Sôjin, 313, 422
Something for Nothing (1914), 68
sound movies. See talkies
Southern, Eve, 369
Southern California, social register in, 350
Sparks, R. S. “Cupid,” 231–232
Sparrows (1925), 332, 414
“Special Play-goers’ Vouchers,” 72
Spirit of Chivalry, The (proposed movie title), 290
Spoor, George, 75–76
Spotlight Man, The (1914), 71
Sragow, Michael, 114, 163
Stapleton John, 60
state’s right model, of film distribution, 130–131
Stephen Steps Out (1923), 317
Sternberg, Josef von, 355–356
Stevens, Charles “Charlie,” 147, 151, 293–294, 312
Strand Theatre, 132
“Strenuous Life” (Roosevelt), 157
Stroheim, Erich von, 88, 145, 167n, 209n, 358
stunt work
in American Aristocracy, 125
in The Americano, 129
in The Black Pirate, 346–347
extended chase sequences, 112–113
in He Comes Up Smiling (1918), 195
in In Again, Out Again, 144
in The Knickerbocker Buckaroo, 204
in Manhattan Madness, 120–121
in The Matrimaniac, 127
in The Mollycoddle, 227
in Mr. Robinson Crusoe, 435
natural movement in, 102, 109
in The Thief of Bagdad, 313–314
use of doubles for, 228, 294–295
in Wild and Woolly, 150–151, 153
Suds (1920), 233, 326
Sully, Anna Beth. See Fairbanks, Beth Sully
Sully, Daniel, 45, 46, 52, 68, 104–105, 107, 135–137
superheroes, DF as inspiration for, 251–252
surfing, 405, 421
Sutherland, Eddie, 175, 432, 433, 436
Swanson, Gloria, 325, 335, 354
swashbuckler roles, 172, 204, 247
Swat the Kaiser (1918), 191–192
swordsmanship skills, 27, 263
Sykle, Crete, 338
Sylvia of the Secret Service (1917), 145
Tabor, Horace, 8
Tabor School of Acting, 15, 16, 18
Taj Mahal, 426
talkies, 376–377, 380, 414–415
Tally, T. L., 207
Talmadge, Constance, 127, 329, 349
Talmadge, Norma, 329, 349, 383, 394
Talmadge, Richard, 227
Taming of the Shrew, The (1929), 394–400, 448, 451
Tanaka (valet), 258
Tarkington, Booth, 106n
Taylor, Sam, 396–397, 412
Taylor, William Desmond, 298
Technicolor, 342–344
Technicolor Corporation, 342
Teikoku Motion Picture Corporation, 258
Theatre Circuit (UA subsidiary), 429
Theatrical Managers Tournament, 406n
Thief of Bagdad, The (1924), 277, 306–308, 331–332, 403
box office receipts, 321–322
casting, 308–313
open set on, 319
popularity of, in Russia, 354
premiere tour for, 320–321
reviews, 321
Thomas, Augustus, 196–197
Thomas, Elton (pseudonym), 368, 368n
Thomas, Olive, 260–261
Thorpe, Harry, 198
“Three Minute Man” (game), 182
Three Musketeers, The (1916), 265
Three Musketeers, The (1921), 256–263, 265–267, 275, 342
ticket prices, 71–72, 84–85
Tokyo, Japan, crowd control in, 404
Toll of the Sea (1922), 343, 344
Totheroh, Roland, 359
Tournament of Roses Parade, 441
Tourneur, Maurice, 196n
Treasury Department, 388
Tree, Herbert Beerbohm, 77, 107
Triangle Film Corporation, 77–79, 84, 88–89, 89n, 101–102, 109–110, 129
Triangle Kiddies, 122
Trilby (1905), 42
Trip to Mars (proposed movie title), 367
Tumbleweeds (1925), 358
20th Century-Fox, 463
20th Century Pictures, 462, 463
Two Little Sailor Boys (1903), 38
Two Orphans, The (1898), 16
two-reel films, 111, 142
Ulman, Edwin, 3
Ulman, Hezekiah Charles “H. Charles” (father), 3–4, 5, 7, 12, 12n
Ulman, Jonathan, 4
Ulman, Joseph, 3
Ulman, Lazarus (grandfather), 2–3
Ulman, Lizzie, 3
Ulman, Robert (brother). See Fairbanks, Robert (brother)
United Artists (UA), 62, 206, 254, 327–330, 336–337, 482
board meetings, 471–472
dispute with Fox West Coast, 428–429
early films released by, 252–253
founding of, 212–216
merger plans with Warner Bros, 395–396
partners with London Films, 448
proposed stock plan for, 462–463
Samuel Goldwyn and, 476–477
search for producers by, 358
seeks merger with MGM, 358–359
startup issues for, 218–219
Walt Disney and, 424n
United States Balloon School, 189
Universal Studios, 81, 134
University of Southern California, 365–366
Uttenhover, M. Harry, 251, 263
Valentino, Rudolph, 332n, 357–358
Van Duerson, Mr. and Mrs. Melville, 429
Vance, Jeffrey, 225n, 247, 255
Vanderbilt, A. G., 54
Vanera, Tony, 340–341
Variety, 64, 66, 67, 74, 87, 106, 112, 127, 134, 149, 158, 177, 215, 256, 271, 335
vaudeville experiences, 63–64, 68, 70, 71
Vélez, Lupe, 369, 371–373, 438
vertical integration, 131, 218
Victory Loan tours, 181
Virginian, The, 256, 280n, 283
