Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.

Douglas Elton Fairbanks Jr., born in New York City on December 9, 1909, was an American actor, producer, and United States Navy officer. The only child of silent film icon Douglas Fairbanks and Anna Beth Sully, daughter of industrialist Daniel J. Sully, he grew up largely with his mother following his parents' divorce when he was nine. The family lived at various times in New York, California, Paris, and London. His education took him through several institutions, including the Hollywood School for Boys, the Bovee School in New York, Harvard Military School, the Polytechnic School in Pasadena, and Lycée Janson-de-Sailly in France. While at Bovee, he participated for a year in the Knickerbocker Greys drill academy, serving in the drum corps.

His screen career began at thirteen when Jesse L. Lasky signed him to Paramount Pictures in May 1923 at one thousand dollars a week, largely on the strength of his father's name. His debut film, Stephen Steps Out (1923), was not a success, and he and Paramount parted ways by mutual consent. After a period in Paris resuming his studies, he returned to the studio in a behind-the-camera capacity before taking supporting roles in The Air Mail (1925) and Wild Horse Mesa (1925). His first genuine box-office success came when Sam Goldwyn borrowed him to play the juvenile lead in Stella Dallas (1925). Through the late 1920s he accumulated credits across multiple studios, including Columbia, MGM, Fox, Warner Bros., and First National, appearing in films such as Women Love Diamonds (1927), Is Zat So? (1927), The Power of the Press (1928) directed by Frank Capra, and A Woman of Affairs (1928) alongside Greta Garbo and John Gilbert.

Fairbanks made his stage debut in 1927 in a production of Young Woodley, based on a play by John Van Druten, which earned him strong reviews and helped raise his standing in Hollywood. Joan Crawford was a regular audience member during that run, and the two became romantically involved; they later married. He also appeared on stage in Saturday's Children, and in September 1929 returned to the theater in a production of The Youngest. In June 1931 he starred in and co-produced The Man in Possession alongside Sid Grauman.

His film career gained significant momentum with a supporting role alongside Edward G. Robinson in Little Caesar (1931), a major hit that led Warner Bros. to offer him a contract with cast and script approval, a condition the studio had extended to only one other actor, Richard Barthelmess. During his time at Warner Bros. he appeared in a string of films including Chances (1931), Gentleman for a Day (1932), It's Tough to Be Famous (1932), Love Is a Racket (1932), Scarlet Dawn (1932), Parachute Jumper (1933), which featured an early co-starring role for Bette Davis, and The Life of Jimmy Dolan (1933). RKO borrowed him to support Katharine Hepburn in Morning Glory (1933). When Warner Bros. asked its contract players to accept a fifty percent pay cut in 1934 due to the Depression, Fairbanks refused and was released from the studio.

He subsequently spent several years in Britain, where he took up residence in London's Park Lane. His career reached its peak during the late 1930s and early 1940s in a series of adventure and swashbuckling films that drew comparisons to his father's work, among them The Prisoner of Zenda (1937), Gunga Din (1939), and The Corsican Brothers (1941).

During the Second World War, Fairbanks served as a United States Navy officer and oversaw the Beach Jumpers special warfare unit. His military service earned him the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit, the French Legion of Honour, the Croix de Guerre, and the British Distinguished Service Cross.

In 1975, Fairbanks appeared on Broadway in A Gala Tribute to Joshua Logan. He died on May 7, 2000.