Douglas Fairbanks

Douglas Fairbanks (born Douglas Elton Thomas Ullman; May 23, 1883 –
December 12, 1939) was an American actor, screenwriter, director, and
producer.[1] He was best known for his swashbuckling roles in silent
films including The Thief of Bagdad, Robin Hood, and The Mark of Zorro
but spent the early part of his career making comedies.
Fairbanks was a founding member of United Artists. Fairbanks was also
a founding member of The Motion Picture Academy and hosted the first
Oscars Ceremony in 1929. With his marriage to
Mary Pickford

Mary Pickford in 1920,
the couple became Hollywood royalty and Fairbanks was referred to as
"The King of Hollywood",[2] a nickname later passed on to actor Clark
Gable.
Though widely considered as one of the biggest stars in Hollywood
during the 1910s and 1920s, Fairbanks' career rapidly declined with
the advent of the "talkies". His final film was The Private Life of
Don Juan

Don Juan (1934).
Contents
1 Early life
2 Career
2.1 Early career
2.2 Hollywood
2.3 Career decline and retirement
3 Death
4 Legacy
5 Filmography
6 See also
7 References
8 Further reading
9 External links
Early life[edit]
Fairbanks was born Douglas Elton Thomas Ullman (spelled "Ulman" by
Douglas Fairbanks Jr.

Douglas Fairbanks Jr. in his memoirs) in Denver, Colorado, the son of
Hezekiah Charles Ullman (September 15, 1833- February 23, 1915) and
Ella Adelaide (née Marsh; 1847-1915). He had two half-brothers, John
Fairbanks, Jr. (born 1873) and Norris Wilcox (February 20, 1876 -
October 21, 1946),[3] and a full brother, Robert Payne Ullman (March
13, 1882 – February 22, 1948). His father was born in Berrysburg,
Pennsylvania, but raised in Williamsport. He was the fourth child in a
Jewish

Jewish family consisting of six sons and four daughters. Charles's
parents, Lazarus Ullman and Lydia Abrahams, had immigrated to the U.S.
in 1830 from Baden, Germany.
When he was 17, Charles started a small publishing business in
Philadelphia. Two years later, he left for New York to study law.
Charles met Ella Adelaide Marsh after she married his friend and
client John Fairbanks, a wealthy New Orleans sugar mill and plantation
owner. The couple had a son, John, and shortly thereafter John Senior
died of tuberculosis. Ella, born into a wealthy southern Roman
Catholic family, was overprotected and knew little of her husband's
business. Consequently, she was swindled out of her fortune by her
husband's partners. Even the efforts of Charles Ullman, acting on her
behalf, failed to regain any of the family fortune for her.[citation
needed]
Distraught and lonely, she met and married a courtly Georgian, Edward
Wilcox, who turned out to be an alcoholic. After they had a son,
Norris, she divorced Wilcox with Charles acting as her own lawyer in
the suit. The pretty southern belle soon became romantically involved
with Charles and agreed to move to Denver with him to pursue mining
investments. They arrived in Denver in 1881 with her son, John.
(Norris was left in Georgia with relatives and was never sent for by
his mother.) They were married and in 1882 had a child, Robert and
then a second son, Douglas, a year later. Charles purchased several
mining interests in the Rocky Mountains, and he re-established his law
practice. Charles Ullman, after hearing of his wife's philandering,
abandoned the family when Douglas was five years old. Douglas and his
older brother Robert were brought up by their mother, who gave them
the family name Fairbanks, after her first husband.[citation needed]
Career[edit]
Douglas Fairbanks, c. late 1910s
Early career[edit]
Douglas Fairbanks

Douglas Fairbanks began acting at an early age, in amateur theatre on
the Denver stage, performing in summer stock at the Elitch Gardens
Theatre, and other productions sponsored by Margaret Fealy, who ran an
acting school for young people in Denver.[4] He attended Denver East
High School, and was expelled for cutting the wires on the school
piano.[4]
He left school in the spring of 1899, at the age of 15.[4] He
variously claimed to have attended
Colorado School of Mines

