Douglas Fairbanks Jr., is an
actor,
producer,
author and
businessman who was a
real-life war hero and friend of
royalty. The son of the
swashbuckling superstar of
silent films, Fairbanks made his own mark in some 75 movies, including "
Catherine the Great," "
The Prisoner of Zenda," "
Gunga Din," "
Little Caesar," "
Sinbad the Sailor" and "
State Secret."
"I never tried to
emulate my father. Anyone trying to do that would be a
second-rate carbon copy," he once said. "I was determined to be my own man, although having the Fairbanks name did make it easier to get into an office to see someone."
His mother was America's sweetheart,
Mary Pickford. His
first wife was
Joan Crawford. He said he had affairs with
Marlene Dietrich and
Gertrude Lawrence.
King George VI of
England gave him an honorary
knighthood for "furthering
Anglo-American amity." He became the first
American officer to command a
British flotilla of raiding craft during a
commando operation in
World War II. He served under Adm.
Lord Louis Mountbatten, who later introduced him to his nephew,
Prince Philip, the husband of
Queen Elizabeth.
Fairbanks became a favorite of the royal couple, entertaining them at his home, much to the chagrin of
Mayfair society. The first time they came he had a couple of singers to entertain them --
Maurice Chevalier and
Cab Calloway.
"Entree into the Fairbankses' home is a hundred times more difficult that getting a ticket for the
coronation," sniffed one newspaper columnist.
But Fairbanks and his wife knew how to entertain. When they gave a spectacular coming out party for their daughter Daphne in
1957, the
Queen,
Prince Philip and
Princess Margaret stayed until dawn.
"I've led an enormously lucky life," he reflected in
1989.
"I've done what I wanted to do. I
worked hard and
played hard, and it was all tremendously rewarding. I just wish it could go on and on and on."
Fairbanks was born in
New York City on
Dec. 9, 1909 -- the only son of
Douglas Fairbanks and his first wife, Anna. His parents divorced when he was 9 and he lived with his mother.
He attended private schools in
New York and
California and was tutored in
London and
Paris. He and his father were not close.
"He was very undemonstrative. There was never an embrace or a hug. And he was never around -- he'd disappear for months on end. He'd never remember
birthdays or
Christmas," Fairbanks recalled in a
New York Times interview.
His
movie career began at age 13 with an appearance in "
Stephen Steps Out." The film was not a success and he resumed his studies for a time. But in
1925 he made several more films, and the influential movie magazine "
Photoplay" said of Fairbanks, "he is considered a real bet, with much of his father's charm and artistry."
He made his
stage debut in
Los Angeles in
1927, earning good reviews. He began getting better movie roles, appearing with
Greta Garbo in "
A Woman of Affairs" and in a
Frank Capra film, "
The Power of the Press," both
1928.
His career picked up with the arrival of sound. In the early
1930s he had a string of film successes, including a showy role in "
Little Caesar," then was able to write his own ticket. "I demanded and received approval of cast, story and director. I don't know how I got away with it, but I did!" he recalled.
At age
19 he married Joan Crawford, then the quintessential
flapper in films such as "
Our Dancing Daughters." They
divorced four years later in
1933. He said they parted because he had many interests while "work to her was the only reality."
But he said they remained friendly until her death in
1977.
"The Joan Crawford that I've heard about in '
Mommie Dearest' is not the Joan Crawford I knew back when," he once said.
In
1939, he married
Mary Lee Epling Hartford, former wife of
A&P supermarket heir
Huntington Hartford. They had three daughters.
Fairbanks had a lifelong interest in international affairs and cultivated friends in high places. In
1941 President
Roosevelt appointed him a special envoy to
Brazil,
Argentina,
Chile,
Peru,
Uruguay and
Panama.
A
lieutenant, j.g., in the
U.S. Navy Reserve, he was called to
active service later that year and served until
1946. He trained and led commando units, doing
convoy service on the dangerous
Murmansk run.
He earned a chestful of
medals, including an
American Silver Star, the
British Distinguished Service Cross and the
French Legion of Honor. A
French commendation said in part:
"With
electric power gone, radio shot away, with
German shells continually straddling or near-missing his ships, he successfully deployed the unit behind a
smoke screen and emerged in a new and
tactically superior position." He closed with the enemy and, after an intense exchange of fire, "both German ships were sunk."
After the war, Fairbanks was chairman of the fund-raising committee for
CARE, which sent more than $150 million worth of food parcels and other goods to Europe and other countries.
He resumed his film career with "
Sinbad the Sailor" -- one of the biggest hits of
1946. His last movie was "
Ghost Story" in
1981.
In addition to
acting, he is involved in a variety of business interests -- from ball point pens to land development, theatrical copyrights to
film production.
In the
1950s, he produced 160 episodes of a
television anthology series called "Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Presents." He starred in approximately a quarter of the 30-minute programs, which were filmed in
England.
In his 50s and 60s he appeared in revivals of "My Fair Lady" and "The Pleasure of His Company" as well as a variety of TV specials and guest appearances on shows ranging from "
Laugh-In" to "
Love Boat."
He once said he was proudest of his writings, the articles and stories he published over the years. He published the first volume of his autobiography, "The
Salad Days," in
1988.
His biggest regret, he said at the time, "is not having written a play. I believe very strongly that you should follow your star. It doesn't matter if you succeed as long as you make the effort."
His second wife died of cancer in
1988. In
1991, Fairbanks married merchandiser
Vera Shelton.