Virginius (play), 16
Vitaphone, 377
Vollmöller, Karl, 394
Wagenknecht, Edward, 35, 193
Waldorf Astoria, 473
Walsh, Raoul, 307, 312n, 319, 464
Wanderer of the Wasteland (1924), 343, 344
War Relief (1917), 181
Warde, Frederick, 16n, 18–22, 25–27
Warde, May, 26
Warner Bros., 377, 395
Washington Post, 20n, 50, 183
Waxworks (1924), 306
Way Down East (play), 34
Way Down East (1920), 325–326, 343n
Wayne, John, 335n
Weadock, Louis, 225
Weber and Fields, 77
Wee Kirk o’ the Heather chapel, 481
Weinman, Adolph, 258, 259n
Weissmuller, Johnny, 429
Wellman, William, 204–205
Welman, Rita, 269
West, fascination with, 153, 437
western art collection, 153
Western Electric Company, 385
western films, 152, 153–154
western-style bar, gift of, 440
Westmore, George, 291n
Weyl, Carl Jules, 363
When the Clouds Roll By (1919), 223–226
Whistle and Hoe—Sing as We Go (self-help book), 147
“White List,” of motion picture actors, 235
White Mice, The (Davis), 183
Whitfield, Eileen, 94
Wid’s Daily, 196, 215, 300
Wilcox, Edward A. (Ella’s second husband), 6
Wilcox, Ella Adelaide Marsh Fairbanks. See Fairbanks, Ella (mother)
Wilcox, Herbert, 449
Wilcox, Norris “Norrie” (half-brother), 6–7
Wild and Woolly (1917), 149, 150–153
Wilkenning, Cora, 287
Williams, J. D., 213
Willis Wood (theater), 27
Wilson, Ma
rgery, 103
Wilson, Tom, 128
Wilson, Woodrow, 214n, 220
Winchell, Walter, 378–379
Wings (1927), 205
Winik, Hyman, 111
Wise, Thomas A., 33, 51, 53, 57, 64
Wodehouse, P. G, 60, 62
Wolcott, Alexander, 354
Wolhurst Fete, 17
Woman of Paris, A (1923), 328, 396n
Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, 12–13
Wong, Anna May, 310–311, 343, 344
Woodruff, Eunice, 123
Woods, A. H., 69, 71
Woods, Alan, 19
Woods, Lotta, 259, 306, 308, 367, 368, 375
Wormser Hat, 296
Wright, Lloyd, 451
Wyman School, 11
Yo-Ho (vessel), 348n
Young Woodley (1927), 393
Youth Points the Way (self-help book), 147
Zacks, Richard, 52
Zanuck, Darryl, 462, 470
Zeidman, Bennie, 132, 139, 149, 182, 190, 200, 227, 233n, 292n
Zorro (dog), 176n, 294, 321, 341, 341n
Zukor, Adolph, 35, 75, 129n, 210–211, 219, 316, 323, 329, 365n
Charlie Chaplin and, 327
film distribution and, 208–209
Mary Pickford and, 96, 132–133, 155–156, 209, 325
proposed merger of all production companies, 211–213
sells distribution rights for Broken Blossoms, 252n
Mother, Ella, and father, H. Charles Ulman. Each was married multiple times—and not always legally. Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center, Boston University
Thicker than thieves. Brothers Robert, left, and Douglas, right, were partners both in mischief and in business. Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center, Boston University
His first nemesis. Patrick McGovern, front row center, is surrounded by Douglas, front left, and Robert, front right. Douglas was jealous of Patrick’s finery, so he tugged at his curls, earning himself a bloody nose and a reputation for being unafraid to take on larger opponents.
His first mentor. Thespian Frederick Warde reunites with Fairbanks during the filming of The Three Musketeers. The old actor retained a great affection for his student, whose fame was ultimately to surpass his a thousandfold.
The soap factory, 1907. In order to obtain permission to marry heiress Beth Sully, Fairbanks had to agree to quit the theater and work in his father-in-law’s soap factory. As with any and all things in life, he performed with a relish.
Stage star. With Ruth Shepley in A Gentleman of Leisure, 1911.
His first studio. Sets at Triangle were cheaply constructed. Hand-painted plywood stood in for marble. The glimpse of the outdoors visible to the left of the set demonstrate that shooting was open-air. From Flirting with Fate, 1916.
Clowning behind the scenes of The Half Breed.
The unsmiling Doug was not what audiences wanted to see, and The Half Breed was a rare failure. He would not repeat the mistake of breaking character again.
On location for The Half Breed. Alma Rubens, far left; Fairbanks, front center; Allan Dwan, in goggles.
The original bromance. Doug and best friend for life Charlie Chaplin outside the offices of the Douglas Fairbanks Pictures Corporation in Hollywood.
