Jack Pickford

John Charles Smith (August 18, 1896 - January 3, 1933) was a Canadian actor. Born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, he was the brother of Mary Pickford. Like her, Jack Pickford’s mother had him acting on stage as a very young boy. In 1910, he was only 14 years old when, with the help of his sister, he was signed to perform in motion pictures with Biograph Studios[?].

- Jack Pickford -

After Biograph opened its studios in Hollywood, California, the Pickford clan moved west. Jack, a small, fragile boy, grew up in an adult world, one that suddenly became full of money far beyond anything imaginable for the time when Mary Pickford signed a contract in 1917 for $1 million with First National Pictures. Jack got a lucrative contract with First National as part of the deal but that year, he gained respect for his acting abilities after starring as Pip in the adaptation of Charles Dickens' Great Expectations and in the same year for playing the title role in Mark Twain' s Tom Sawyer.

Despite his on-screen image as the winsome boy-next-door, Jack Pickford's private life was one of alcohol, drugs and womanizing. In those days, the movie studios were able to cover up almost all of their stars misbehavior but within the Hollywood crowd, Jack Pickford's behind-the scenes antics made him a legend in his own time. He spent money like water and frequently had to suffer the humiliation of asking his mother or sister for help. As his reckless lifestyle worsened, the number of movies he made declined and therefore his income.

In early 1918, after the United States joined World War I, Jack Pickford joined the United States Navy. Using the famous Pickford name, he soon became involved in a scheme that allowed rich young men to pay bribes to avoid military service. For his involvement, Jack Pickford came close to being dishonorably discharged but speculation has it that his sister stepped in and arranged for him to give evidence to the authorities in exchange for a medical discharge.

His first marriage to Olive Thomas[?] was stormy from the start but she was the love of his life. However, while filming in Paris, France, they went out for a night of entertainment at the famous bistros in Montparnasse. Returning to their room in the Hotel Ritz at around 3:00 in the morning, his wife died after ingesting a large dose of the mercury biochloride which had been prescribed for Pickford's ongoing venereal disease. The police investigation into her death centered on Pickford but no charges were ever laid. On the return trip home to America, film director Allan Dwan had to talk the distraught Pickford out of committing suicide.

Married two more times unsuccessfully, by 1932 Jack Pickford was alone again, his health deteriorating from the ravages of syphilis and the toll that years of alcohol and drug abuse had taken. Pickford died in the American Hospital in Paris, at age 36. His sister Mary arranged for his body to be brought back to Los Angeles, California, where he was interred in the private Pickford plot in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.

Pickford has a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1523 Vine Street.

During his career, Jack Pickford appeared in more than 70 films, some of which are: 1910:

• The Kid
• The Newlyweds
• The Smoker
• The Modern Prodigal
• Muggsy Becomes a Hero
• In Life's Cycle
• The Oath and the Man
• Examination Day at School
• The Iconoclast
• Two Little Waifs
• A Plain Song
• A Child's Stratagem
• The Lesson

1911:

• The Poor Sick Men
• White Roses
• A Decree of Destiny
• The Stuff Heros are Made Of

1912:

• The Massacre
• Kate Katchem
• A Dash Through the Clouds
• The School Teacher and the Waif
• An Indian Summer
• What the Doctor Ordered
• A Child's Remorse
• The Inner Circle
• Mr. Grouch at the Seashore
• A Pueblo Legend
• A Feud in the Kentucky Hills
• The Musketeers of Pig Alley
• Heredity
• The Informer
• The New York Hat

1913:

• The Unwelcome Guest

1914:

• The Mysterious Shot
• Liberty Belles
• The Gangsters of New York
• Home Sweet Home
• The Eagle's Mate
• Wildflower
• His Last Dollar

1915:

• The Love Route
• The Commanding Officer
• Fanchon the Cricket
• The Pretty Sister of Jose
• A Girl of Yesterday

1916:

• Seventeen
• Poor Little Peppina

1917:

• What Money Can't Buy
• Great Expectations (movie)
• The Dummy
• The Varmint
• Ghost House
• Jack and Jill
• Tom Sawyer

1918:

• Spirit of '17
• Huck and Tom
• His Majesty, Bunker Bean
• Mr. Fix-It
• Sandy

1919:

• In The Wrong
• Bill Apperson's Boy
• Burglar by Proxy - (Jack Pickford Productions)

1920:

• The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come

1921:

• The Man Who Had Everything
• Just Out of College

1923:

• Hollywood
• Garrison's Finish

1924:

• The Hill Billy

1925:

• Waking Up the Town
• My Son
• The Goose Woman

1926:

• The Bat
• Brown of Harvard
• Exit Smiling

1928:

• Gang War
• Exit Smiling

1930:

• All Square (his final film)

See also: Other Canadian pioneers in early Hollywood