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Show HEARTATTACK PROVES FATAL TO FAIRBANKS Veteran Actor, 'Doug Dies at Cottage in Santa Monica HOLLYWOOD, Dec. 12 (INS) The last c u r t a i n death came down today for Douglas Fairbanks Sr., one of the truly great and colorful figures of the motion picture industry. Doug, as he was known to the world although he always was formal for-mal "Douglas" to hi associates was one o( a handful ol people who lifted pictures from side-street side-street nickelodeons to their present pres-ent palatial houses; from rags to undreamed riches. He was the first and the greatest great-est of the adventure Stan. His name was known In every nook and cranny of the world. And Hollywood never has been able to supplant him, although his own son, Douglas Jr., seems to be coming com-ing nearest. Fairbanks died at the age of 55 from a heart attack at his beach cottage In near-by Santa Monica. He was born in Denver in 1884. Doug, the athletic strenuous hero of the silver screen, and Just as athletic and vigorous In private pri-vate life, complained yesterday of a slight Illness. A physician was called, who diagnosed the case as a slight heart attack and ordered the patient to bed. But he rapidly became worse and, with his present wife, the former for-mer Lady Sylvia Ashley, at nil oeoiiae, ne aiea at l a. m. Grief-stricken, his famous son, Douglas Jr., arrived a few minutes later. 'America's' SweeUiearf Was Wife Doug Fairbanks and the blonde-tressed blonde-tressed Mary Pickford, "America's sweetheart," who then was his wife, were the center of everything every-thing In Hollywood for years; they, and their friend and business busi-ness associate, Charlie Chaplin, were the top stars ft the screen, and Doug and Mary, from their beautiful estate. "Pickfair," In the hills above filmland, ruled the colony col-ony socially. Doug came to Hollywood more than 20 years sgo after the usual trials and tribulations of an actor. ac-tor. Motion pictures were just beginning to catch the public fancy. Fairbanks shrewdly saw their grekt future and, more important, im-portant, decided on the type of entertainment en-tertainment the public would like from him. He guessed so rightly thst he soon had placed his name among the film immortals with such pic- (Coatlniwd oa Pan Four (Column Thrw Douglas Fairbanks Sr. Dies (Continual from Pat Oim) lures as "The Mark of Zorro," 'Robin Hood," "Three Muske teers" and the "Thief of Bagdad." He guessed the public wanted clean, exciting stories of adventure, adven-ture, Intrigue and Just a dash of romance. And that's exactly what Doug furnished, with the result that he was the greatest box office draw in the business and the hero of every youth and man, and lots of women and girls. Business Aeumea But Doug was not only an actor. He had business acumen, and took a fortune from his adopted profession. profes-sion. At one time he and Miss Pickford, now the wife of Buddy Rogers, actor and band leader, controlled con-trolled one of the biggest fortunes in the United States. They got together with others and formed United Artists, bringing bring-ing to their fold such as Chaplin, Norma Talmadge, Gloria Swanson, Eddie Cantor and Ronald Colman, with Joseph M. Schenck as the executive ex-ecutive head. This combine dominated domi-nated the industry for years and took out most of the wealth. They also mada great pictures, incidentally. inci-dentally. Doug's name was in the brightest lights on theater marquees for more than IS years, or up to about five years ago. Then he retired to roam the world and seek the adventure ad-venture he heretofore had found only on the screen. And he and Miss Pickford found their paths growing farther and farther apart until they finally were divorced. After a military school education, educa-tion, Fairbanks attended the Colorado Colo-rado School of Mines, but he definitely defi-nitely was not Interested In mining engineering. Rather, he took courses in fencing, dancing, and acrobatics, which fitted him at the age of IT. to Join a theatrical company. com-pany. After some time Fairbanks entered en-tered Harvard university to take courses in dramatics and then went In for stage work in earnest. From the stage he wandered to the films, and his first screen debut de-but occurred In a production called "The Lamb." for the old Tri- i angle Films. He was an immediate hit. , Then came a period In which he played western leads in such films 1 as 'The Americano," "Wild and I Woolly," "The Man From Painted Post" and others. . |