Jack Pickford facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jack Pickford
Pickford, c. 1916
Born	John Charles Smith (1896-08-18)August 18, 1896 Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Died	January 3, 1933(1933-01-03) (aged 36) Paris, France
Resting place	Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale
Occupation	Actor, director, producer
Years active	1909–1928
Spouse(s)	Olive Thomas ​ ​ (m. 1916; died 1920)​ Marilyn Miller ​ ​ (m. 1922; div. 1927)​ Mary Mulhern ​ ​ (m. 1930)​
Parent(s)	Charlotte Hennessy John Charles Smith
Relatives	Mary Pickford (sister) Lottie Pickford (sister)

John Charles Smith (born August 18, 1896 – died January 3, 1933) was an actor, film director, and producer from Canada and the United States. He was known professionally as Jack Pickford. He was the younger brother of famous actresses Mary and Lottie Pickford.

After their father left the family, all three Pickford children started working as actors on stage. Mary became a very popular silent film actress and a pioneer in early Hollywood. Jack appeared in many films and was quite popular. He was often called the "All American boy next door." However, his sister Mary's success was much bigger than his.

Early Life and Family

John Charles Smith, who everyone called "Jack," was born in 1896 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. His father, also named John Charles Smith, was an English worker. His mother, Charlotte Hennessy Smith, was Irish Catholic. Jack's father died in 1898. This left the family very poor. The children had to live in different homes because their mother was so sad and could not support them. But Jack got very sick. This news made his mother Charlotte feel stronger, and the family came back together.

Because they needed money, Charlotte allowed Jack and his two sisters, Gladys and Lottie, to act on stage. Gladys, the oldest, started first. Acting brought in good money. By 1900, the family moved to New York City. The children performed in plays all over the United States. Jack acted in plays like Peg Robin and The Three of Us. Jack went to public schools and later attended St. Francis Military Academy in New York.

The family was often apart because of their acting jobs. This changed in 1910 when Gladys signed with Biograph Studios. The famous director D. W. Griffith led this studio. By this time, Gladys Smith had changed her name to Mary Pickford. (Marie was her middle name, and Pickford was an old family name.) The rest of the Smiths also changed their stage names to "Pickford."

Soon after Mary joined Biograph, she helped her whole family get jobs there, including 14-year-old Jack. In early 1910, the Biograph Company went to Los Angeles, California. Only Mary was supposed to go. But Jack begged to join them. Even though Mary didn't want him to, Charlotte put him on the train as it left the station. In Hollywood, Jack played small roles and worked as a stunt double for young actresses. He earned money and helped Mary. They both returned to New York a few months later, in April 1910.

The Pickford family briefly worked for the Independent Motion Picture Company (IMP). This company moved to Havana, Cuba. However, the family eventually left and went back to the United States. They signed with Biograph again. Jack had a main role in the short film A Dash Through the Clouds (1912). But the Pickford family finally left Biograph in late 1912.

In 1912, Adolph Zukor started Famous Players in Famous Plays. This company later became Famous Players–Lasky and then Paramount Pictures. It was one of the first American companies to make feature films. Mary signed with Famous Players and made sure her family was included. Mary quickly became a huge star. By 1919, she signed a contract for $1 million with First National Pictures. As part of her contract, Mary made sure her family came along. This gave Jack Pickford a very good contract with the company too.

Acting Career Highlights

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

By the time he signed with First National, Pickford had acted in 95 short films and full-length movies. People thought Pickford was a great actor. However, many felt he did not reach his full potential.

Pickford appeared in many short films before the mid-1910s. This was when his sister Mary was most famous. The two siblings acted together in A Girl of Yesterday (1915) and Poor Little Peppina (1916) for Famous Players. However, Fanchon, the Cricket (1915) was one of the only films where all three Pickford siblings appeared. This film was thought to be lost until it was found again in the 20th century.

Adolph Zukor, the president of Famous Players–Lasky, gave Pickford his first main role. This was in the film Seventeen (1916). It was based on a novel by Booth Tarkington. People said it was "screamingly funny." In 1917, he played Pip in the movie based on Charles Dickens' Great Expectations. After these two movies were successful, Pickford got the lead role in The Dummy (1917). This film was based on a popular play. It was a big success and Pickford's first major breakthrough.

Later in 1917, Pickford got the main role in Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer. He also starred in the follow-up film Huck and Tom (1918). Tom Sawyer (1917) was one of Pickford's most successful roles. The character of Tom was very much like Pickford's own personality. He once 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." Early in his career, Pickford became known for playing different boy characters from American novels very well.

Pickford often acted with Louise Huff. They were in many films together, including Seventeen (1916), Great Expectations (1917), Freckles (1917), and The Varmint (1917). They also appeared in The Ghost House (1917), Jack and Jill (1917), and His Majesty, Bunker Bean (1918). Their last films together were Mile-a-Minute Kendall (1918) and Sandy (1918) for Paramount Pictures.