Colorado School of Mines and
Harvard University, but neither claim is true. He went with the acting
troupe of Frederick Warde, beginning a cross country tour in September
1899. He toured with Warde for two seasons, functioning in dual roles,
both as actor and as the assistant stage manager in his second year
with the group.[4]
After two years he moved to New York, where he found his first
Broadway role in Her Lord and Master, which premiered in February
1902. He worked in a hardware store and as a clerk in a Wall Street
office between acting jobs.[5] His Broadway appearances included the
popular
A Gentleman from Mississippi
.png/440px-A_Gentleman_from_Mississippi_(scene_5).png)
A Gentleman from Mississippi in 1908-09. On July 11, 1907,
Fairbanks married Anna Beth Sully, the daughter of wealthy
industrialist Daniel J. Sully, in Watch Hill, Rhode Island. They had
one son,
Douglas Fairbanks

Douglas Fairbanks Jr., also a noted actor. In 1915, the
family moved to Los Angeles.[citation needed]
Hollywood[edit]
D.W. Griffith, Mary Pickford,
Charlie Chaplin

Charlie Chaplin (seated) and Douglas
Fairbanks at the signing of the contract establishing United Artists
motion picture studio in 1919. Lawyers Albert Banzhaf (left) and
Dennis F. O'Brien (right) stand in the background.
After moving to Los Angeles, Fairbanks signed a contract with Triangle
Pictures in 1915 and began working under the supervision of D.W.
Griffith. His first film was titled The Lamb, in which he debuted the
athletic abilities that would gain him wide attention among theatre
audiences.[6] His athleticism was not appreciated by Griffith,
however, and he was brought to the attention of
Anita Loos

Anita Loos and John
Emerson, who wrote and directed many of his early romantic comedies.
In 1916, Fairbanks established his own company, the Douglas Fairbanks
Film Corporation,[7] and would soon get a job at Paramount.[7]
Fairbanks speaking in front of a crowd at a 1918 war bond drive in New
York City.
Fairbanks met actress
Mary Pickford

Mary Pickford at a party in 1916, and the couple
soon began an affair. In 1917, they joined Fairbanks' friend Charlie
Chaplin[6] selling war bonds by train across the United States.
Pickford and Chaplin were the two highest paid film stars in Hollywood
at that time. To curtail these stars' astronomical salaries, the large
studios attempted to monopolize distributors and exhibitors. By 1918,
Fairbanks was Hollywood's most popular actor,[8] and within three
years of his arrival, Fairbanks' popularity and business acumen raised
him to the third-highest paid.
In 1917, Fairbanks capitalized on his rising popularity by publishing
a self-help book, Laugh and Live which extolled the power of positive
thinking and self-confidence in raising one's health, business and
social prospects.[9]
To avoid being controlled by the studios and to protect their
independence, Fairbanks, Pickford, Chaplin, and
D. W. Griffith

D. W. Griffith formed
United Artists

United Artists in 1919, which created their own distributorships and
gave them complete artistic control over their films and the profits
generated. The company was kept solvent in the years immediately after
its formation largely by the success of Fairbanks' films.
The Mark of Zorro.
In late 1918, Sully was granted a divorce from Fairbanks, the judgment
being finalized in early 1919. After the divorce, Fairbanks was
determined to have Pickford become his wife, but she was still married
to actor Owen Moore. He finally gave her an ultimatum. She then
obtained a fast divorce in the small
Nevada

Nevada town of Minden on March 2,
1920. Fairbanks leased the
Beverly Hills

Beverly Hills mansion Grayhall and was
rumored to have used it during his courtship of Pickford. The couple
married on March 28, 1920. Pickford's divorce from Moore was contested
by
Nevada

Nevada legislators, however, and the dispute was not settled until
1922. Even though the lawmakers objected to the marriage, the public
went wild over the idea of "Everybody's Hero" marrying "America's
Sweetheart." They were greeted by large crowds in London and Paris
during their European honeymoon, becoming Hollywood's first celebrity
couple. During the years they were married, Fairbanks and Pickford
were regarded as "Hollywood Royalty," famous for entertaining at their
Beverly Hills

