Fairbanks, Douglas, Jr. (1909—)

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Fairbanks, Douglas, Jr. (1909—)

Although his famous father did not want him in the business, the son of swashbuckling actor Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. started acting at an early age and eventually went on to become the first second-generation movie star. When he was barely a teenager, the studios sought to trade in on the Fairbanks name by casting Douglas Jr. in swashbuckling films, but ultimately he managed to carve his own niche as a debonair actor in supporting and leading roles. Although often overshadowed by other actors of the same type, he was always enjoyable to watch. When his career began to fade, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. gracefully turned to producing and writing, although he occasionally returned to acting.

Born to one of the world's first movie stars, Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., and his first wife, Beth, initially the younger Fairbanks was not really interested in a career in acting. He eventually became drawn to it as a way, he hoped, of becoming closer to his distant father. Jesse Lasky of Paramount Pictures, eager to attract the loyal Fairbanks fans, cast Douglas Jr. in Stephen Steps Out (1923), when he was only thirteen. The film was a failure, but Fairbanks continued to try to make a name for himself. He was able to get a contract with Paramount, although his career did not go anywhere.

At seventeen, he co-starred in the silent version of Stella Dallas (1926), receiving critical acclaim but no notable follow-up work. Fairbanks continued to be cast in small parts, but was forced into work as a title writer to make ends meet. Although he also did some stagework in Los Angeles, his career remained stagnant until he met and married a young starlet, Joan Crawford. The couple became the darlings of the Hollywood gossip columns and fan magazines.

The positive press he received because of his marriage led to some good parts, usually as villains. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) cashed in on fan interest in the couple by co-starring Fairbanks and Crawford in the motion picture, Our Modern Maidens (1929). However, it wasn't until Fairbanks appeared in two strong supporting roles in Dawn Patrol (1930) and the hit gangster film, Little Caesar (1931) starring Edward G. Robinson, that his talent was finally noticed. By this time his marriage was ending, but his career was progressing.

Warner Brothers Studios gave Fairbanks a contract which allowed the actor more control over his career; most of the roles that followed, however, were forgettable. He appeared with Katharine Hepburn in Morning Glory (1933), a film for which she won an Academy Award, but which did little for Fairbanks' career. In 1937 Fairbanks played the memorable villain in The Prisoner of Zenda. He then appeared in what is arguably his most famous role in the 1939 hit, Gunga Din, co-starring Cary Grant. In that same year he married his second wife, Mary Hartford. However, World War II was looming on the horizon and Fairbanks willingly put his career on hold to join the U.S. Navy. He became a Lt. Commander and was among the most decorated of all the Hollywood stars who served in the armed forces.

After the war, Fairbanks was knighted by the British Empire. Unfortunately, by the late 1940s, his career as an actor was in sharp decline. Although he appeared in the successful Sinbad the Sailor (1949), he had fallen out of the public eye during the time spent in the service, and his career had suffered. After appearing in Mr. Drake's Duck in 1951, he virtually retired from the screen, not appearing in another feature film for twenty years.

Fairbanks then began producing films, mostly for television. Occasionally, he also appeared in stage productions, including The Pleasure of His Company (1973) in London. The seventy-year-old actor had somewhat of a career resurgence when he appeared in the supernatural film, Ghost Story (1981) co-starring Fred Astaire. He also appeared with some regularity on popular television programs of the 1970s and early 1980s. Interest in his life and career was similarly revived by two very well received autobiographies, which appeared in 1988 and 1993. Mary died in 1988, and in 1991 he married Vera Shelton.

Although Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. may still be best remembered as the son of his famous father, he nonetheless managed to prove himself a worthy successor to the Fairbanks name. As a charming and debonair actor who created his own legacy as an actor, producer and writer, Fairbanks epitomized the elegance and manners of a bygone era of motion picture history.

—Jill A. Gregg