32 Facts About Douglas Fairbanks

Douglas Fairbanks was best known for his swashbuckling roles in silent films, including The Thief of Bagdad, Robin Hood, and The Mark of Zorro, but spent the early part of his career making comedies.

Douglas Fairbanks was a founding member of The Motion Picture Academy and hosted the 1st Academy Awards in 1929.

Douglas Fairbanks's parents were Hezekiah Charles Ullman and Ella Adelaide.

Douglas Fairbanks's father, known as Charles, was born in Berrysburg, Pennsylvania, and raised in Williamsport.

Douglas Fairbanks was the fourth child in a Jewish family consisting of six sons and four daughters.

Douglas Fairbanks soon became romantically involved with Charles and agreed to move to Denver with him to pursue mining investments.

Douglas Fairbanks was a Freemason, having been initiated at Beverly Hills Lodge No 528.

Douglas Fairbanks began acting at an early age, in amateur theatre on the Denver stage, performing in summer stock at the Elitch Theatre, and other productions sponsored by Margaret Fealy, who ran an acting school for young people in Denver.

Douglas Fairbanks attended Denver East High School, and was expelled for cutting the strings on the school piano.

Douglas Fairbanks left school in the spring of 1899, at the age of 15.

Douglas Fairbanks variously claimed to have attended Colorado School of Mines and Harvard University, but neither claim is true.

Douglas Fairbanks went with the acting troupe of Frederick Warde, beginning a cross country tour in September 1899.

Douglas Fairbanks toured with Warde for two seasons, functioning in dual roles, both as actor and as the assistant stage manager in his second year with the group.

Douglas Fairbanks worked in a hardware store and as a clerk in a Wall Street office between acting jobs.

On July 11,1907, Fairbanks married Anna Beth Sully, the daughter of wealthy industrialist Daniel J Sully, in Watch Hill, Rhode Island.

Douglas Fairbanks's athleticism was not appreciated by Griffith and he was brought to the attention of Anita Loos and John Emerson, who wrote and directed many of his early romantic comedies.

Douglas Fairbanks met actress Mary Pickford at a party in 1916, and the couple soon began an affair.

In 1917, Douglas Fairbanks capitalized on his rising popularity by publishing a self-help book, Laugh and Live which extolled the power of positive thinking and self-confidence in raising one's health, business and social prospects.

Douglas Fairbanks then obtained a rapid divorce in the small Nevada town of Minden on March 2,1920.

Douglas Fairbanks leased the Beverly Hills mansion Grayhall and was rumored to have used it during his courtship of Pickford.

Douglas Fairbanks spared no expense and effort in these films, which established the standard for all future swashbuckling films.

Douglas Fairbanks was elected first President of the Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences that same year, and he presented the first Academy Awards at the Roosevelt Hotel.

Today, Douglas Fairbanks has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7020 Hollywood Boulevard.

Griffith and Dolores del Rio to speak on the radio show The Dodge Brothers Hour to prove Douglas Fairbanks could meet the challenge of talking movies.

Douglas Fairbanks continued to be marginally involved in the film industry and United Artists, but his later years lacked the intense focus of his film years.

Douglas Fairbanks died later that day at his home in Santa Monica at the age of 56.

In 1992, Douglas Fairbanks was portrayed by actor Kevin Kline in the film Chaplin.

On November 6,2008, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences celebrated the publication of their "Academy Imprints" book on Douglas Fairbanks, authored by film historian Jeffrey Vance, with the screening of a new restoration print of The Gaucho with Vance introducing the film.

Concurrently with the Academy's efforts, the Museum of Modern of Art held their first Fairbanks film retrospective in over six decades, titled "Laugh and Live: The Films of Douglas Fairbanks" which ran from December 17,2008, to January 12,2009.

Douglas Fairbanks was a key figure in the film school's founding in 1929, and in its curriculum development.

When Dujardin accepted the 2011 Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, Douglas Fairbanks was cited at length as the main inspiration for Dujardin's performance in The Artist.

The nickname for the sports teams of the University of California-Santa Barbara is 'The Gauchos' in honor of Douglas Fairbanks's acting in the eponymous film.