Mary Pickford (1893–1979,) born Gladys Mary Smith, was a Canadian-born actress and producer. America’s first screen megastar, she was a star of silent films such as Pollyanna (1920.) She also co-founded the production company United Artists (1919.)
Born in Toronto, Canada, Pickford first appeared on the stage at the age of five as ‘Baby Gladys.’ By fourteen, she was starring on Broadway in The Warrens of Virginia. In 1909, she made her first film, The Violin Maker of Cremona, directed by D. W. Griffith.
Pickford’s beauty and her persona of unsophisticated charm soon won her the title of ‘America’s Sweetheart,’ and she played the innocent heroine in many silent films, including Poor Little Rich Girl (1917,) Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1917,) Pollyanna (1920,) and Little Lord Fauntleroy (1921.) She won an Academy Award (Oscar) for her first talkie, Coquette (1929,) and retired from the screen in 1933.
At the height of her career, Pickford was one of the richest and most famous women in the United States. A savvy businesswoman, she was the first female movie mogul. She co-founded United Artists Film Corporation in 1919 with Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, and D. W. Griffith.
More: Wikipedia • READ: Works by Mary Pickford
If you have made mistakes, even serious ones, there is always another chance for you. What we call failure is not the falling down, but the staying down.
—Mary Pickford
Today is a new day. You will get out of it just what you put into it … If you have made mistakes, even serious mistakes, there is always another chance for you. And supposing you have tried and failed again and again, you may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing that we call “failure” is not the falling down, but the staying down.
—Mary Pickford
Topics: Endurance, Fresh, Failure
Supposing you have tried and failed again and again. You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing that we call “Failure” is not the falling down, but the staying down.
—Mary Pickford
Topics: Failure
One of the great penalties those of us who live our lives in full view of the public must pay is the loss of that most cherished birthright of man’s privacy.
—Mary Pickford
Topics: Loss
I was forced to live far beyond my years when just a child, now I have reversed the order and I intend to remain young indefinitely.
—Mary Pickford
Topics: Luck
You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing that we call “Failure” is not the falling down, but the staying down.
—Mary Pickford
Topics: Difficulty, Obstacles
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