Quick Facts
- NAME: Douglas Fairbanks, Sr.
- OCCUPATION: Film Actor, Producer
- BIRTH DATE: May 23, 1883
- DEATH DATE: December 12, 1939
- PLACE OF BIRTH: Denver, California
- PLACE OF DEATH: Santa Monica, California
- Originally: Douglas Elton Ulman
Best Known For
Silent movie star Douglas Fairbanks Sr. (1883–1939) teamed up with Charlie Chaplin, D.W. Griffith and his wife Mary Pickford to launch United Artists in 1919.
Douglas Fairbanks Sr.. (2012). Biography.com. Retrieved 09:03, Feb 09, 2012 from http://www.biography.com/people/douglas-fairbanks-sr-9290911
Douglas Fairbanks Sr. [Internet]. 2012. http://www.biography.com/people/douglas-fairbanks-sr-9290911, February 09
" Douglas Fairbanks Sr.." 2012. Biography.com 09 Feb 2012, 09:03 http://www.biography.com/people/douglas-fairbanks-sr-9290911
' Douglas Fairbanks Sr.', Biography.com,(2012) http://www.biography.com/people/douglas-fairbanks-sr-9290911 [accessed Feb 09, 2012]
" Douglas Fairbanks Sr.," Biography.com, http://www.biography.com/people/douglas-fairbanks-sr-9290911 (accessed Feb 09, 2012).
Douglas Fairbanks Sr. [Internet]. Biography.com; 2012 [cited 2012 Feb 09]. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/douglas-fairbanks-sr-9290911.
Douglas Fairbanks Sr., http://www.biography.com/people/douglas-fairbanks-sr-9290911 (last visited Feb 09, 2012).
Douglas Fairbanks Sr., http://www.biography.com/people/douglas-fairbanks-sr-9290911 (last visited Feb 09, 2012).
Synopsis
the couple launched the independent studio United Artists in 1919.
Profile
(born May 23, 1883, Denver, Colo., U.S.—died Dec. 12, 1939, Santa Monica, Calif.) American motion picture actor and producer who was one of the first and greatest of the swashbuckling screen heroes. His athletic prowess, gallant romanticism, and natural sincerity made him “King of Hollywood” during the 1920s.After college study Fairbanks began playing stage bit parts and by 1914 had become a popular Broadway actor. He made his first film, The Lamb (1915), under the direction of D.W. Griffith and in 1917 became head of his own producing company. Among his many popular pictures were The Mark of Zorro (1920), The Three Musketeers (1921), Robin Hood (1922), The Thief of Bagdad (1924), The Black Pirate (1926), The Iron Mask (1929), and The Taming of the Shrew (1929), in which he costarred with Mary Pickford, the popular leading lady to whom he was married from 1920 to 1935.
With Pickford, Charlie Chaplin, and Griffith, Fairbanks founded the United Artists Corporation in 1919 as a distribution outlet for independently produced films. In 1936 he publicly announced his retirement from acting but continued as a producer until his death three years later.
Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. (b. Dec. 9, 1909, New York, N.Y., U.S.—d. May 7, 2000, New York), his son by his first wife, Anna Beth Sully, was a debonair leading man in the late 1930s and '40s who played roles similar to his father's. He later became an independent television producer in Great Britain and a company director internationally.
Copyright © 1994-2011 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. For more information visit Britannica.com
GetGlue
-
Celebrate Black History with BIO and GetGlue
All February, check in daily to BIO Black History on GetGlue to unlock stickers, videos, and more!
profile name: Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. profile occupation:
Your Connections
Sign in with Facebook to see how you and your friends are connected to famous icons.
Profile Connections
Included In These Groups
-
Sparks On The Set
View groupMost people get to know their co-workers well...and sometimes working together can even lead to romance. Just like in the office, many Hollywood stars find romance at work—or rather, on the set. Some of the most famous couples in Hollywood history met while making a film, including Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman, and Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. Here's a look at the famous actors and actresses whose chemistry set off sparks on the set.
Sparks On The Set 57 people in this group
-
Silent Screen Stars
View groupIn the early years of motion pictures, actors were recruited from the stage, resulting in larger-than-life performances that seemed jarring when blown up to the size of a movie screen. As the years went on, actors began to understand the subtleties of the medium, and used more natural expressions to connect with their audiences. They became movie stars, known for their glamorous looks and identifiable personalities. As Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard would say, they didn't need dialogue, they had faces.
Silent Screen Stars 16 people in this group
-
Famous Geminis 463 people in this group

Barack Obama
Black History
African-American Firsts: Athletes
Don Cornelius
I Survived...
I Survived... Beyond and Back
Jamie Foxx
Magic Johnson
Tina Turner
I Survived



