Douglas Fairbanks Jr.

Although he appeared in approximately 100 movies or TV shows, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. never really intended to take up acting as a career. However, the environment he was born into and the circumstances naturally led him to be a thespian. Noblesse oblige. He was born Douglas Elton Fairbanks, Jr. in New York City, New York, to Anna Beth (Sully), daughter of a very wealthy cotton mogul, and actor Douglas Fairbanks (born Douglas Elton Thomas Ullman), then not yet established as the swashbuckling idol he would become. Fairbanks, Jr. had German Jewish (from his paternal grandfather), English, and Scottish ancestry. He proved a gifted boy early in life. To the end of his life he remained a multi-talented, hyperactive man, not content to appear in the 100 films mentioned above. Handsome, distinguished and extremely bright, he excelled at sports (much like his father), notably during his stay at the Military Academy in 1919 (his role in Claude Autant-Lara's "L'athlète incomplete" illustrated these abilities). He also excelled academically, and attended the Lycéee Janson de Sailly in Paris, where he had followed his divorced mother. Very early in his life he developed a taste for the arts as well and became a painter and sculptor. Not content to limiting himself to just one field, he became involved in business, in fields as varied as mining, hotel management, owning a chain of bowling alleys and a firm that manufactured popcorn. During World War II he headed London's Douglas Voluntary Hospital (an establishment taking care of war refugees), was President Franklin D.

He debuted in Stephen Steps Out (1923) but the film flopped and his career stagnated despite a critically acclaimed role in Stella Dallas (1925). Things really picked up when he married Lucille Le Sueur, a young starlet who was soon to become better known as Joan Crawford. The young couple became the toast of the town (one "Screen Snapshots" episode echoes this sudden glory) and good parts and success followed, such as the hapless partner of Edward G.

He appeared in four films that have been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: The Power of the Press (1928), Little Caesar (1931), The Prisoner of Zenda (1937) and Gunga Din (1939).

The 1930s were a fruitful period for Fairbanks, his most memorable role probably being that of the British soldier in Gunga Din (1939); although it was somewhat of a "swasbuckling" role, Fairbanks made a point of never imitating his father.

Robinson in Little Caesar (1931) a favorably reviewed turn as the villain in The Prisoner of Zenda (1937) or more debonair characters in slapstick comedies or adventure yarns.

Spent a week in 1934 in a play at the Theatre Royal Newcastle Upon Tyne.

He was offered the role of Robin Hood in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) but turned it down, as he did not want to be seen as aping his father Douglas Fairbanks' performance in Robin Hood (1922).

He was announced to star in the first film for Fairbanks-International, his father's new company, in 1939, entitled "The Californian," but plans were canceled following the death of his father, Douglas Fairbanks. He received the news that his father was weakening while shooting night scenes for Safari (1939), but by the time he arrived his father had already passed away.

Roosevelt's special envoy for the Special Mission to South America in 1940 before becoming a lieutenant in the Navy (he was promoted to the rank of captain in 1954) and taking part in the Allies' landing in Sicily and Elba in 1943.

He had a lifelong, cultivated interest in international affairs. In 1941 President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed him a special envoy to South America.

A fervent Anglophile, was knighted in 1949 and often entertained Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip in his London mansion, "The Boltons". His film career began at the age of 13 when he was signed by Paramount Pictures.

During the 1950s he produced and often starred in 160 episodes of the television series 'Douglas Fairbanks Jr Presents in England'. and branched out into other ventures including hotels.

In 1951 King George VI awarded him an honorary knighthood for furthering Anglo - American unity.

Scandal surfaced in 1963 when he was named in the notorious Profumo trial as having been introduced to the call girls Christine Keeler and Mandy Rice-Davies but this failed to dent his reputation and he went on to make a triumphant return to the stage as Professor Higgins in 'My Fair Lady'.

In addition to publishing two volumes of autobiography--"The Salad Days" (1988) and "A Hell of a War" (1993)--he collaborated with Richard Schickel on the illustrated survey of both he and father Douglas Fairbanks called "The Fairbanks Album" (1975) and Jeffrey Vance with a critical study/biography of Fairbanks Sr., ultimately published as "Douglas Fairbanks" (2008).

Biography in: "American National Biography". Supplement 1, pp. 196-197. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002.