(m. 1920; div. 1936)Sylvia Ashley (m. 1936) |
| Children | Douglas Fairbanks Jr. |
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Born in Denver, Colorado, Fairbanks started acting from an early age and established himself as an accomplished stage actor on Broadway by the late 1900s. He made his film debut in 1915 and quickly became one of the most popular and highest paid actors in Hollywood. In 1919, he co-founded United Artists alongside Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford and D. W. Griffith. Fairbanks married Pickford in 1920 and the couple came to be regarded as "Hollywood royalty". Primarily a comedic actor early in his career, he moved into the adventure genre with the 1920 film The Mark of Zorro and found further success in films including Robin Hood (1922) and The Thief of Bagdad (1924).
Fairbanks' career rapidly declined with the advent of the "talkies" in the late 1920s. His final film was The Private Life of Don Juan (1934), after which he retired from acting but continued to be marginally involved in the film industry and United Artists. He died in 1939 at the age of 56.