Jack_Pickford

Jack Pickford

Jack Pickford

Canadian-American actor (1896–1933)

For Australian footballer, see Jack Pickford (footballer).

John Charles Smith (August 18, 1896 – January 3, 1933), known professionally as Jack Pickford, was a Canadian-American actor, film director and producer. He was the younger brother of actresses Mary and Lottie Pickford.

Quick Facts Born, Died ...

After their father deserted the family, all three Pickford children began working as child actors on the stage. Mary later became a highly popular silent film actress, producer and early Hollywood pioneer. While he appeared in numerous films as the "All American boy next door" and was a fairly popular performer, he was overshadowed by his sister's success. His career declined steadily due to alcohol, drugs and chronic depression.

Early life

John Charles Smith, known as "Jack", was born in 1896 in Toronto, Ontario, to John Charles Smith, an English immigrant odd-job man of Methodist background, and Charlotte Hennessy Smith, who was Irish Catholic.[1] His alcoholic father died in 1898, leaving the family impoverished. Out of desperation, Charlotte allowed Jack and his two sisters Gladys and Lottie to appear onstage, beginning with Gladys, the eldest. This proved a good source of income and, by 1900, the family had relocated to New York City and the children were acting in plays across the United States. Most notably, young Jack appeared onstage in Peg Robin and The Three of Us. Jack received his education in public schools and later attended St. Francis Military Academy, New York.[2]

Due to work, the family was constantly separated until 1910 when Gladys signed with Biograph Studios, led by director D. W. Griffith. By this time, his sister Gladys Smith had been transformed into Mary Pickford. (Marie was her middle name, and Pickford an old family name.) Following suit, the Smiths changed their stage names to "Pickford".

Soon after signing with Biograph, Mary secured jobs for all the family, including the then-14-year-old Jack. In early January 1910, when the Biograph Company headed west to Los Angeles, California, only Mary was meant to go until Jack pleaded to join the company as well. Much to Mary's protest, Charlotte threw him on the train as it left the station. When the company arrived in Hollywood, Jack acted in bit parts and as a stunt double for young actresses, earning his way and supporting Mary. They both returned to New York months later, in April 1910.[3][4]

The Pickford family briefly signed to the Independent Motion Picture Company (IMP) and the company moved to Havana, Cuba. However, the family eventually left and returned to the United States, resigning with Biograph. Jack had a leading role in the short A Dash Through the Clouds (1912), but the Pickford family conclusively left Biograph in late 1912.[3]

In 1912, Adolph Zukor formed Famous Players in Famous Plays, later known as Famous Players–Lasky and then Paramount Pictures, one of the first American feature film companies. Mary signed with Famous Players, and included the family. Mary soon became a well-known star, and by 1919 had signed a contract for $1 million with First National Pictures. As part of her contract, Mary saw to it that her family was brought along, giving Jack Pickford a lucrative contract with the company, as well.

Acting career

Pickford in Robert G. Vignola's Seventeen (1916)

By the time he signed with First National, Pickford had played bit parts in 95 shorts and full-length feature films. Although Pickford was considered an excellent actor, he is largely viewed as having failed to live up to his potential.

Pickford appeared in a large number of short films, prior to the mid-1910s, when his sister Mary was at the pinnacle of her fame. The two siblings feature together in A Girl of Yesterday (1915) and Poor Little Peppina (1916) under Famous Players.[3] However, Fanchon, the Cricket (1915) was one of the only films in which all three Pickford siblings appear. It was thought lost until rediscovered in the 20th century at the British Film Institute.[5]

The film Seventeen (1916) was described as "screamingly funny".[6] In 1917, he starred in one of his first major roles as Pip in the adaptation of Charles Dickens' Great Expectations. After gaining critical success from these two productions, he was cast as the lead in The Dummy (1917), adapted from the 1914 play by Harriet Ford and Harvey J. O'Higgins, which proved extremely popular.[7][8]

Later in 1917, Pickford secured the title role in Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer and the follow-up Huck and Tom (1918). Tom Sawyer (1917) was considered one of Pickford's most successful film roles, as the title character resembled Pickford's on and off-screen persona. In a letter, on the completion of the production, he wrote: "I've always been fond of Mark Twain's writings and Tom has long been a favorite of mine – somehow we seem to have a great deal in common. He performed so many of the very stunts that I remember in my own boyhood."[2]

Pickford was regularly teamed up with onscreen partner Louise Huff. They both appeared in Seventeen (1916), Great Expectations (1917), Freckles (1917), What Money Can't Buy (1917), The Varmint (1917), The Ghost House (1917), Jack and Jill (1917), His Majesty, Bunker Bean (1918), Mile-a-Minute Kendall (1918), and Sandy (1918) under Paramount Pictures.[7]

