In this article, let's talk about an American actor, a star from the era of silent films and the founder of the first American Academy of Motion Picture Arts, Douglas Fairbanks. We will discuss the biography of this wonderful person, and also take time for his career and filmography.
Biography
Douglas Fairbanks was born on May 23, 1883 in Denver, Colorado, United States. The boy was brought up in the family of a famous businessman and lawyer. From the age of five, Douglas lived with his mother, but his parents were not divorced, they simply parted and lived separately.
As a child, Douglas Fairbanks was fond of fencing, athletics, horseback riding. But most of all he was drawn to the theater. After the young man graduated from high school, he entered Harvard University.
Telling his father about his intentions to become an actor in the future, Douglas was deprived of any financial support and was forced to go to Europe with his own money. In Paris, the future actor got a job as a digger and participated in the construction of the subway. Then he went to England, where he worked as a loader in the port of London, after which he got a job as a sailor on a cargo ship.ship.
In early 1900, Douglas returned to America. There he got a job as a salesman, and after that he was an employee of a company located on Wall Street. But the guy did not forget about the dream of the theater, he always tried to find an opportunity to get a job there.
Career and personal life
In 1902, Douglas Fairbanks fulfilled his dream and made his debut as a theater actor on Broadway. Five years will pass, the actor will leave the theater stage and marry Anna Beth Sally, who will be the heir to her family's big business. In marriage, they will have a son - Douglas Fairbanks Jr.
After the birth of a son, the actor's wife's company will go bankrupt. Douglas was forced to return to his acting career. In 1905, he will be one of the invited actors for the shooting of films from the studio Triangle Pictures. In the same year, Fairbanks will star in William Christie Cabanna's The Lamb. The film was well received by the public, and our actor began to be considered the hero of romantic comedies.
In 1916, the actor starred in the film "The American", according to the script of which Douglas complacently tries to suppress an armed uprising in South America. And in February next year, Fairbanks ceases cooperation with Triangle and creates its own called Douglas Fairbanks Film Corporation.
In 1919, the actor divorced his wife and soon began a relationship with actress Mary Pickford, later the couple married. After his first marriage, Douglas tries to get out of the influence of largeHollywood studios and found his own studio called United Artists, which allowed him to distribute his own films.
In the early 1920s, Douglas Fairbanks released his own film, The Sign of Zorro, followed by films such as The Three Musketeers, The Black Pirate, Robin Hood and The Thief of Baghdad. The actor is at the peak of his popularity.
In 1927, Fairbanks Douglas, whose photo at that time was known to all people who connected their lives with cinema, founded the first American Academy of Motion Picture Arts. The last film of the silent era with the participation of Douglas will be "The Iron Mask".
In 1936, the actor divorces his current wife and marries British model Sylvia Ashley. The couple will settle in Santa Monica.
Filmography
Films with Douglas Fairbanks are listed below (the year of release is written in brackets):
- "Martyrs of the Alamo, or the Birth of Texas" - played by Joe (1915);
- "Modern Musketeer" - double role played by Ned Thacker and d'Artagnan (1917);
- "The Sign of Zorro" - performed by Don Diego Vega and old Zorro (1920);
- "Three Musketeers" - one of the main characters - d'Artagnan (1921);
- "Robin Hood" - the main character of Robin Hood (1922);
- "Airmail" - performed by Sandy (1925);
- "Son of Zorro" - Don Diego Vega and old Zorro (1925);
- "Black Pirate" - the hero ofnicknamed the Black Pirate (1927);
- "The Iron Mask" - d'Artagnan (1929);
- "Mr. Robinson Crusoe" - played by Steve Drexel (1932);
- "The private life of Don Juan" - performed by Don Juan (1934).
In addition to the above, the actor has appeared in films such as "The Lamb", "His Photo in the Newspapers", "The Mystery of the Flying Fish", "The Taming of the Shrew", "The Thief of Baghdad".
Interesting facts
During his second marriage, the actor founded the Motion Picture Fund, whose funds were used to help filmmakers in need. This fund still exists today.
In the credits of the films for which Douglas wrote the screenplay, his birth name was indicated as Elton Thomas.
In 1927, Douglas Fairbanks appears in one of the Soviet cartoons called "One of the Many". After the famous Soviet director Grigory Alexandrov named his son Douglas in honor of the American actor.
On December 12, 1939, it was reported that Douglas Fairbanks had died of a heart attack. At that time, Fairbanks was 56 years old.
