Canadian pioneers in early Hollywood

Motion pictureshave been a part of theculture of Canadasince the industry began.

History

Around 1910, theEast Coastfilmmakers began to take advantage of the mildCaliforniawinter climates, and afterNestor Studios,run by CanadianAl Christie,built the first permanentmovie studioinHollywood,a number of the movie companies expanded or relocated to the new Hollywood.At the same time, because there was no sound in movies, severalFrenchfilmmakers had their motion pictures distributed in the United States.

List of Canadian film pioneers in Hollywood

Among those Canadians who took part in the early years of Hollywood were:

• Allakariallak(1890s–1924?), Inuit actor and subject of "Nanook of the North"
• Charles Arling(1880–1922), actor
• Earl W. Bascom(1906-1995), actor, artist, worked withRoy Rogers,worked onLouis B. Mayer'sranch in Perris, California
• William Bertram(1880–1933), actor, director
• Ben Blue(1901–1975), actor, comedian
• Raymond Burr(1917–1993), actor; Perry Mason, Ironside
• Jack Carson(1910–1963), actor
• Peggy Cartwright(1912-2001), actress inOur Gangcomedy series and withHarold Lloyd
• Al Christie(1881–1951), co-founder ofChristie Film Company,director/producer/screenwriter
• Charles Christie(1880–1955), co-founder of Christie Film Company; builder of Hollywood's first luxury hotel
• Berton Churchill(1876–1940), actor
• Yvonne De Carlo(1922–2007), actor
• Joe De Grasse(1873–1940), director
• Sam De Grasse(1875–1953), actor
• Fifi D'Orsay(1904–1983), actress
• Marie Dressler(1869–1934),Academy Award for Best Actress
• Douglass Dumbrille(1889–1974), moving and television actor
• Deanna Durbin(1921–2013), actress, singer
• Allan Dwan(1885–1981), director, producer, screenwriter
• Edward Earle(1882–1972), actor
• Rockliffe Fellowes(1883–1950), actor
• Glenn Ford(1916–2006), actor
• John Harvey Gahan(1888–1958), as Oscar Gahan, actor, musician, composer; Canada's child prodigy violinist, aka Arvé
• Huntley Gordon(1887–1956), actor
• Lorne Greene(1915–1987), actor; played Ben Cartwight, Commander Adama
• June Havoc(1912-2010), actress
• Harry Hayden(1882–1955), actor
• Del Henderson(1883–1956), actor, director, writer
• Walter Huston(1884–1950),Academy Awardwinning actor
• May Irwin(1862–1938), actor, first screen kiss in 1896
• Victor Jory(1902–1982), actor
• Ruby Keeler(1909–1993), dancer, actress
• Barbara Kent(1907–2011), actress
• Florence La Badie(1888–1917), actress
• Florence Lawrence(1886–1938), "America's first movie star"
• Rosina Lawrence(1912-1997), actress
• Beatrice Lillie(1894–1989), actress
• Gene Lockhart(1891–1957), actor
• Del Lord(1894–1970), comedy director
• Wilfred Lucas(1871–1940), director, screenwriter, actor
• Henry MacRae(1876–1944), director, producer, screenwriter, actor
• David Manners(1900–1998), actor
• Raymond Massey(1896–1983), actor
• Louis B. Mayer(1885–1957), co–founder ofMetro Goldwyn Mayer Motion Picture Studios
• Bob Nolan(1908–1980), singer/actor in western musicals as leader of "The Sons of the Pioneers"
• Sidney Olcott(1872–1949), director
• Jack Pickford(1896–1933), actor, Hollywood's first "Bad Boy"
• Lottie Pickford(1893–1936), actress
• Mary Pickford(1892–1979), "America's Sweetheart,"Academy Award for Best Actress,co–founder ofUnited Artists
• Walter Pidgeon(1897–1984), actor
• Marie Prevost(1896–1937), actress
• John Qualen(1899-1987), actor
• William Quinn(1884–1965), actor
• Mack Sennett(1880–1960), director, known as the "King of Comedy"
• Athole Shearer(1900–1985), actress, wife of directorHoward Hawks
• Douglas Shearer(1899–1971), sound director/designer, winner of sevenAcademy Awards
• Norma Shearer(1902–1983),Academy Award for Best Actress
• Nell Shipman(1892–1970), actress, writer, producer
• Jay Silverheels(1912–1980), actor known for his portrayal ofTonto,sidekick to the Lone Ranger
• Alexis Smith(1921–1993), actor
• Ned Sparks(1883–1957), actor
• Richard Travers(1885–1935), actor
• Jack L. Warner(1892–1978), co-founder ofWarner Brothers
• Marjorie White(1904–1935), actress
• Joseph Wiseman(1918–2009), actor

Canadian scene in Hollywood

In his bookStardust and Shadows: Canadians in Early Hollywood,Charles Fosterrecounted his experiences meeting some of these Canadians while on leave from theRoyal Air ForceduringWorld War II.Foster visited Hollywood where he was introduced to Canadian and silent movie directorSidney Olcott.Through Olcott he learned of Hollywood's Canadian community. Although total strangers, young Foster was welcomed with open arms. This social gathering of "Canucks"also included Walter Pidgeon,Deanna Durbin,Fifi D'Orsay, and others who worked in the movie business.

Several of these Canadian pioneers achieved enormous wealth and worldwide fame, such as Louis B. Mayer and Mary Pickford who were, in their day, two of the most powerful personalities in Hollywood. From the late 1920s to the mid-1930s, Canadian female actresses were amongst the greatest box office draws. TheAcademy Award for Best Actresswas won by Canadian women three years in a row:

• 1929 - Mary Pickford inCoquette
• 1930 - Norma Shearer inThe Divorcee
• 1931 - Marie Dressler inMin and Bill

Foster recounts the feelings and deep loyalty of Louis B. Mayer. Although he had become a naturalized American citizen, Mayer was known to hire Canadian compatriots on the spot, asSaint John,New Brunswicknative Walter Pidgeon later recalled:

Without another word he called his secretary,Ida Koverman."Ida..." he said, "prepare a contract for this man from Saint John, he will tell you his name, and Ida, add another fifty dollars a week on the contract for a good Canadian." We shook hands and just like that I was under contract to MGM. "You do act, don't you?" he asked. I nodded and left the room.

Several Canadian expatriates also saw their careers decline and died before the age of 55.Florence Lawrence,the "first realmovie star",theBiograph Girlin Hollywood history, who appeared in more than 270 movies, committed suicide at the age of 52. She is buried in unmarked grave in theHollywood Cemetery.Marie Prevost,who was a leading lady during the mid-1920s, suffered from depression after the death of her mother in 1926. In 1937, she died of acutealcoholismand malnutrition at the age of 38.Florence La Badiedied of injuries she sustained in a car accident in August 1917 at the age of 29.Jack Pickford,Mary Pickford's younger brother, died at age 36 from what was then known asmultiple neuritis,while his sisterLottiedied of a heart attack at age 43.

Further reading

• Charles Foster,Stardust and Shadows: Canadians in Early Hollywood,2000, Dundurn PressISBN1-55002-348-9