Through the Back Door (1921) with director Alfred E. Green, assistant director Jack Pickford, Mary Pickford, and continuity writer Marion Jackson

In early 1918, after the United States entered World War I, Pickford voluntary joined the U.S. Navy as an enlisted sailor and was stationed at the Third Naval District in Manhattan, New York. Despite nearly being dishonorably discharged, Pickford was granted an honourable discharge in May 1919.[9] In August 1920, he officially became a citizen of the United States and legally changed his surname from Smith to Pickford.[10]

After the war in 1919, Pickford formed his own production company named the Jack Pickford Film Company, in partnership with First National Pictures.[11] For a brief period, he produced and starred in his own films such as Bill Apperson's Boy (1919), Burglar by Proxy (1919), and In Wrong (1919).[12] Pickford also dabbled in screenwriting and directing. In 1921, he co-directed Little Lord Faunteroy (1921) and Through the Back Door (1921) with Alfred E. Green, under United Artists, both films starring his sister Mary. Pickford was hired as a director, in an attempt to rid him of his depression after the passing of his wife Olive Thomas a year prior. This was seen as an opportunity to give his career a new direction.[3]

By 1923, his roles had gone from several a year to one. Pickford’s career slowed down after Thomas' death, but the roles he did play showed a new maturity and were some of the best of his career. These included The Hill Billy (1924), The Goose Woman (1925), Brown of Harvard (1926), and Exit Smiling (1926).[13] In 1928, he finished his last film, acting as Clyde Baxter in Gang War (1928) – a confirmed talkie.[14] It was best known for being the main feature attached to Steamboat Willie, the debut of Mickey Mouse in sound.[15]

Most of his films, especially those in the late 1910s, were both commercial and critical successes, making a highly regarded name for himself. Pickford's image was that of the All-American boy, with his sister being "America's Sweetheart". In all, Pickford appeared in more than 130 films between 1908 and 1928. The majority of these silent films remain lost, unknown by the general public. However, a few of his films have been made available on DVD.[16]

Personal life

Marriages

Olive Thomas, c. 1920

Pickford met actress and Ziegfeld girl Olive Thomas at a beach cafe on the Santa Monica Pier. Screenwriter and director Frances Marion later commented on the couple's lifestyle:

...I had seen her [Thomas] often at the Pickford home, for she was engaged to Mary's brother, Jack. Two innocent-looking children, they were the gayest, wildest brats who ever stirred the stardust on Broadway. Both were talented, but they were much more interested in playing the roulette of life than in concentrating on their careers.[17]

Pickford and Thomas eloped on October 25, 1916, in New Jersey. None of their family was present and their only witness was Thomas Meighan. The couple had no children of their own, though in 1920, they adopted Olive's then-six-year-old nephew when his mother died.[18] Although by most accounts Olive was the love of Pickford's life, the marriage was stormy and filled with highly charged conflict, followed by lavish making up through the exchange of expensive gifts.[19] For many years the Pickfords had intended to vacation together and with their marriage on the rocks, the couple decided to take a second honeymoon.[18]

In August 1920, the pair traveled to Paris, hoping to combine a vacation with some film preparations. On the night of September 5, 1920, the couple went out for a night of entertainment and partying at the famous bistros in the Montparnasse quarter of Paris. They returned to their room in the Hôtel Ritz around 3:00 a.m. It was rumored Thomas may have taken cocaine that night, though it was never proven. She was intoxicated and tired, and took a large dose of mercury bichloride, a common item for bathroom cleaning.[20] She was taken to the American Hospital in the Paris suburb of Neuilly, where Pickford, together with his former brother-in-law Owen Moore, remained at her side until she died from the poison a few days later. Rumors arose that she had either tried to die by suicide or had been murdered. A police investigation followed, as well as an autopsy, and Thomas's death was ruled accidental.[18]

Jack Pickford and Marilyn Miller, c. 1924

Pickford married two more times. On July 31, 1922, he married Marilyn Miller (1898–1936), a celebrated Broadway dancer and former Ziegfeld girl, at his sister and brother-in-law's famed home Pickfair.[21][22] By most accounts it was an abusive marriage due to Pickford's drug abuse and alcoholism.[23] They separated in 1926 and Miller was granted a French divorce in November 1927.[22][24]

Pickford's final marriage was to Mary Mulhern, aged 22 and a former Ziegfeld girl, whom he married on August 12, 1930.[25] Within three months Pickford grew increasingly volatile towards Mulhern.[26] After two years Mulhern left Pickford, claiming he had mistreated her throughout the marriage.[27] She was granted an interlocutory divorce in February 1932 which had yet to be finalized at the time of Pickford's death.[28]