Beverly Hills estate, Pickfair.
Douglas Fairbanks

Douglas Fairbanks in the title role in
Robin Hood

Robin Hood (1922).
By 1920, Fairbanks had completed twenty-nine films (twenty-eight
features and one two-reel short), which showcased his ebullient screen
persona and athletic ability. By 1920, he had the inspiration of
staging a new type of adventure-costume picture, a genre that was then
out of favor with the public; Fairbanks had been a comic in his
previous films.[2] In The Mark of Zorro, Fairbanks combined his
appealing screen persona with the new adventurous costume element. It
was a smash success and parlayed the actor into the rank of superstar.
For the remainder of his career in silent films he continued to
produce and star in ever more elaborate, impressive costume films,
such as The Three Musketeers (1921),
Douglas Fairbanks

Douglas Fairbanks in Robin Hood
(1922), The Thief of Bagdad (1924),
The Black Pirate

The Black Pirate (1926), and The
Gaucho (1927). Fairbanks spared no expense and effort in these films,
which established the standard for all future swashbuckling films.
In 1921, he, Pickford, Chaplin, and others, helped to organize the
Motion Picture Fund to assist those in the industry who could not
work, or were unable to meet their bills.
During the first ceremony of its type, on April 30, 1927, Fairbanks
and Pickford placed their hand and foot prints in wet cement at the
newly opened
Grauman's Chinese Theatre

Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. (In the classic
comedy Blazing Saddles, Harvey Korman's villain character sees
Fairbanks' prints at Grauman's and exclaims, "How do he do such
fantastic stunts...with such little feet?")
Fairbanks was elected first President of the Motion Picture Academy of
Arts and Sciences that same year, and he presented the first Academy
Awards at the Roosevelt Hotel. Today, Fairbanks also has a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame

Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7020 Hollywood Boulevard.
Career decline and retirement[edit]
While Fairbanks had flourished in the silent genre, the restrictions
of early sound films dulled his enthusiasm for film-making. His
athletic abilities and general health also began to decline at this
time, in part due to his years of chain-smoking.[10] On March 29,
1929, at Pickford's bungalow,
United Artists

United Artists brought together
Pickford, Fairbanks, Charlie Chaplin, Norma Talmadge, Gloria Swanson,
John Barrymore,
D.W. Griffith

D.W. Griffith and
Dolores del Rio

Dolores del Rio to speak on the
radio show The Dodge Brothers Hour to prove Fairbanks could meet the
challenge of talking movies.[11]
Fairbanks's last silent film was the lavish
The Iron Mask

The Iron Mask (1929), a
sequel to 1921's The Three Musketeers.
The Iron Mask

The Iron Mask included an
introductory prologue spoken by Fairbanks. He and Pickford chose to
make their first talkie as a joint venture, playing
Petruchio

Petruchio and Kate
in Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew (1929). This film, and his
subsequent sound films, were poorly received by Depression-era
audiences. The last film in which he acted was the British production
The Private Life of Don Juan (1934), after which he retired from
acting.[citation needed]
Fairbanks and Pickford separated in 1933, after he began an affair
with Sylvia, Lady Ashley. They divorced in 1936, with Pickford keeping
the
Pickfair

Pickfair estate.[12] Fairbanks and Ashley were married in Paris in
March 1936.[13]
He continued to be marginally involved in the film industry and United
Artists, but his later years lacked the intense focus of his film
years. His health continued to decline, and in his final years he
lived at 705 Ocean Front (now Pacific Coast Highway) in Santa Monica,
California, although much of his time was spent traveling abroad with
third wife, Sylvia, Lady Ashley.
Death[edit]
On December 12, 1939, Fairbanks suffered a heart attack. He died later
that day at his home in Santa Monica at the age of 56.[14] His last
words were reportedly, "I've never felt better."[15] His funeral
service was held at the Wee Kirk o' the Heather Church in Glendale's
Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery where he was placed in a crypt in
the Great Mausoleum.
Fairbanks's tomb at Hollywood Forever Cemetery.
Two years following his death, he was removed from Forest Lawn by his
widow, Sylvia, who commissioned an elaborate marble monument for him
featuring a long rectangular reflecting pool, raised tomb, and classic
Greek architecture in
Hollywood Forever Cemetery

Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los
Angeles.[citation needed] The monument was dedicated in a ceremony
held in October 1941, with Fairbanks's close friend Charlie Chaplin
reading a remembrance. The remains of his son,
Douglas Fairbanks

Douglas Fairbanks Jr.,
were also interred there upon his death in May 2000.[citation needed]
Legacy[edit]
Reissue poster for 1916 cocaine comedy The Mystery of the Leaping
Fish.
In 1998, a group of Fairbanks fans started the Douglas Fairbanks
Museum in Austin, Texas. The museum building was temporarily closed
for mold remediation and repairs in February 2010.[16]
In 2002,
AMPAS

AMPAS opened the "Fairbanks Center for Motion Picture Study"
located at 333 S. La Cienega Boulevard in Beverly Hills. The building
houses the Margaret Herrick Library.[17]
On November 6, 2008, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
celebrated the publication of their "Academy Imprints" book Douglas
Fairbanks, authored by film historian Jeffrey Vance, with the
screening of a new restoration print of
The Gaucho

The Gaucho with Vance
introducing the film.[18]
The following year, opening January 24, 2009,
AMPAS

AMPAS mounted a major
Douglas Fairbanks

Douglas Fairbanks exhibition at their Fourth Floor Gallery titled,
"Douglas Fairbanks: The First King of Hollywood." The exhibit featured
costumes, props, pictures, and documents from his career and personal
life.[19] In addition to the exhibit,
AMPAS

AMPAS screened The Thief of
Bagdad and
The Iron Mask

The Iron Mask in March 2009. Concurrently with the
Academy's efforts, the Museum of Modern of Art held their first
Fairbanks film retrospective in over six decades, titled "Laugh and
Live: The Films of Douglas Fairbanks" which ran from December 17, 2008
– January 12, 2009.
Jeffrey Vance

Jeffrey Vance opened the retrospective with a
lecture and screening of the restoration print of The Gaucho.[20]
Recently, due to his involvement with the USC Fencing Club, a bronze
statue of Fairbanks was erected in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts
& Sciences Courtyard of the new
School of Cinematic Arts

School of Cinematic Arts building
on the University of Southern California campus. Fairbanks was a key
figure in the film school's founding in 1929, and in its curriculum
development.[21][citation needed]
The 2011 film The Artist was loosely based on Fairbanks, with the
film's lead portraying
Zorro
.jpg)
Zorro in a silent movie featuring a scene from
the Fairbanks version.[citation needed] While thanking the audience in
2012 for a
Golden Globe

Golden Globe award as Best Actor for his performance in the
film, actor
Jean Dujardin
.jpg)
Jean Dujardin added, "As
Douglas Fairbanks

Douglas Fairbanks would say,"
then moved his lips silently as a comedic homage. When Dujardin
accepted the 2011
Academy Award

Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role,
Fairbanks was cited at length as the main inspiration for Dujardin's
performance in The Artist.[citation needed]
An important accolade given to the
Douglas Fairbanks

