Douglas Fairbanks Jr.
Douglas Elton Fairbanks Jr. (December 9, 1909 – May 7, 2000) was an American actor, producer, and decorated naval officer of World War II. He is best-known for starring in such films as The Prisoner of Zenda (1937), Gunga Din (1939), and The Corsican Brothers (1941). He was the son of Douglas Fairbanks and the stepson of Mary Pickford, and his first marriage was to actress Joan Crawford.
Douglas Fairbanks Jr.
December 9, 1909
May 7, 2000 (aged 90)
- Actor
- producer
- naval officer
1916–1997
-
Mary Lee Epling(m. 1939; died 1988)
-
Vera Shelton(m. 1991)
3
- Douglas Fairbanks (father)
Jack Whiting (stepfather)
1941–1954
- World War II
Film career[edit]
Stephen Steps Out and Paramount[edit]
Largely on the basis of his father's name, in May 1923, Fairbanks Jr. was given a contract with Paramount Pictures at age 13, at $1,000 a week for three years. He was signed by Jesse L. Lasky, who said the junior Fairbanks "is the typical American boy at his best" and said he likely would be featured in a film about Tom Sawyer.[7][8]
"I do not think it is the right thing for the boy to do", said his father. "I want to see him continue his education. He is only 13 years old."[9] The young actor arrived in Hollywood in June 1923 and was mobbed.[10]
Tom Sawyer was not made. Instead, Fairbanks Jr. appeared in Stephen Steps Out (1923).[11][12][13] The film was not a hit.
Paramount and he parted ways by mutual consent and Doug went to Paris to resume his studies. A year later, he returned to the studio, hired at what Fairbanks called "starvation wages", and having him work as a camera assistant.[14]
"I was anxious to build my career as an actor slowly and painstakingly", he said in 1928. "I don't want to be a young, blond leading man with an aquiline nose and shiny white teeth."[15]
Paramount gave him supporting roles in The Air Mail (1925) and Wild Horse Mesa (1925).[16]
Stella Dallas and Young Woodley[edit]
Sam Goldwyn borrowed him to play the juvenile in Stella Dallas (1925), which wound up being his first box-office success.[17] He had supporting roles in Paramount's The American Venus (1926), and Padlocked (1926). At Warner Bros., Fairbanks was in Broken Hearts of Hollywood (1926), then, at Metropolitan Pictures, he was in Man Bait (1927).[18]
At MGM, he was in Edmund Goulding's Women Love Diamonds (1927) and for Alfred E. Green at Fox he was in Is Zat So? (1927). He supported Will Rogers in A Texas Steer (1927). Also in 1927, Fairbanks made his stage debut in Young Woodley based on a book by John Van Druten.[19] Fairbanks Jr received excellent reviews and the production was a success – the play did much to improve his reputation in Hollywood. A regular audience member was Joan Crawford, with whom Fairbanks became romantically involved.[20][21] He also appeared in a stage production of Saturday's Children.[15]
Early leading-man roles[edit]
Fairbanks' second lead role was in Dead Man's Curve (1928) for FBO. He was Helene Chadwick's leading man in Modern Mothers (1928) at Columbia, and he starred in The Toilers (1928) for Tiffany. Fairbanks starred in another for Columbia, The Power of the Press (1928), directed by Frank Capra.[22] He went back to supporting roles for The Barker (1928) at First National, his first "talkie"[23] and A Woman of Affairs (1928) at MGM with Greta Garbo and John Gilbert.
Fairbanks had another starring role at FBO with The Jazz Age (1929) and received top billing over Loretta Young in Fast Life (1929) at Warner Bros. He appeared in MGM's Our Modern Maidens (1929) opposite Crawford.[11]
First National and Warner Bros.[edit]
First National gave Fairbanks a starring role in The Careless Age (1929), and he was reunited with Young in The Forward Pass (1929). He was one of many names in The Show of Shows (1929). In September 1929, he returned to the stage in a production of The Youngest.[24] Victor Halperin cast Fairbanks in the lead of Party Girl (1929). then back at First National. he did a third with Young, Loose Ankles (1930).
In 1930, Fairbanks Jr. went to Warner Bros. to test for the second lead in Moby Dick (1930). Although he did not win the part, head of production Darryl F. Zanuck was impressed with Douglas's screen test, and cast him in an important role in The Dawn Patrol directed by Howard Hawks.[25] Universal borrowed him to have the lead role in Little Accident (1930) and at Warner Bros., he was in the lead in The Sin Flood (1930). He supported Leslie Howard in the prestigious Outward Bound (1930) and was Billie Dove's leading man in One Night at Susie's (1930).