Death and legacy

In 1932, Pickford visited his sister Mary at Pickfair. According to Mary, he looked ill and emaciated; his clothes were hanging on him as if he were a clothes hanger. Mary Pickford recalled in her autobiography that she felt a wave of premonition when watching her brother leave. As they started down the stairs to the automobile entrance, Jack called back to her "Don't come down with me, Mary dear, I can go alone." Mary later wrote that as she stood at the top of the staircase, an inner voice said "That's the last time you'll see Jack".[4]

Jack Pickford, at age 36, died at the American Hospital of Paris on January 3, 1933. The cause for his death was listed as "progressive multiple neuritis which attacked all the nerve centers". This was believed due to his alcoholism. Mary Pickford arranged for his body to be returned to Los Angeles, where he was interred in the private Pickford plot at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale.[29]

For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Jack Pickford has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1523 Vine Street.[30]

Pickford siblings

Pickford and his sister Lottie were both silent film actors in their own right, but of course, were often overshadowed by their older sister, Mary. Living in her shadow, the two younger siblings embraced the happy-go-lucky times and fast living of the 1920s. Oddly enough, they both starred in Mile-a-Minute Kendall (1918) as lovers.[2] Lottie was left heartbroken after Pickford's untimely death in early 1933. According to Mary: "She [Lottie] was never the same after Jack's going. They were so very close in temperament and even in looks. It was as though with my brother's passing the better part of her had died too".[3]

Selected filmography

More information Year, Title ...

Bibliography

  • Arvidson, Linda. When the Movies Were Young. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1969.
  • Menefee, David W. The First Male Stars: Men of the Silent Era. Albany: Bear Manor Media, 2007.
  • Talmadge, Margaret L. The Talmadge Sisters. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1924.
  • Paris Authorities Investigate Death of Olive Thomas. The New York Times, September 11, 1920.[31]
  • POLICE DEMAND FURTHER PROBE OF OLIVE THOMAS' DEATH, The Washington times. (Washington D.C.) 1902-1939, September 12, 1920.
  • Holmstrom, John. The Moving Picture Boy: An International Encyclopaedia from 1895 to 1995, Norwich: Michael Russell, 1996, pp. 10–11. ISBN 9780859551786
  • Mary Pickford: America's Sweetheart by Scott Eyman ISBN 978-1-55611-243-0
  • Pickford: The Woman Who Made Hollywood by Eileen Whitfield
  • The First King of Hollywood: The Life of Douglas Fairbanks by Tracey Goessel ISBN 1613734077[32]
  • Michelle Vogel. Olive Thomas: The Life and Death of a Silent Film Beauty ISBN 9780786429080
  • Steve Vaught. "You Don't Know Jack – A Second Take on Jack Pickford"[33][34][35]
  • "Cleanup of Paris Cafes May Follow Movie Stars Death" Daily News, September 14, 1920[36]
  • Amy Marie. "The Final Years of Jack Pickford"[37]
  • Gordon Thomas. "Beautiful Dead Girl: On Early Hollywood Casualty Olive Thomas"[38]
  • Shane Brown. "The Man Who Had Everything: The Curious Case of Jack Pickford and the New York Times"[39]