Douglas Fairbanks legacy was a
special screening of his masterpiece, The Thief of Bagdad, at the 2012
edition of the Turner Classic Movies Film Festival. On April 15, 2012,
the festival concluded with a sold-out screening of the Fairbanks film
held at the historic Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood. The evening was
introduced by TCM host Ben Mankiewicz and Fairbanks biographer Jeffrey
Vance.[22]
The nickname for the sports teams of the University of
California-Santa Barbara is The Gauchos in honor of Fairbanks' acting
in the eponymous film.[23]
Filmography[edit]
Year
Title
Credited as
Role
Producer
Writer
Director
1915
The Lamb
Gerald
Martyrs of the Alamo
Bit part
Double Trouble
Florian Amidon / Eugene Brassfield
1916
His Picture in the Papers
Pete Prindle
The Habit of Happiness
Sunny Wiggins
The Good Bad Man
Passin' Through
Yes
Reggie Mixes In
Reggie Van Deuzen
The Mystery of the Leaping Fish
Coke Ennyday / Himself
Flirting with Fate
Augy Holliday
The Half-Breed
Lo Dorman (Sleeping Water)
Intolerance
Man on White Horse (French Story)
Manhattan Madness
Steve O'Dare
American Aristocracy
Cassius Lee
The Matrimaniac
Jimmie Conroy
The Americano
Blaze Derringer
1917
All-Star Production of Patriotic
Episodes for the Second Liberty Loan
Himself
In Again, Out Again
Teddy Rutherford
Yes
Wild and Woolly
Jeff Hillington
Down to Earth
Billy Gaynor
Yes
Yes
The Man from Painted Post
"Fancy Jim" Sherwood
Yes
Reaching for the Moon
Alexis Caesar Napoleon Brown
Yes
A Modern Musketeer
Ned Thacker
Yes
1918
Headin' South
Headin' South
Yes
Mr. Fix-It
Dick Remington
Yes
Say! Young Fellow
The Young Fellow
Yes
Bound in Morocco
George Travelwell
Yes
Yes
He Comes Up Smiling
Jerry Martin
Yes
Sic 'Em, Sam
Democracy
Arizona
Lt. Denton
Yes
Yes
Yes
1919
The Knickerbocker Buckaroo
Teddy Drake
Yes
Yes
His Majesty, the American
William Brooks
Yes
Yes
When the Clouds Roll by
Daniel Boone Brown
Yes
Yes
1920
The Mollycoddle
Richard Marshall III, IV and V
Yes
The Mark of Zorro
Don Diego Vega / Señor Zorro
Yes
Yes
1921
The Nut
Charlie Jackson
Yes
Yes
The Three Musketeers
d'Artagnan
Yes
Yes
1922
Robin Hood
Robin Hood
Yes
Yes
1923
Hollywood
Himself
1924
The Thief of Bagdad
The Thief of Bagdad
Yes
Yes
1925
Don Q, Son of Zorro
Don Cesar Vega / Zorro
Yes
Ben-Hur
Crowd extra in chariot race
1926
The Black Pirate
The Black Pirate
Yes
Yes
1927
A Kiss From Mary Pickford
Himself
The Gaucho
The Gaucho
Yes
Yes
1928
Show People
Himself
1929
The Iron Mask
d'Artagnan
Yes
Yes
The Taming of the Shrew
Petruchio
1930
Reaching for the Moon
Larry Day
Yes
1932
Mr. Robinson Crusoe
Steve Drexel
Yes
Yes
1934
The Private Life of Don Juan
Don Juan
Non-profit organization positions
Preceded by
Position created
President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
1927–1929
Succeeded by
William C. deMille
See also[edit]
Biography portal
List of Freemasons
References[edit]
^ Obituary Variety, December 13, 1939, p. 54.
^ a b "
Douglas Fairbanks

Douglas Fairbanks Sr. Biography". The
Douglas Fairbanks

Douglas Fairbanks Museum.
Archived from the original on May 15, 2008.
^ "Full text of "The Film Daily (Oct-Dec 1946)"". Archive.org.
Retrieved 2016-02-16.
^ a b c d Goessel, TraceyThe First King of Hollywood; The Life of
Douglas Fairbanks.
Chicago

Chicago Review Press, 2016.
^ "Alexander Street Press Authorization". Asp6new.alexanderstreet.com.
Retrieved 2016-02-16.
^ a b "American Experience
Mary Pickford

Mary Pickford People & Events".
PBS. Retrieved June 5, 2011.
^ a b "Douglas Fairbanks". Flicker Alley. Archived from the original
on August 16, 2013. Retrieved June 5, 2011.
^ Richard Corliss (June 17, 1996). "The King of Hollywood". Time
Magazine. Retrieved August 10, 2008.
^ Douglas Fairbanks, Laugh and Live. New York, Britton, 1917. The work
includes an afterward by journalist George Creel profiling Fairbanks
as the epitome of American can-do manhood.
^ Vance, Jeffrey (2008). Douglas Fairbanks. Berkeley, CA: University
of California Press, pp. 162–163.
^ Ramon, David (1997). Dolores del Río. Clío.
ISBN 968-6932-35-6.
^ "Pickford divorce made final".
Chicago

