Mary Pickford: America's Sweetheart
Category: Books,Biographies & Memoirs,Arts & Literature
Mary Pickford: America's Sweetheart Details
From Publishers Weekly Far superior to many movie star biographies, Eyman's portrait absorbs us in the life and times of a woman who, in his view, was at least 70 years ahead of her time. Pickford was born Gladys Smith in 1893 in Canada; she began her acting career as a child to support her widowed mother, sister and brother. In extreme poverty the family moved to New York City where impresario David Belasco gave the curly-haired girl the name that became world renowned. Playing innocent if mischievous roles in the silents, Pickford earned another sobriquet, "tough little mick," striking hard bargains offscreen. Hers was always the decisive voice in United Artists, the company she formed with Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith and her husband, Douglas Fairbanks. Although Eyman ( Flashback ) emphasizes Pickford's achievements, he also records her failings--bigotry, alcoholism, her part in causing the marital break with Fairbanks. Included also are vignettes about many film folk, among them Buddy Rogers, who was Pickford's husband from 1937 until her death in 1979 at age 86. Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. Read more From Library Journal A well-researched, highly readable biography of the first bona fide movie star. Eyman, a former film critic, provides thoughtful analysis throughout, based on the thesis, essentially, that now we're "used to strong, dominant women who mold their own show business careers . . . Yet the fact is that Mary Pickford was doing all this more than seventy years ago." The story of Pickford's rise from poverty to stardom is also the story of how the film industry rose from disreputable "flickers" to a billion-dollar industry, and Eyman provides a panoramic overview of early Hollywood. There is much detail on how Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, Charlie Chaplin, and D.W. Griffith founded United Artists. Excellent use of quotes, and plenty of interesting details--especially on Pickford's years-long feud with Chaplin and her marriage to and breakup from Fairbanks. Essential.- Kevin Sweeney, Morton Grove, Ill.Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. Read more
Reviews
i remember reading this book when it first was published. I enjoy scott eyman's writing and appreciation of old Hollywood. it's also good to remember an influential business woman, especially with an industry that never seems to know how to treat them