Although he appeared in approximately 100 movies or TV shows, Douglas Elton Ulman--better known as Douglas Fairbanks Jr.--never really intended to take up acting as a career. However, the environment he was born into and the circumstances naturally led him to be a thespian. Noblesse oblige. The son of future silent era swashbuckling idol 'Douglas Fairbanks' and Beth Sully--the daughter of a very wealthy cotton mogul--was born in 1909 and soon proved a gifted boy. To the end of his life he remained a multi-talented, hyperactive man, not content to appear in the 100 films mentioned above. Handsome, distinguished and extremely bright, he excelled at sports (much like his father), notably during his stay at the Military Academy in 1919 (his role in Claude Autant-Lara's "L'athlète incomplete" illustrated these abilities). He also excelled academically, and attended the Lycéee Janson de Sailly in Paris, where he had followed his divorced mother. Very early in his life he developed a taste for the arts as well and became a painter and sculptor. Not content to limiting himself to just one field, he became involved in business, in fields as varied as mining, hotel management, owning a chain of bowling alleys and a firm that manufactured popcorn. During World War II he headed London's Douglas Voluntary Hospital (an establishment taking care of war refugees), was President Franklin D. Roosevelt's special envoy for the Special Mission to South America in 1940 before becoming a lieutenant in the Navy (he was promoted to the rank of captain in 1954) and taking part in the Allies' landing in Sicily and Elba in 1943. A fervent Anglophile, was knighted in 1949 and often entertained Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip in his London mansion, "The Boltons". His film career began at the age of 13 when he was signed by Paramount Pictures. He debuted in Stephen Steps Out (1923) but the film flopped and his career stagnated despite a critically acclaimed role in Stella Dallas (1925). Things really picked up when he married Lucille Le Sueur, a young starlet who was soon to become better known as Joan Crawford. The young couple became the toast of the town (one "Screen Snapshots" episode echoes this sudden glory) and good parts and success followed, such as the hapless partner of Edward G. Robinson in Little Caesar (1931) a favorably reviewed turn as the villain in The Prisoner of Zenda (1937) or more debonair characters in slapstick comedies or adventure yarns. The 1930s were a fruitful period for Fairbanks, his most memorable role probably being that of the British soldier in Gunga Din (1939); although it was somewhat of a "swasbuckling" role, Fairbanks made a point of never imitating his father. After the World War II, his star waned and, despite a moving part in Ghost Story (1981), he did not appear in a major movie. Now a legend himself, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. left this world with the satisfaction of having lived up to the Fairbanks name at the end of a life nobody could call "wasted". Date of Death 7 May 2000, New York City, New York (heart attack)
Movie | Mary Pickford: The Muse of the Movies | Self (archive footage) | 2008-08-29 |
Movie | Joan Crawford: The Ultimate Movie Star | Self (archive footage) | 2002-08-01 |
Movie | Goldwyn: The Man and His Movies | Self (archive footage) | 2001-10-07 |
Movie | Mary Pickford: A Life on Film | Self | 2000-09-12 |
Movie | The Battle Over Citizen Kane | Self | 1996-01-29 |
Movie | Joan Crawford: Always the Star | Self (archive footage) | 1996-09-30 |
Movie | Night of 100 Stars III | Self | 1990-05-21 |
Movie | Hollywood Uncensored | Self - Host | 1987-12-01 |
Movie | Strong Medicine | Eli Camperdown | 1986-01-01 |
Movie | George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey | Self | 1985-03-03 |
Movie | La Belle Epoque | Self / Narrator | 1983-01-01 |
Movie | Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage | Self (archive footage) (uncredited) | 1983-02-25 |
Movie | The Sorcerer | Himself | 1982-05-31 |
Movie | Night of 100 Stars | Self | 1982-03-08 |
Movie | H.M.S. Pinafore | Self - Host | 1982-06-01 |
Movie | Trial By Jury | Self - Host | 1982-06-01 |
Movie | Princess Ida | Himself | 1982-06-01 |
Movie | The Gondoliers | Self - Host | 1982-06-01 |
Movie | The Pirates Of Penzance | Self - Host | 1982-06-01 |
Movie | Ghost Story | Edward Charles Wanderley | 1981-12-18 |
Series | Hollywood | 1980-01-08 | |
Movie | The Crooked Hearts | Rex Willoughby | 1972-11-08 |
Movie | The Funniest Man in the World | Narrator | 1967-11-13 |
Series | ABC Stage 67 | Unknown | 1966-09-14 |
Movie | Hollywood Without Make-Up | Self (archive footage) | 1963-07-01 |
Series | Dr. Kildare | Unknown | 1961-09-27 |
Movie | Chase a Crooked Shadow | Self - Epilogue (uncredited) | 1958-01-16 |
Series | This Is Your Life | Unknown | 1955-07-29 |
Movie | Mr. Drake's Duck | Donald 'Don' Drake | 1951-09-21 |
Series | Your Show of Shows | Unknown | 1950-02-25 |
Movie | State Secret | Dr. John Marlowe | 1950-09-11 |
Movie | The Costume Designer | Self (archive footage) | 1950-07-13 |
Movie | The Fighting O'Flynn | The O'Flynn | 1949-02-26 |
Series | The Ed Sullivan Show | Unknown | 1948-06-20 |
Movie | That Lady in Ermine | Colonel Ladislas Karolyi Teglas / The Duke | 1948-08-24 |
Movie | Sinbad the Sailor | Sinbad | 1947-01-13 |
Movie | The Exile | Charles II | 1947-10-17 |
Movie | The Corsican Brothers | Lucien Franchi / Mario Franchi | 1941-11-28 |
Movie | Safari | Jim Logan | 1940-06-14 |
Movie | Green Hell | Keith Brandon | 1940-01-26 |
Movie | Cavalcade of the Academy Awards | Self | 1940-07-31 |
Movie | Angels Over Broadway | Bill O'Brien | 1940-10-02 |
Movie | Gunga Din | Thomas Anthony Ballantine | 1939-01-26 |
Movie | The Sun Never Sets | John Randolph | 1939-05-31 |
Movie | Rulers of the Sea | David 'Davie' Gillespie | 1939-11-08 |
Movie | Having Wonderful Time | Chick Kirkland | 1938-07-01 |
Movie | The Rage of Paris | Jim Trevor | 1938-06-09 |
Movie | The Young in Heart | Richard Carleton | 1938-07-06 |
Movie | Hollywood Goes to Town | Self | 1938-07-07 |
Movie | When Thief Meets Thief | Ricky Morgan | 1937-01-01 |
Movie | The Prisoner of Zenda | Rupert of Hentzau | 1937-09-03 |
Movie | The Amateur Gentleman | John Beverley aka Barnabas Barty | 1936-04-26 |
Movie | Accused | Tony Seymour | 1936-12-18 |
Movie | Mimi | Rodolphe | 1935-03-28 |
Movie | Man of the Moment | Tony Woodward | 1935-09-01 |
Movie | Success at Any Price | Joe Martin | 1934-03-16 |
Movie | The Rise of Catherine the Great | Grand Duke Peter | 1934-02-09 |
Movie | Parachute Jumper | Bill Keller | 1933-01-28 |
Movie | The Narrow Corner | Fred Blake | 1933-07-08 |
Movie | The Life of Jimmy Dolan | Jimmy | 1933-06-03 |
Movie | Captured! | Lieutenant Fred Digby | 1933-08-19 |
Movie | Morning Glory | Joseph Sheridan | 1933-08-18 |
Movie | Union Depot | Charles 'Chick' Miller | 1932-01-14 |
Movie | It's Tough to Be Famous | Scott 'Scotty' McClenahan | 1932-04-02 |
Movie | Love Is a Racket | James 'Jimmy' Russell | 1932-06-18 |
Movie | Scarlet Dawn | Baron Nikita 'Nikki' Krasnoff | 1932-11-12 |
Movie | Little Caesar | Joe Massara | 1931-01-25 |
Movie | The Stolen Jools | Douglas Fairbanks Jr. | 1931-04-04 |
Movie | I Like Your Nerve | Larry O'Brien | 1931-09-12 |
Movie | Chances | Jack Ingleside | 1931-07-18 |
Movie | The Dawn Patrol | Douglas 'Doug' Scott | 1930-07-10 |
Movie | Loose Ankles | Gil | 1930-02-02 |
Movie | Party Girl | Jay Rountree | 1930-01-01 |
Movie | An Intimate Dinner in Celebration of Warner Bros. Silver Jubilee | Self | 1930-08-01 |
Movie | One Night at Susie's | Dick Rollins | 1930-10-19 |
Movie | Little Accident | Norman Overbeck | 1930-08-03 |
Movie | Outward Bound | Henry | 1930-09-17 |
Movie | The Way of All Men | Billy Bear | 1930-09-03 |
Movie | Fast Life | Douglas Stratton | 1929-09-01 |
Movie | Our Modern Maidens | Gil Jordan | 1929-09-08 |
Movie | The Forward Pass | Marty Reid | 1929-11-10 |
Movie | Show of Shows | Ambrose in 'Bicycle Built for Two' Number (uncredited) | 1929-11-21 |
Movie | Dead Man's Curve | Vernon Keith | 1928-01-15 |
Movie | The Garden of Eden | Busboy (uncredited) | 1928-02-04 |
Movie | The Power of the Press | Clem Rogers | 1928-10-30 |
Movie | The Barker | Chris Miller | 1928-10-02 |
Movie | A Woman of Affairs | Jeffry Merrick | 1928-12-15 |
Movie | Man Bait | Jeff Sanford | 1927-01-18 |
Movie | The American Venus | Triton | 1926-01-31 |
Movie | The Air Mail | Sandy | 1925-03-15 |
Movie | Wild Horse Mesa | Chess Weymer | 1925-09-13 |
Movie | Stella Dallas | Richard Grosvenor | 1925-11-16 |
Movie | American Aristocracy | Newsboy (uncredited) | 1916-11-05 |
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