Chicago Daily Tribune. XCV (12). 14
January 1936. p. 3 – via newspapers.com.
^ "Mr
Douglas Fairbanks

Douglas Fairbanks weds Lady Ashley in Paris". The Scotsman
(28,948). 9 March 1936. p. 16 – via British Newspaper
Archive.
^ "Doug Fairbanks Dies At His Home". Lawrence Journal-World. December
12, 1939. p. 10. Retrieved March 3, 2013.
^ Robinson, R. (2003). Famous Last Words. New York: Workman
Publishing, p. 1.
^ "Drymeout.com blog". Blog.drymeout.com. April 29, 2010. Retrieved
June 5, 2011.
^ "Fairbanks Center for Motion Picture Study Academy of Motion
Picture Arts & Sciences". Oscars.org at the Wayback Machine.
Archived from the original on October 3, 2014. Retrieved October 12,
2016. CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
^ Soares, Andre. "
Douglas Fairbanks

Douglas Fairbanks in THE GAUCHO Academy Screening".
Altfg.com. Retrieved 2016-02-16.
^ "Douglas Fairbanks: The First King of Hollywood Exhibitions
Presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences".
Oscars.org. April 19, 2009. Archived from the original on March 9,
2010. Retrieved February 15, 2010.
^ "Laugh and Live: The Films of Douglas Fairbanks". MoMA. Retrieved
2016-02-16.
^ https://cinema.usc.edu/news/article.cfm?id=9771
^ "'The Artist' is the buzz at the TCM Classic Film Festival".
Latimesblogs.latimes.com. 2012-04-16. Retrieved 2016-02-16.
^ "Nickname "Gauchos"". Retrieved November 14, 2016.
Further reading[edit]
Goessel, Tracey (October 1, 2015). The First King of Hollywood: The
Life of Douglas Fairbanks. Chicago, Illinois:
Chicago

Chicago Review Press.
ISBN 978-1613734049.
Vance, Jeffrey (December 8, 2008). Douglas Fairbanks. Berkeley,
California: Academy Imprints/University of California Press.
ISBN 978-0-520-25667-5.
External links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Douglas Fairbanks.
Douglas Fairbanks

Douglas Fairbanks on IMDb
Douglas Fairbanks

Douglas Fairbanks at the
Internet Broadway Database

Internet Broadway Database
Works by
Douglas Fairbanks

Douglas Fairbanks at Project Gutenberg
Works by or about
Douglas Fairbanks

Douglas Fairbanks at Internet Archive
Works by
Douglas Fairbanks

Douglas Fairbanks at
LibriVox

LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)
DouglasFairbanks.org official website, including news from
2005–2007; at the Wayback Machine
DouglasFairbanks.wordpress.com (formerly DouglasFairbanks.org),
including news from 2009–2012; at the Wayback Machine
100 Years of Doug tribute website run by a Fairbanks family member
v
t
e
Academy Honorary Award
1928–1950
Warner Bros.

Warner Bros. /
Charlie Chaplin

Charlie Chaplin (1928)
Walt Disney

Walt Disney (1932)
Shirley Temple

Shirley Temple (1934)
D. W. Griffith

D. W. Griffith (1935)
The March of Time

The March of Time /
W. Howard Greene and
Harold Rosson (1936)
Edgar Bergen

Edgar Bergen /
W. Howard Greene /
Museum of Modern Art

Museum of Modern Art Film Library /
Mack Sennett

Mack Sennett (1937)
J. Arthur Ball /
Walt Disney

Walt Disney /
Deanna Durbin

Deanna Durbin and
Mickey Rooney

Mickey Rooney /
Gordon Jennings, Jan Domela, Devereaux Jennings, Irmin Roberts, Art
Smith, Farciot Edouart, Loyal Griggs, Loren L. Ryder, Harry D. Mills,
Louis Mesenkop, Walter Oberst /
Oliver T. Marsh and Allen Davey /
Harry Warner