Little Caesar[edit]
Fairbanks had a role supporting Edward G. Robinson in Little Caesar (1931), filmed in August 1930.[26] "We knew it was going to be good when we were making it, but not that it would become a classic", he later said.[14] The movie was a big hit, and Warner Bros. offered Fairbanks Jr. a contract with cast and script approval – a condition which, Fairbanks Jr. says, was only offered to one other actor at the studio, Richard Barthelmess.[25]
"By sheer accident, I had four successes in a row in the early '30s, and although I was still in my 20s, I demanded and received approval of cast, story, and director. I don't know how I got away with it, but I did!"[27] Because he spoke French, he was put in L'aviateur (1931). Back in Hollywood, he was in Chances (1931) and I Like Your Nerve (1931) with Young.
In June 1931, he starred in another play, The Man in Possession, which he also produced along with Sid Grauman. Fairbanks said he wanted to stay away from costume adventures, which were associated with his father.[28] He starred in two pictures for Alfred E Green, Gentleman for a Day (1932), a melodrama with Joan Blondell, and the comedy It's Tough to Be Famous (1932). He starred in a film shot in French, L'athlète incomplet (1932).
He starred in Love Is a Racket (1932) for William Wellman and Scarlet Dawn (1932) for William Dieterle. Fairbanks did another with Green, Parachute Jumper (1933), which gave an early co-starring role to Bette Davis. Fairbanks starred again with Young in The Life of Jimmy Dolan (1933) and did The Narrow Corner (1933) with Green. RKO borrowed Fairbanks to support Katharine Hepburn in Morning Glory (1933), a big success.
Fairbanks was reunited with Howard in Captured! (1933). In 1934, Warner asked all its stars to take a 50% pay cut because of the Depression. Fairbanks Jr. refused and was fired from the studio. He received a job offer from Britain and spent the next few years there,[29] taking a residence in London's Park Lane.
Britain and Criterion films[edit]
Fairbanks went to Britain to star in Alex Korda's The Rise of Catherine the Great (1934) playing Grand Duke Peter opposite Elisabeth Bergner. "Hollywood was getting to be a grind", he said at the time. "They had me doing five and six pictures a year. Some of them looked all right on paper, but they had the habit of slipping down into programmer class. Only once in three years would I get a part that I cared about. I kept going up and down the ladder and not getting any place. There was nothing stable about my career in Hollywood."[30]
He intended to return to Hollywood to appear in Design for Living, but became ill and was replaced by Gary Cooper. He did ultimately return to Hollywood for Success at Any Price (1934) at RKO, then returned to London for Mimi (1935). The latter starred Gertrude Lawrence, who became romantically involved with Fairbanks Jr.[31] He announced he would make Zorro Rides Again with his father.[30]
Fairbanks fell ill during the 1936 flu epidemic.[32]
Fairbanks set up his own film production company, Criterion Films, where the board members included Paul Czinner.[33] Among Criterion's films were Man of the Moment (1935), The Amateur Gentleman (1936), Accused (1936), and Jump for Glory (1937). He announced Lancelot, but did not make it.[34]
Return to Hollywood and focus on action roles[edit]
Fairbanks Jr. returned to Hollywood when David O. Selznick offered him the role of Rupert of Hentzau in The Prisoner of Zenda (1937). He had been reluctant to accept the role, but his father urged him to do it, saying it was "actor proof".[35] The movie was a big success.
In December 1937, he signed a nonexclusive contract with RKO to make two films a year for five years, at $75,000 a film.[36] RKO used him as Irene Dunne's leading man in Joy of Living (1938). At Universal, he was Danielle Darrieux's co-star in The Rage of Paris (1938) and Ginger Rogers's in RKO's Having Wonderful Time (1938). Selznick used him again in The Young in Heart (1938) with Janet Gaynor.
Fairbanks then had his biggest-ever hit with RKO's Gunga Din (1939), alongside Cary Grant and Victor McLaglen. He began to work increasingly in action/adventure films: The Sun Never Sets (1939) at Universal; Rulers of the Sea (1939) at Paramount; Green Hell (1940) for James Whale at Universal, a flop; and Safari (1940) at Paramount.
He had a change of pace when he starred in and co-produced Angels Over Broadway (1940), written and directed by Ben Hecht at Columbia. His last film before enlisting was The Corsican Brothers (1941), a swashbuckler made as a tribute to Fairbanks' father. Fairbanks did not have faith in the film while it was being filmed ("I thought we were cutting corners"), but it was a huge success.[14]
Later career[edit]
On stage, Fairbanks toured in My Fair Lady in 1968, and in The Pleasure of His Company several times, including tours in the U.S. in 1970–72 and the 1977 Australian production with Stanley Holloway, David Langton, Carole Ray- and Christine Amore.[55][56] He appeared in some TV movies and TV series, including The Crooked Hearts (1972), The Hostage Tower (1980), and The Love Boat.
His last feature film was Ghost Story (1981). His last TV roles were in the mini series Strong Medicine (1987) and the TV series B.L. Stryker. He was the subject of This Is Your Life in 1989, when he was surprised by Michael Aspel in the foyer of Thames Television's Teddington Studios.
Fairbanks was also involved in several successful business ventures.[57] These included manufacturing ball point pens, real estate development, management of copyrighted theatrical works, and film production.[57]
Personal life[edit]
His first notable relationship was with the actress Joan Crawford, whom he began to date seriously during the filming of Our Modern Maidens. Fairbanks and Crawford married on June 3, 1929, at the "Actors Chapel", St. Malachy Roman Catholic Church in midtown Manhattan, although neither was Catholic.[58] Fairbanks was only 19; Crawford was 3 or 4 years older. Their witnesses were his mother, Beth Sully, and actor Jack Whiting,[59]: 208, 211 who were married themselves a few weeks later.[59]: 213
Fairbanks and Crawford travelled to Britain on a delayed honeymoon, where he was entertained by Noël Coward, Gertrude Lawrence, Beatrice Lillie, and Prince George, Duke of Kent. He became active in both society and politics, but Crawford was far more interested in her career and had an affair with Clark Gable. In his first autobiography, he later admitted that he was also unfaithful during that period and that he unsuccessfully pursued Katharine Hepburn during the filming of Morning Glory. The couple divorced in 1933, but the divorce did not become final for another year.[60]
Despite their divorce, Fairbanks was quick to defend Crawford when her adopted daughter Christina Crawford published Mommie Dearest, a scathing biography of Crawford's personal life. He firmly stated, "The Joan Crawford that I've heard about in Mommie Dearest is not the Joan Crawford I knew back then."[61] In his autobiography, he stated that he never saw a hint of any significant anger outbursts from Crawford during their marriage, and that she was more likely to sulk or argue than become angry.
On April 22, 1939, Fairbanks married Mary Lee Hartford (née Mary Lee Epling), a former wife of Huntington Hartford, the A&P supermarket heir. He remained devoted to her until her death in 1988. They had three daughters: Daphne, Victoria, and Melissa, and eight grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.[62] On May 30, 1991, Fairbanks married Vera Lee Shelton, a merchandiser for QVC Network Inc.[63]
Douglas Fairbanks Jr. was claimed to be the naked man in the incriminating photos used as evidence in the divorce trial of Margaret Campbell, Duchess of Argyll in 1963.[64][65] However, in 2013, Lady Colin Campbell, Margaret Campbell's stepdaughter-in-law, revealed that the man in the photo was actually Bill Lyons, sales director of Pan American Airlines.[66]
Fairbanks was also named in connection with the Profumo Scandal.[67]
Fairbanks was a friend of Laurence Olivier and was among the contributors to a documentary by The South Bank Show titled Laurence Olivier: A Life. He was also a close friend of Sir Rex Harrison and was a presenter at Harrison's New York City memorial service.
He wrote his autobiography The Salad Days in 1988.[59] In addition, Fairbanks wrote a chronicle of his experiences during the Second World War, A Hell of a War, published in 1993.[68] Beyond his two volumes of autobiography, Fairbanks collaborated with Richard Schickel on the illustrated survey of Fairbanks Sr. and Jr. called The Fairbanks Album (1975)[69] and Jeffrey Vance with a critical study/biography of Fairbanks Sr. ultimately published as Douglas Fairbanks (2008).[70]
Estate[edit]
Fairbanks's personal belongings were auctioned September 13, 2011, by Doyle New York, surpassing estimated proceeds by netting over $500,000.[74]