The pretty little blonde who inspired this remark had led a hard life by the time she became "America's Sweetheart." Born Gladys Smith into genteel poverty (her childhood was much like Lillian Gish's), her mother had been widowed by the time she became four. But the family income was saved when the child began acting in a local stock company. Years later, when the fanzines asked likes and dislikes, Pickford invaribly listed crimson as the color she detested. The color reminded her of the train seats smelling of coal dust on which she and her family spent hundreds of long hours, barnstorming the country up until 1907.
In New York, Pickford cornered producer David Belasco, who gave her touring and Broadway parts until 1909, when her family's fortunes went bust (by this time mother and brother were trying to act as well). Mary went to Biograph where Griffith interviewed her, made her up and ushered her onto her first set. At the end of the day he asked her to return the next day for $5 per day. She asked for $10, and got it.
Thus was launched Mary Pickford -- if popularity were all, the greatest star there has ever been. Her first big hit, THE LITTLE TEACHER (1910), identified her as "Little Mary" in the sub-titles, and audiences began referring to her likewise. Little Mary became the industry's chief focus and biggest asset, as well as the draw of draws -- bigger, even, than Chaplin -- and was the subject of the first cinematic close-up in FRIENDS (1912). Some titles in her filmography speak for themselves: A LITTLE PRINCESS (1917), REBECCA OF SUNNYBROOK FARM (1917), POLLYANNA (1920), LITTLE LORD FAUNTLEROY (1921), TESS OF THE STORM COUNTRY (1922), LITTLE ANNIE ROONEY (1925). But in all fairness to Pickford, she played her heroines with idealism and spunk, with subtle suggestions of the nymphet. While other actors used the Delsartan "French School of pantomime," Mary's expressions were restrained, her gestures small and drawn-out, and therefore all the more expressive. She moved only when movement was called for, and her stillness drew audience attention. Griffith said, "She never stopped listening and learning." Soon she was telling Adolph Zukor (after moving to Famous Players), "I can't afford to work for only ten thousand dollars a week."
Pickford was not overestimating the power of her box-office draw. The quality of her films was, in a sense, immaterial; for millions of people who had never been to a theater it was an entirely new experience to see a "star," someone to identify with and love from a distance.
United Artists was formed in 1919 by Pickford, D.W. Griffith, Chaplin and Douglas Fairbanks (to whom she was married that year); it was rumored this was in reaction against industry word that moguls were going to put a ceiling on star salaries ("It took longer to make one of Mary's contracts than it did to make one of Mary's pictures," said Sam Goldwyn). Pickford, now endowed with creative control, found herself saddled by her "glad girl" image. By the mid-20s, she was hiding a defiantly bobbed head of hair under the required wig of golden curls.
With the coming of sound Pickford wisely chose George Abbot's COQUETTE (1929) (from a Broadway hit starring Helen Hayes) and gained a best actress Academy Award. But in playing a flapper, Pickford put herself into competition with the likes of Clara Bow and Joan Crawford; the uniqueness of Little Mary was gone for good.
Perhaps a crossover success made her over-confident. At any rate, fans had clamored for years for King Doug and Queen Mary to star together. They did, in THE TAMING OF THE SHREW (1929), a disaster of monstrous proportions. Two more costly failures followed, and Mary Pickford allowed the curtain to fall for good.
In the 1930s Pickford made a vaudeville appearance, published two books (a novel and something called Why Not Try God?) and frequently broadcast on radio. After her marriage to Fairbanks fell apart in 1935 she wed actor Charles "Buddy" Rogers, by all accounts a happy union. Chaplin and Pickford bought out (and eventually outlived) Griffith and Fairbanks, and sold UA (also 1935). In the 1950s, she was set to appear in STORM CENTER (1956), but changed her mind and was replaced by Bette Davis.
Mary Pickford was honored with a special Academy Award in 1976 and died peacefully at Pickfair in 1979. The appeal of her ever-childlike, spirited moppet image may not be well understood today, but Pickford's mere presence entranced the world. Spoiled by riches she may have been, but underneath the romantic golden vision of youth's innocence lurked a critical faculty reminiscent of a steel trap: "I never liked one of my pictures in its entirety."
Actress 1928-29: COQUETTE
Honorary Awards 1975: "In recognition of her unique contributions to the film industry and the development of film as an artistic medium." Presented a Statuette.
1 nomination, 1 Award, 1 Honorary Award