Harry Warner (1938)
Douglas Fairbanks

Douglas Fairbanks /
Judy Garland

Judy Garland /
William Cameron Menzies / Motion
Picture Relief Fund (Jean Hersholt, Ralph Morgan, Ralph Block, Conrad
Nagel)/ Technicolor Company (1939)
Bob Hope

Bob Hope /
Nathan Levinson (1940)
Walt Disney, William Garity, John N. A. Hawkins, and the RCA
Manufacturing Company /
Leopold Stokowski

Leopold Stokowski and his associates / Rey
Scott / British Ministry of Information (1941)
Charles Boyer

Charles Boyer /
Noël Coward

Noël Coward /
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (1942)
George Pal
.jpg)
George Pal (1943)
Bob Hope

Bob Hope /
Margaret O'Brien

Margaret O'Brien (1944)
Republic Studio, Daniel J. Bloomberg, and the Republic Studio Sound
Department /
Walter Wanger

Walter Wanger / The House I Live In / Peggy Ann Garner
(1945)
Harold Russell

Harold Russell /
Laurence Olivier

Laurence Olivier /
Ernst Lubitsch

Ernst Lubitsch / Claude Jarman Jr.
(1946)
James Baskett

James Baskett / Thomas Armat, William Nicholas Selig, Albert E. Smith,
and
George Kirke Spoor

George Kirke Spoor /
Bill and Coo / Shoeshine (1947)
Walter Wanger

Walter Wanger /
Monsieur Vincent

Monsieur Vincent /
Sid Grauman

Sid Grauman /
Adolph Zukor

Adolph Zukor (1948)
Jean Hersholt

Jean Hersholt /
Fred Astaire

Fred Astaire /
Cecil B. DeMille

Cecil B. DeMille / The Bicycle Thief
(1949)
Louis B. Mayer

Louis B. Mayer /
George Murphy

George Murphy /
The Walls of Malapaga (1950)
1951–1975
Gene Kelly

Gene Kelly /
Rashomon

Rashomon (1951)
Merian C. Cooper

Merian C. Cooper /
Bob Hope

Bob Hope /
Harold Lloyd

Harold Lloyd / George Mitchell / Joseph
M. Schenck /
Forbidden Games

Forbidden Games (1952)
20th Century-Fox Film Corporation / Bell & Howell Company / Joseph
Breen / Pete Smith (1953)
Bausch & Lomb Optical Company /
Danny Kaye

Danny Kaye / Kemp Niver / Greta
Garbo /
Jon Whiteley

Jon Whiteley /
Vincent Winter / Gate of Hell (1954)
Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto (1955)
Eddie Cantor

Eddie Cantor (1956)
Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers

Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers / Gilbert M.
"Broncho Billy" Anderson /
Charles Brackett /
B. B. Kahane (1957)
Maurice Chevalier

Maurice Chevalier (1958)
Buster Keaton

Buster Keaton /
Lee de Forest

Lee de Forest (1959)
Gary Cooper

Gary Cooper /
Stan Laurel

Stan Laurel /
Hayley Mills
.jpg/440px-Hayley_MIlls_and_Firdous_Bamji_at_the_Kennedy_Center,_Washington_D.C_(cropped).jpg)
Hayley Mills (1960)
William L. Hendricks / Fred L. Metzler /
Jerome Robbins

Jerome Robbins (1961)
William J. Tuttle

William J. Tuttle (1964)
Bob Hope

Bob Hope (1965)
Yakima Canutt

Yakima Canutt /
Y. Frank Freeman

Y. Frank Freeman (1966)
Arthur Freed (1967)
John Chambers /
Onna White (1968)
Cary Grant
_01_Crisco_edit.jpg/440px-Grant,_Cary_(Suspicion)_01_Crisco_edit.jpg)
Cary Grant (1969)
Lillian Gish

Lillian Gish /
Orson Welles

Orson Welles (1970)
Charlie Chaplin

Charlie Chaplin (1971)
Charles S. Boren /
Edward G. Robinson

Edward G. Robinson (1972)
Henri Langlois

Henri Langlois /
Groucho Marx

Groucho Marx (1973)
Howard Hawks

Howard Hawks /
Jean Renoir

Jean Renoir (1974)
Mary Pickford

Mary Pickford (1975)
1976–2000
Margaret Booth (1977)
Walter Lantz

Walter Lantz /
Laurence Olivier

Laurence Olivier /
King Vidor

King Vidor / Museum of Modern Art
Department of Film (1978)
Hal Elias /
Alec Guinness