With Doug Jr. at Watch Hill, Rhode Island, on the front porch of Daniel Sully’s estate, 1916.
Fairbanks and Elsie Janis, competing with a saw for the prize in toothiness. It was at Elsie Janis’s Tarrytown estate that Douglas Fairbanks met Mary Pickford in 1915.
Mary Pickford in 1919. The most famous and beloved woman on the planet.
Fame and fortune. There were Douglas Fairbanks cigars, Douglas Fairbanks paper dolls, Douglas Fairbanks notebooks . . . He, Mary Pickford, and Charlie Chaplin were ubiquitous in the prewar years.
Fairbanks signed ten thousand photos for the Red Cross while waiting to film The Man from Painted Post.
With cowboys at a Wyoming ranch. Fairbanks was always at ease with cowpokes and trick riders, and he was as likely to have them to dinner as royalty.
A tale of two directors.
ABOVE: John Emerson, seated, on the set of Down to Earth, was replaced by Allan Dwan after Emerson and Anita Loos staged a strike over The Man from Painted Post.
BELOW: Doug, Allan Dwan, Tully Marshall, and brother Robert Fairbanks amid the post-“tornado” destruction in A Modern Musketeer.
Creating the illusion that they are out to sea in Down to Earth.
On the set of an unidentified film. Fairbanks’s personal charm was experienced by all who worked with him.
His first foray into a period costume, and his first appearance as D’Artagnan, in A Modern Musketeer.
Cutting his wife and child out of the picture. One year after his mother’s death, Doug sent Mary this letter. He trimmed Beth and Junior out of the accompanying photo, leaving only Ella.
Clowning around.
ABOVE: Doug polishes the shoes of assistant cameraman Glen MacWilliams, while Charlie gives a brush to Paramount star Thomas Meighan.
BELOW: Cauliflower-eared Bull Montana has Mollycoddle Doug in a tight spot.
Brother John was a lifelong adviser and aide to his younger brother, Doug.
Caught in oversize jammies by a ladies’ club in When the Clouds Roll By. There was a loopy humor to Fairbanks’s heroics that made them unique.
His Majesty the American was the first release for United Artists, cofounded by Fairbanks, Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin, and D. W. Griffith.
The Mollycoddle. Fairbanks was so taken with Theodore Roosevelt that he paid $5,000 to retain the term mollycoddle in his film because it was a favorite term of Teddy’s.
Return from a triumphant honey- moon. Doug and Mary arrive in New York on July 28, 1920.
The mobs did not always make it easy. Terror at an English garden party is reflected on Mary’s face as the throngs overwhelm them.
Pickford and Fairbanks are barely visible among an adoring mob in Spain, 1924.
With the 1920s came the switch to swashbuckling roles and an exponential increase in his fame and success.
LEFT: As D’Artagnan in The Three Musketeers.
BELOW LEFT: As The Thief of Bagdad.
BELOW RIGHT: As Robin Hood.
From the collection of the International Movie Poster Archive.
Floats like a butterfly . . . Fairbanks did the vast majority of his stunts himself.
Doug versus the censors. This shot from Robin Hood—his greatest success—was one of many that were trimmed by censorship boards across America.
Caught unawares. Doug and Mary’s love was deep and sincere, until his ungovernable jealousy undid them both.
Visitors were always welcome at the Pickford-Fairbanks Studios.
ABOVE: Doug and Mary give a tour to visiting dignitaries.
BELOW LEFT: the general public was allowed to watch filming and, if very lucky, would get their pictures taken with the star
BELOW RIGHT: Washington Senators pitcher Walter Johnson and slugger Babe Ruth join Fairbanks in a game.
Life’s a beach. Doug, Mary, and little dog Zorro enjoy the sunshine in Santa Monica.
Douglas Jr., far right, outgrew his chubby phase and became a competitive force on the silver screen.
Joseph Schenck, center, was the force that kept UA successful. Sam Goldwyn was the fly in the corporate ointment. From left to right are M. C. Levee, Fairbanks, Samuel Goldwyn, Schenck, Norma Talmadge, Buster Keaton, and Edwin Carewe.
The Gaucho was the beginning of the end of everything.
ABOVE: Unsubstantiated rumors of an affair with costar Lupe Vélez damaged his marriage.
RIGHT: Snide implications that our hero was less than perfect were beginning to be published.
BELOW: Contemplating a stunt, as only Fairbanks could.
Fallen idol. After he left Mary, nothing seemed to go right.
Doug and Sylvia. He is reduced from hero to lapdog, carrying her jewelry case.
Doug and t
he Nazi Joseph Goebbels, far left, were in adjacent cabanas in Venice, August 1939. Goebbels, one of history’s most notorious anti-Semites, was likely unaware that he was tipping off the half-Jewish Fairbanks to the Nazi plans to invade Poland. Fairbanks was able to get his wife’s family out of England just in time.
Meeting Sylvia, her sister, and her sister’s children after getting them safely to America. With his Great Dane, Marco Polo, who was with him at his death.
The First King of Hollywood Page 69
