The First King of Hollywood: The Life of Douglas Fairbanks [Paperback]

Douglas Fairbanks was the greatest leading man of his generation—the first and the best of the swashbucklers. He made some of the greatest films of the silent era, includingThe Thief of Bagdad,Robin Hood, andThe Mark of Zorro. With Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, and his wife, film star Mary Pickford, he founded United Artists. Pickford and Fairbanks ruled Hollywood as its first king and queen for a decade. Now a cache of newly discovered love letters from Fairbanks to Pickford form the centerpiece of the first truly definitive biography of Hollywood's first king, the man who did his own stunts, built his own studio, and formed a company that allowed artists to distribute their own wealth outside the studio system. Fairbanks was fun, witty, engaging, creative, athletic, and a force to be reckoned with. He shaped our idea of the Hollywood hero, and his story, like his movies, is full of passion, bravado, and romance.

“one of the most delightful Hollywood biographies to slide down the mast in years.” —New York Times Sunday Review 

“Tracey Goessel's biography of Douglas Fairbanks is impeccably researched and elegantly written. It gives new relevance to one of the seminal figures of 20th century movies and manhood, and at the same time it gives us an amazingly intimate view of the tragic love affair between Fairbanks and Mary Pickford. This is not merely a worthy book, it's a necessary book.” —Scott Eyman, author ofJohn Wayne: The Life and LegendandEmpire of Dreams: The Epic Life of Cecil B. DeMille

“Tracey Goessel gives us for the first time the real, three-dimensional man, in all his vibrancy, creativity, and sexiness. Beyond being a mega-star, he was a daring, hands-on producer and industry leader.” —Cari Beauchamp, historian, journalist, and author ofJoseph P. Kennedy Presents: His Hollywood Years