Mary Pickford - Dundurn

Mary Pickford

Canada's Silent Siren, America's Sweetheart

Published September 2011

Description

Mary Pickford’s ambition, passion, innate talent, and savvy business acumen sent her career into the stratosphere and set the blueprint for the modern movie star. Born Gladys Louise Smith in 1892, Pickford was raised in a house on University Avenue in Toronto and began her acting career on the stage. However, her determination led her to the new world of motion pictures, where she not only revolutionized acting method but negotiated her own terms for the highest salary for any actress and complete creative control over her films – unheard of behaviour for a woman of that period.

Pickford co-founded United Artists in 1919 with Douglas Fairbanks and Charlie Chaplin, which turned the existing studio system on its head. The actress’s subsequent marriage to Fairbanks incited a fan frenzy comparable to today’s obsession with couples like Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. Although Pickford’s star faded with the advent of talking pictures, she was the catalyst for the culture of Hollywood celebrity that enthralls us today.

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Contributors

Peggy Dymond Leavey

Peggy Dymond Leavey's previous books include Sky Lake Summer, The Deep End Gang, and The Path Through the Trees, all of which were nominated for the Silver Birch Award. Recently, she published Growing Up Ivy, Mary Pickford, and Laura Secord. Peggy lives in Trenton, Ontario.

Book Details

ePub
September 2011
-
224 pp
9781459700765
Paperback
September 2011
5.5x8.5 in
224 pp
9781554889457
ePub
September 2011
-
224 pp
9781554889464