POWER COUPLE:
DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS & MARY PICKFORD IN HOLLYWOOD
EXHIBIT CLOSED DECEMBER 2023
This Hollywood Power Couple Got Their Start in Fort Lee
Jim Beckerman - NORTHJERSEY.COM - 6/6/23
“Is it love that makes the world go round? Or is it money? Either way, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks, Hollywood superstars who were also shrewd producers and devoted soul mates, set it spinning.
They were the first of that now-familiar species: the Power Couple.
Before Ben Affleck and J-Lo, before Beyoncé and Jay-Z, Doug and Mary were the great celebrity twosome. Their 1919 wedding was world news. Their mansion, Pickfair, was Hollywood's most sought-after invitation. And their company, United Artists, founded with Charlie Chaplin and D.W. Griffith, is still around.
"Not only were they the quintessential Hollywood couple, they were also the people who are responsible, even today, for a lot of what you see on the big screen," said Nelson Page, executive director of the Barrymore Film Center in Fort Lee.
A new exhibit, "Power Couple, Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford in Hollywood," opening June 10 and running through December, will explore their lasting mystique, as well as their New Jersey roots. Both started their careers in the fledgling studios of Fort Lee.”
Tracey Goessel
We are fortunate to have as our guest, Tracey Goessel with us for this special evening. As you will notice in the museum exhibit, the BFC has items from her private collection, including the Pickford-Fairbanks love letters.
Tracey is the founder of the Los Angeles based Film Preservation Society and is on the board of the San Francisco Film Silent Film Festival. She is a major collector of items from the silent film era, has published many articles as well as a biography on Douglas Fairbanks.
She will be with us during the evening and will introduce The Thief of Bagdad silent film.
“I hope the exhibit is a big success. I have never seen a museum exhibit more beautifully staged!”