See also

References

  1. [1]
    Foster, Charles (2000). Stardust and Shadows: Canadians in Early Hollywood. Dundurn Press Ltd. pp. 945. ISBN 1-55002-348-9.
  2. [2]
    "Paramount and Artcraft Press Books (Dec 1917-Jan 1918) - Lantern". lantern.mediahist.org. Retrieved April 9, 2024.
  3. [3]
    Windeler, Robert (1975). Mary Pickford : sweetheart of the world. Internet Archive. London : Star Books. ISBN 978-0-352-30046-1.
  4. [4]
    Pickford, Mary (1955). Sunshine and Shadow. Doubleday.
  5. [5]
    "Lost Films". www.silentsaregolden.com. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
  6. [6]
    "Jack Pickford at Grand". The Evening Independent. October 2, 1919. p. 1.
  7. [7]
    Famous Players-Lasky (1917). Paramount Press Books (Aug 1917-Aug 1918) Pennington Petrova Jack Pickford. Media History Digital Library.
  8. [8]
    Chalmers Publishing Company (1917). Moving Picture World (Mar 1917). New York The Museum of Modern Art Library. New York, Chalmers Publishing Company.
  9. [9]
    "Motion Picture News (Apr-Jun 1919) - Lantern". lantern.mediahist.org. Retrieved April 9, 2024.
  10. [10]
    "Moving Picture World (Aug 1920) - Lantern". lantern.mediahist.org. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
  11. [11]
    Chicago, Photoplay Magazine Publishing Company (1919). Photoplay (Jul - Dec 1919). New York The Museum of Modern Art Library. Chicago, Photoplay Magazine Publishing Company.
  12. [12]
    "Variety (July 1919) - Lantern". lantern.mediahist.org. Retrieved April 9, 2024.
  13. [13]
    "Jack Pickford". OLIVE & JACK. Retrieved April 8, 2024.
  14. [14]
    "Variety (September 1928) - Lantern". lantern.mediahist.org. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
  15. [15]
    Hall, Mordaunt (November 19, 1928). "THE SCREEN; More Gang Fights". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
  16. [16]
    "The Man Who Had Everything: The Curious Case of Jack Pickford and the New York Times". Bright Lights Film Journal. January 28, 2014. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
  17. [17]
    Marion, Frances (1972). Off With Their Heads: A Serio-comic Tale of Hollywood. Macmillan. p. 65.
  18. [18]
    The Life and Death of Olive Thomas. Taylorology. Arizona State University.
  19. [19]
    Memories of Olive Archived December 14, 2012, at archive.today, Assumption College.
  20. [20]
    Foster 2000, p. 257
  21. [21]
    Slide, Anthony (2005). Silent topics: Essays on Undocumented Areas of Silent Film. Scarecrow Press. p. 34. ISBN 0-8108-5016-8.
  22. [22]
    "Report: Marilyn Miller and Jack Pickford Separated". The Lewiston Daily Sun. January 6, 1926. p. 11. Retrieved June 27, 2014.
  23. [23]
    Epting, Charles L. (2016). Bebe Daniels: Hollywood's Good Little Bad Girl. McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 102. ISBN 9781476663746.
  24. [24]
    "Paris Decree Won By Marilyn Miller". The Milwaukee Sentinel. November 3, 1927. p. 5. Retrieved June 27, 2014.
  25. [25]
    "Pickford Wedding Is Unmarred". San Jose Evening News. August 13, 1930. p. 4. Retrieved June 27, 2014.
  26. [26]
    Whitfield, Eileen (2007). Pickford: The Woman Who Made Hollywood. University Press of Kentucky. p. 208. ISBN 9780813191799.
  27. [27]
    "Jack Pickford Divorced". The Pittsburgh Press. February 27, 1932. p. 1. Retrieved June 27, 2014.
  28. [28]
    "Jack Pickford, Famous Film Star's Brother Who Also Won Fame in Motion Pictures, Dies". Berkeley Daily Gazette. January 4, 1933. p. 18. Retrieved June 27, 2014.
  29. [29]
    Foster, Charles (2000). Stardust and Shadows: Canadians in Early Hollywood. Dundurn Press Ltd. pp. 963. ISBN 1-55002-348-9.
  30. [30]
    "Hollywood Star Walk: Jack Pickford". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 27, 2014.
  31. [31]
    "PARIS AUTHORITIES INVESTIGATE DEATH OF OLIVE THOMAS; Police Seek Evidence on Rumors of Drug and Champagne Orgies. REFUSE TO RELEASE BODY Former American Officer, Sentenced for Selling Cocaine, One of Those Questioned. PICKFORD IN DOCTOR'S CARE Police Have Not Yet Obtained His Story of How the Actress Drank Poison". The New York Times. September 11, 1920. Retrieved August 24, 2018.
  32. [32]
    "isbn:1613734077 - Google Search". books.google.com. Retrieved August 24, 2018.
  33. [33]
    Steve Vaught (August 19, 2011). "You Don't Know Jack – A Second Take on Jack Pickford – Part I". Paradise Leased. Retrieved August 24, 2018.
  34. [34]
    Steve Vaught (August 26, 2011). "You Don't Know Jack – A Second Take on Jack Pickford – Part II". Paradise Leased. Retrieved August 24, 2018.
  35. [35]
    Steve Vaught (August 29, 2011). "You Don't Know Jack – A Second Take on Jack Pickford – Part III". Paradise Leased. Retrieved August 24, 2018.
  36. [36]
    "page 22". Daily News. September 14, 1920. Retrieved August 24, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  37. [37]
    Amy Marie (September 20, 2016). "The Final Years of Jack Pickford". Stories of the Silent. Retrieved August 24, 2018.
  38. [38]
    Gordon Thomas (September 10, 2015). "Beautiful Dead Girl: On Early Hollywood Casualty Olive Thomas (Oct. 20, 1894-Sept. 10, 1920)". Bright Lights Film Journal. Retrieved August 24, 2018.
  39. [39]
    Shane Brown (January 28, 2014). "The Man Who Had Everything: The Curious Case of Jack Pickford and the New York Times". Bright Lights Film Journal. Archived from the original on August 24, 2018. Retrieved August 24, 2018.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jack Pickford.
Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Jack_Pickford, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.