The purpose of these articles is to examine and explore aspects of Mary Pickford’s life, as well as those of her friends and colleagues, within the context of their time and culture. They are not designed to be a complete biography of Pickford by any means, rather a chance to revisit aspects of her life and times. I am not looking to put her on a pedestal nor make her larger than life, but I find the risks she took and her dedication to her craft inspiring and I hope others do too. She was a woman in a man’s world who learned to effectively use her power at a time when there were no paths to follow. I also hope the articles motivate a conversation of sorts. If you think there is a factual error, please let me know. (For instance, one book mentions Lottie being in California in 1910, but Mary, in Sunshine and Shadow, says only she and Jack were there.)
Below is a bibliography listing some of the books I have used for these articles and over the years in my research. Some are better than others, needless to say, with Kevin Brownlow at the head of the class. I also find Booton Herndon’s biography of Mary and Doug illuminating because he wrote it at a time when he was able to interview several of Pickford’s closest friends, including Frances Marion. (Booton generously shared his hours of interviews with Frances with me for my book, Without Lying Down.) Not included, but just as important, are trades such as Film Daily, Variety and newspapers of the day.
Bibliography
Balio, Tino. United Artists: The Company Built by the Stars. Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press, 1976.
Beauchamp, Cari. Without Lying Down: Frances Marion and the Powerful Women of Early Hollywood. New York: Scribners, 1997.
Birchard, Robert. Cecil B. DeMille’s Hollywood. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2004.
Bowser, Eileen. The Transformation of Cinema 1907-1915. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1990.
Brownlow, Kevin. The Parade’s Gone By. New York: Ballantine Books, 1969.
– – – Hollywood: The Pioneers. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1979.
Brownlow, Kevin and Robert Cushman. Mary Pickford Rediscovered. New York: Harry Abrams, Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, 1999.
DeMille, Cecil B., edited by Donald Hayne. The Autobiography of Cecil B. DeMille. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1959.
deMille, William. Hollywood Saga. New York: E.P. Dutton & Co., 1939.
Herndon, Booton. Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks: The Most Popular Couple the World has Ever Known. New York: W.W. Norton, 1977.
Koszarski, Richard. An Evening’s Entertainment 1915-1928. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1990.
Marion, Frances. Off with Their Heads, New York: Macmillan, 1972.
Niver, Kemp. Mary Pickford, Comedienne. Los Angeles: Locare Research Group, 1969.
Pickford, Mary. Sunshine and Shadow. New York: Doubleday, 1955.
St. Johns, Adela Rogers. Love, Laughter and Tears: My Hollywood Story. New York: Doubleday, 1978.
Schulberg, Budd. Moving Pictures: Memories of a Hollywood Prince. New York: Stein and Day, 1981.
Sennett, Mack. The King of Comedy. Garden City, New Jersey: Doubleday, 1954.
Wakeman, John, editor. World Film Directors, Volume 1 1890-1945. New York: H.W. Wilson Company, 1987.
Whitfield, Eileen Pickford: The Woman who Made Hollywood. Lexington: University of Kentucky Press, 1997.
Woon, Basil. Incredible Land. New York: Liveright Publishing, 1933.
Zukor, Adolph with Dale Kramer. The Public is Never Wrong. New York: GP Putnam’s Sons, 1953.
L’eredita DeMille (The DeMille Legacy). Published by Le Giornate del Cinema Muto, Pordenone, Italy 1991.