South side of the 6200 block of Hollywood Boulevard
|
Mary Pickford
Born Gladys Marie Smith on
April 8, 1893
in Toronto, Canada
Died
May 29, 1979
of stroke in Santa Monica UCLA Medical Center, CA
Mary Pickford was a veteran of more than 200 films, and a co-founder of United Artists Corp. and of the Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences. She was the first star to be identified by name in movie credits. Her first leading role was in D.W. Griffith's "The Violin Maker of Cremona" (1909). Her first really big hit was "Hearts Adrift," made in 1914 for Adolph Zukor, who had founded the Famous Players Co. in 1912. In 1918, when her career was at a high point, she left Zukor to become an independent producer. In 1919 she joined with other stars and Griffith to form United Artists, a production company that handled her films for the remainder of her career. In 1927 she joined then-husband Douglas Fairbanks, along with Cecil B. DeMille, Irving Thalberg, Jesse Lasky and others to form the Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences. The following year she made her first film with sound, "Coquette" (1929), for which she won an Oscar. Her career continued. She made "Kiki" in 1932, which she followed with a hiatus while she wrote two books: "Why Not Try God" and "My Rendezvous With Life." In 1978 she won another Academy Award for "her unique contribution to the motion picture industry."
|
Related stars
|
|
Points of interest
Academy Awards
| Year | Category | Work | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1928 | Best Actress | Coquette | Win |
| 1975 | Honorary Award | Win |
Permalink
|
Delicious
|
Digg
|
Facebook
|
Twitter
|
Enjoy more stories like this for 
One thought about Mary Pickford
Why in God's name mention the horror that is Kiki and not the wonderful "Secrets"? I've put clips of all (sans Kiki as I don't have a copy) of her talkies on youtube, judge for yourselves.
Mary was epic. Her fame is indescribable now. She needs to be remembered. More than 'the girl with the curls' she was a gorgeous woman who was extremely talented at acting as well as business. Not ALL her films were little girl roles, though her talent is just as good in "Pollyanna" as it is in "Secrets". Personally I adore "My Best Girl". People forget she was a great comedienne, and she really was.
She deserves way more recognition than she gets, she founded the Academy. They need to remember her more than occasional Oscar bribing blurbs (yes she wielded influence, but Coquette is a wonderful ahead of its time mellerdrama!)
Share a thought about Mary Pickford
Did you ever meet Mary Pickford? Share your memory.
Which other stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame have connections to Mary Pickford?
Are other places in the world important to Mary Pickford?
Does Mary Pickford deserve this star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame?