The First King of Hollywood: The Life of Douglas Fairbanks

689 Pages·2015·15.9 MB·English

by  Tracey Goessel

Copyright © 2016 by Tracey Goessel
All rights reserved
Published by Chicago Review Press Incorporated
814 North Franklin Street
Chicago, Illinois 60610
ISBN 978-1-61373-407-0
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Goessel, Tracey.
The first king of Hollywood : the life of Douglas Fairbanks / Tracey Goessel.
pages cm
Summary: “The first truly definitive biography of Douglas Fairbanks, the greatest leading man of the silent
film era”— Provided by publisher.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-61373-404-9 (hardback)
1. Fairbanks, Douglas, 1883–1939. 2. Actors—United States—Biography. 3. Motion picture producer and
directors—United States—Biography. I. Title.
PN2287.F3G84 2015
791.4302'8092—dc23
[B]
2015018526
All images are from the author’s collection unless otherwise indicated
Interior design: Nord Compo
Printed in the United States of America
5 4 3 2 1
This digital document has been produced by Nord Compo.
TO MOM AND DAD,
WHO BOUGHT ME THAT FIRST 8MM PROJECTOR
CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication Page
Introduction
1 - The Father of the Man
2 - The Heroine’s Likable Younger Brother
3 - Stage Stardom
4 - Triangle (as in Company)
5 - Mary and Charlie
6 - Triangle (as in Love)
7 - Citizen Doug
8 - United
9 - Love and Marriage
10 - “Having Made Sure I Was Wrong, I Went Ahead”
11 - Prince of Thieves
12 - The Fairy Tale
13 - Buckling Down
14 - Death . . .
15 - . . . and Taxes
16 - Mischief and Music
17 - Around the World in Eighty Minutes
18 - Castaway
19 - “Felt Terribly Blue . . . Although I Was Laughing”
20 - A Living Death
Acknowledgments
Filmography
I. Triangle
II. Artcraft
III. United Artists
Notes
Introduction
1. The Father of the Man
2. The Heroine’s Likable Younger Brother
3. Stage Stardom
4. Triangle (as in Company)
5. Mary and Charlie
6. Triangle (as in Love)
7. Citizen Doug
8. United
9. Love and Marriage
10. “Having Made Sure I Was Wrong, I Went Ahead”
11. Prince of Thieves
12. The Fairy Tale
13. Buckling Down
14. Death . . .
15. . . . and Taxes
16. Mischief and Music
17. Around the World in Eighty Minutes
18. Castaway
19. “Felt Terribly Blue: Although I Was Laughing”
20. A Living Death
Bibliography
Index
Introduction
W
RITERS HAVE STRUGGLED TO capture Douglas Fairbanks in words. To Michael
Sragow, he was “Gatsby on a jungle gym.” To Edward Wagenknecht he was
“the Yankee Doodle Boy whom George M. Cohan had put on the stage when the
eagle screamed more lightheartedly than he does today.” To those of his
generation, he was simply “Doug.” This seemed to suffice.
To most people today, however, Douglas Fairbanks is not even a forgotten
man—he was never known in the first place. Almost all who were alive when he
was in his heyday are gone. Even among the cinephiles he is a neglected figure;
Turner Classic Movies has never made him Star of the Month, or even of the
Day. Although he preserved every film and turned multiple negatives over to the
Museum of Modern Art before his death, a disgraceful number were allowed to
deteriorate to powder. Yet he was the most popular male star of the silent era,
recognized the world over. In 1924, a peasant in remote China or Soviet Russia
might not have known of Abraham Lincoln, but he knew Douglas Fairbanks. His
films crossed all language barriers. His sunny cheer and astonishing athletic
prowess spoke to the virtues of America in an era when America had no self-
doubts about possessing any.
But if the man is nearly forgotten today, why study him? He is, after all, only
a movie star. Unless a star was a genius (think Chaplin or Keaton) or retains
iconic status (Bogart, Wayne) or lived such a tremendous train wreck of a life as
to be a juicy cautionary tale (insert your choice here), there seems to be little
point.
But Fairbanks merits attention. He would have been the first to agree that he
was no genius (although the skill and wit with which he handled the instrument
of his body is akin to that of a virtuoso). He was an icon of his time, but time and
memories fade. And for most of his life, he handled himself very intelligently.
No train wrecks here.
He deserves our attention because although we do not recognize it, he is still
here. When we settle in once a year to watch the Oscars, it is because he
cofounded the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. When we see the
latest release from United Artists, it is because he formed the distribution
company that gave independent producers a venue to sell their works. If we
enjoy The Wizard of Oz or Gone with the Wind, we likely don’t realize that the
man who directed those films got his first chance as a director from Douglas
Fairbanks. When we drink in the glories of Technicolor, we do so because his
intervention saved the company. When we think of Beverly Hills as the place for
the rich and famous, it is because he bought and remodeled a hunting lodge and
moved into it when the area was nothing more than scrubby hills. When
celebrities navigate the depths and shoals of fame with grace, it is because he
and his equally famous wife established the pattern. When we try to get tan in
the summertime, it is because he made being dark fashionable in an era when
paleness was a virtue. When we see Superman put his knuckles on his hips and
assume the hero’s stance, it is because the young artist who first drew him based
the character’s bearing on that of his hero: Douglas Fairbanks. When Batman
goes to the Bat Cave, it is because the creator of the comic strip drew his
inspiration from Fairbanks’s The Mark of Zorro. When we see Mickey Mouse
(particularly in the early years), it is because his creator wanted a mix of
Douglas Fairbanks and Doug’s best friend, Charlie Chaplin. Walt Disney even
stipulated that he wanted Prince Charming in Snow White to be modeled after
Fairbanks, although it is hard to argue that his animators got very close. Prince
Charming was bland. But there was nothing bland about Douglas Fairbanks. He
made all the leading men of his era look sick.