Alec Guinness (1979)
Henry Fonda
.JPG/440px-Henry_Fonda_as_Mr._Roberts_1948_(cropped).JPG)
Henry Fonda (1980)
Barbara Stanwyck

Barbara Stanwyck (1981)
Mickey Rooney

Mickey Rooney (1982)
Hal Roach
.jpg/440px-WP_Hal_Roach_1920_(cropped).jpg)
Hal Roach (1983)
James Stewart
_01.jpg/440px-Annex_-_Stewart,_James_(Call_Northside_777)_01.jpg)
James Stewart /
National Endowment for the Arts

National Endowment for the Arts (1984)
Paul Newman

Paul Newman /
Alex North (1985)
Ralph Bellamy

Ralph Bellamy (1986)
Eastman
Kodak

Kodak Company /
National Film Board of Canada

National Film Board of Canada (1988)
Akira Kurosawa

Akira Kurosawa (1989)
Sophia Loren

Sophia Loren /
Myrna Loy

Myrna Loy (1990)
Satyajit Ray
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Satyajit Ray (1991)
Federico Fellini

Federico Fellini (1992)
Deborah Kerr

Deborah Kerr (1993)
Michelangelo Antonioni

Michelangelo Antonioni (1994)
Kirk Douglas

Kirk Douglas /
Chuck Jones

Chuck Jones (1995)
Michael Kidd

Michael Kidd (1996)
Stanley Donen

Stanley Donen (1997)
Elia Kazan

Elia Kazan (1998)
Andrzej Wajda
.jpg/440px-Andrzej_Wajda_OFF_Plus_Camera_2012_(cropped).jpg)
Andrzej Wajda (1999)
Jack Cardiff

Jack Cardiff /
Ernest Lehman (2000)
2001–present
Sidney Poitier

Sidney Poitier /
Robert Redford
.jpg/440px-Robert_Redford_(cropped).jpg)
Robert Redford (2001)
Peter O'Toole

Peter O'Toole (2002)
Blake Edwards

Blake Edwards (2003)
Sidney Lumet

Sidney Lumet (2004)
Robert Altman

Robert Altman (2005)
Ennio Morricone

Ennio Morricone (2006)
Robert F. Boyle (2007)
Lauren Bacall
.jpg)
Lauren Bacall /
Roger Corman

Roger Corman /
Gordon Willis

Gordon Willis (2009)
Kevin Brownlow /
Jean-Luc Godard

Jean-Luc Godard /
Eli Wallach

Eli Wallach (2010)
James Earl Jones
.jpg/440px-James_Earl_Jones_(8516667383).jpg)
James Earl Jones / Dick Smith (2011)
D. A. Pennebaker

D. A. Pennebaker /
Hal Needham

Hal Needham /
George Stevens Jr.

George Stevens Jr. (2012)
Angela Lansbury
.jpg/440px-Angela_Lansbury_(8356239174).jpg)
Angela Lansbury /
Steve Martin

Steve Martin /
Piero Tosi (2013)
Jean-Claude Carrière

Jean-Claude Carrière /
Hayao Miyazaki

Hayao Miyazaki /
Maureen O'Hara

Maureen O'Hara (2014)
Spike Lee

Spike Lee /
Gena Rowlands

Gena Rowlands (2015)
Jackie Chan

Jackie Chan /
Lynn Stalmaster /
Anne V. Coates / Frederick Wiseman
(2016)
Charles Burnett /
Owen Roizman /
Donald Sutherland

Donald Sutherland / Agnès Varda
(2017)
Authority control
WorldCat Identities
VIAF: 32004709
LCCN: n50011599
ISNI: 0000 0001 1615 5152
GND: 118682997
SELIBR: 340020
SUDOC: 027271579
BNF: cb11934932j (data)
NKC: ola2002161298
ICCU: ITICCUUBOV553559
BNE: XX4722767
SN