In early 1918, after the United States joined World War I, Pickford volunteered for the U.S. Navy. He was stationed in Manhattan, New York. Even though he almost got kicked out, Pickford was honorably discharged in May 1919. In August 1920, he officially became a citizen of the United States. He also legally changed his last name from Smith to Pickford.

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

After the war in 1919, Pickford started his own production company. It was called the Jack Pickford Film Company. He worked with First National Pictures. For a short time, he produced and starred in his own films. These included Bill Apperson's Boy (1919), Burglar by Proxy (1919), and In Wrong (1919). James Kirkwood directed Pickford during this time, hoping to help his acting career.

In 1920, he signed with Goldwyn Pictures. He starred in The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come (1920). This film was based on a novel by John Fox Jr.. Pickford was very unhappy with the writing and directing of the film. He wanted to buy back the rights to remake it later. Other films like A Double-Eyed Deceiver (1920) and The Man Who Had Everything (1920) followed. All were directed by Alfred E. Green and starred Pickford. However, Goldwyn and Pickford disagreed on creative matters and stopped working together.

Pickford also tried screenwriting and directing. In 1921, he helped direct Little Lord Faunteroy (1921) and Through the Back Door (1921) with Alfred E. Green. Both films starred his sister Mary and were made under United Artists. Pickford was hired as a director to help him feel better after his wife Olive Thomas died the year before. This was seen as a chance to give his career a new direction. In 1921, there were plans for A Tailor-Made Man (1922) to be directed by Alfred E. Green and star Pickford. But for unknown reasons, Mary sold the film to Charles Ray.

By 1923, his acting roles became less frequent. After two years of directing, Pickford returned to acting in Garrison's Finish (1923). While his career slowed down after Thomas's death, the roles he played showed new maturity. These were some of the best of his career. They included The Hill Billy (1924), The Goose Woman (1925), Brown of Harvard (1926), and Exit Smiling (1926). In 1926, he played Brooks Bailey in The Bat (1926), directed by Roland West. Years later, West made a sound version called The Bat Whispers (1930).

In 1928, he made his last film, playing Clyde Baxter in Gang War (1928). This film had some spoken parts. It was famous for being shown with Steamboat Willie, which was the first time Mickey Mouse appeared with sound.

Most of his films, especially those in the late 1910s, were successful with both audiences and critics. This made him a well-respected name. Pickford was known as the "All-American boy," while his sister was "America's Sweetheart." In total, Pickford appeared in over 130 films between 1908 and 1928. Most of these silent films are now lost and not known by the public. However, a few of his films are available on DVD.

Personal Life

Pickford was known for his fun-loving lifestyle. He married three women who were all former Ziegfeld girls (performers in a famous Broadway show). He was good friends with James Kirkwood and Bobby Harron. They had known each other since their days at Biograph. They all appeared in Home, Sweet Home (1914).

Pickford loved cars. His sister Mary's first big expensive purchase was a car, a Stanley Streamer EMF. Jack jokingly called it the "Even Mama Fell" and "Every Morning Fix it." He was once filmed driving a Citroën in Hollywood.

Marriages

Olive Thomas, c. 1920

Pickford met actress and Ziegfeld girl Olive Thomas at a cafe on the Santa Monica Pier. Screenwriter and director Frances Marion later described their life together:

...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.

Pickford and Thomas secretly got married on October 25, 1916, in New Jersey. None of their family was there. Their only witness was Thomas Meighan. The couple did not have their own children. However, in 1920, they adopted Olive's six-year-old nephew after his mother died. Many people said Olive was the love of Pickford's life. But their marriage was often difficult, with many arguments. They would then make up by giving each other expensive gifts.

Thomas died on September 5, 1920.

Jack Pickford and Marilyn Miller, c. 1924

Pickford married two more times. On July 31, 1922, he married Marilyn Miller (1898–1936). She was a famous Broadway dancer and a former Ziegfeld girl. They married at his sister and brother-in-law's famous home, Pickfair. They separated in 1926. Miller was granted a French divorce in November 1927.

Pickford's last marriage was to Mary Mulhern. She was 22 and also a former Ziegfeld girl. They married on August 12, 1930. After two years, Mulhern left Pickford. She said he had treated her badly during their marriage. She was granted a temporary divorce in February 1932, but it was not finalized when Pickford died.

Death and Legacy

Jack Pickford died at the American Hospital of Paris on January 3, 1933, at age 36. The cause of his death was listed as "progressive multiple neuritis." This is a condition that affects many nerve centers. Mary Pickford arranged for his body to be brought back to Los Angeles. He was buried in the private Pickford family plot at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale.

For his work in the movie industry, Jack Pickford has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It is located at 1523 Vine Street.

The Pickford Siblings

Pickford and his sister Lottie were both silent film actors. However, they were often overshadowed by their older sister, Mary. Living in her shadow, the two younger siblings enjoyed the fun and fast-paced life of the 1920s. Interestingly, they both starred as lovers in the film Mile-a-Minute Kendall (1918). Lottie was very sad after Pickford's early death in 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".

Selected Filmography

See also

In Spanish: Jack Pickford para niños

• Canadian Pioneers in Early Hollywood