About Me
I, John Charles Smith (August 18, 1896 - January 3, 1933) was a Canadian-born American actor. Born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, I was the younger brother of actresses Mary and Lottie Pickford. Like them, my mother had me acting on stage as a very young boy. In 1910, I was only 14 years old when, with the help of my sister Mary, I was signed to perform in motion pictures with Biograph Studios.
After Biograph opened its studios in Hollywood, California, the Pickford clan moved west. I, a small, fragile boy, grew up in the adult world, one that suddenly became full of money far beyond anything imaginable for the time when Mary Pickford signed a contract in 1917 for $1 million with First National Pictures. I got a lucrative contract with First National as part of the deal but that year, I gained respect for my acting abilities after starring as Pip in the adaptation of Charles Dickens' Great Expectations and in the same year for playing the title role in Mark Twain' s Tom Sawyer.
Despite my on-screen image as the winsome boy-next-door, my private life was one of alcohol, drugs, and womanizing, culminating in the severe alcoholism and syphilis that would eventually kill me. In those days, the movie studios were able to cover up almost all of their stars' misbehavior, but within the Hollywood crowd my behind-the scenes antics made me a legend in my own time.
I spent money frivolously and frequently had to suffer the humiliation of asking my mother or sister for help. As my reckless lifestyle worsened, the number of movies I made declined and therefore my own income.
In early 1918, after the United States entered World War I, I joined the United States Navy. Using the famous Pickford name, I soon became involved in a scheme that allowed rich young men to pay bribes to avoid military service, as well as reportedly procuring young women for officers. For my involvement, I came close to being dishonorably discharged; it is speculated that my sister (by that time a famous and powerful actress) arranged for me to give evidence to the authorities in exchange for a medical discharge.
My first marriage, in 1916, to Olive Thomas (née Olive Duffy, ex-Mrs. Bernhard Krugh Thomas, 1894-1920), a Pennsylvania-born model-turned-showgirl-turned-film-actress and a reputed heroin addict, was stormy from the start, but she was reportedly the love of my life. However, while filming in Paris, France, we went out for a night of entertainment at the famous bistros in Montparnasse. Returning to our room in the Hôtel Ritz at around 3:00 in the morning, my wife died after ingesting a large dose of the mercury biochloride which had been prescribed for my ongoing venereal disease; infected in 1917, I had passed the disease on to Thomas, as well as the medicine used to treat it. The police investigation into her death centered on me, but no charges were ever brought. On the return trip to America, film director Allan Dwan had to talk me out of committing suicide.
Married two more times unsuccessfully, including a 1922-1927 marriage to celebrated Broadway dancer Marilyn Miller, by 1932 I was alone again, my health deteriorating from the ravages of syphilis and the toll taken by years of alcohol and drug abuse. I died in the American Hospital in Paris, at age 36. My sister, Mary Pickford, arranged for my body to be returned to Los Angeles, California, where I was interred in the private Pickford plot in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.
I have a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1523 Vine Street.
My page at Forest Lawn.(From wikipedia.org, with a change of person.)
