Say ‘I do’ to the first celebrity wedding
WHEN HOLLYWOOD SUPERSTARS DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS AND MARY PICKFORD TIED THE KNOT 100 YEARS AGO, HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF FANS TURNED OUT TO CONGRATULATE THEM. MARION McMULLEN LOOKS AT THE MATCH MADE IN TINSELTOWN
THERE’S something about Mary ... or should that be Gladys. Gladys Louise Smith said ‘I do’ to Douglas Elton Thomas
Ullman 100 years ago and the marriage quickly made headlines around the world.
The couple were better known as silent movie stars Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks and their nuptials were later described as “Hollywood’s first royal wedding”.
Mary was America’s Sweetheart and Doug was the swashbuckling matinee idol of countless bestselling films.
They topped the roll call of A-list celebrities in the movie capital, but it was a second marriage for both of them at a time when divorce was regarded as scandalous.
There were concerns the wedding could spell the end of their glittering movie careers, but fans fell in love with the fairy tale romance and the celebrity couple’s fame grew even more.
The couple married in a small, private ceremony outside Los Angeles on March 28, 1920 and comedy star Charlie Chaplin waved them off as they set sail on a honeymoon to England and Europe aboard the Red Star cruise liner Lapland.
It became a honeymoon to remember with crowds of movie fans mobbing them wherever they went.
A plane even circled their ship when it arrived in Southampton and showered the happy couple with roses and fan mail.
It is said 30 police officers were needed to part the large crowds to allow the celebrity couple to reach their waiting train.
More crowds were also waiting for them when they arrived at Waterloo Station in London.
The newlyweds later threw roses from the balcony of the Ritz Hotel in London to the fans waiting below who had gathered to catch a glimpse of the stars. Crowds of up to 300,000 were reported in London and they stopped the traffic for miles around the hotel. It was said even King George got stuck in the traffic hold-up for 20 minutes.
Such celebrity had never been seen before and it made it difficult for the couple to enjoy any privacy. They were even given a 20-minute standing ovation when they tried to go and see a West End play and Doug had to address the audience from the royal box before the play could continue.
They later escaped for a weekend at Lord Northcliffe’s property on the Isle of Thanet to avoid being mobbed.
The stars met in 1917 when they were on tour with Charlie Chaplin selling millions of dollars worth of war bonds for the war effort.
Mary was one of the earliest movie superstars and her acting made her one of the world’s richest women.
At the height of her fame, she was earning $250,000 a movie.
She formed the United Artists Corporation with Douglas a year before their marriage with business partners Chaplin and Birth Of A Nation filmmaker D W Griffith.
They were four of the most prominent Hollywood stars of the time and they set up the company to produce and distribute their own films.
She and Doug were also the first stars to officially have their hand and footprints immortalised in cement at Graumam’s Chinese Theatre and they were regarded as
Hollywood royalty.
They reigned from their
Beverly Hills mansion, which became known as called Pickfair after both their names – long before ‘Brangelina’ and ‘Kimye’ were making the headlines.
Famous visitors to Pickfair over the years included scientist Albert Einstein, Sherlock Holmes creator Arthur Conan Doyle, fellow film stars like Joan Crawford and Greta Garbo and War Of The Worlds and The Invisible Man writer H G Wells.
Guests ate from solid gold plates and were served by footmen.
Life Magazine called it “a gathering place only slightly less important than the White House ... and much more fun”.
Lord and Lady Mountbatten even visited Pickfair on their honeymoon and the property was packed with artwork and rare antiques and boasted a Wild West-style saloon.
It was also the first private residence in Los Angeles to boast a swimming pool.
Doug and Mary’s lifestyle was the ultimate in Hollywood glamour, but things soon imploded.
The couple only ever appeared in one film together – a 1929 black and white film of Shakespeare’s battle of the sexes comedy The Taming of the Shrew.
Mary later said working on the film was the worst experience of her life (although she praised Doug’s performance) and it was evident cracks were starting to show in the high-profile Hollywood marriage.
The fairy tale finally came to an end in 1933 when the couple separated and divorce came three years later.
Mary, who passed away in 1979 at the age of 86, once described her ex-husband as simply “a little boy who never grew up”.