Canada is a fascinating place for Americans. The government is different, the culture is different, the laws are different (universal healthcare!), and the talent that comes from there seems neverending. What makes it interesting for Americans compared to Britain and Australia is that Canada is right there! Same accent, yet different sensibilities than us. For the major imports of the last fifty years – Seth Rogan, Ryan Reynolds, Eugene & Dan Levy, Jim Carrey, Dan Ackroyd, Ivan Reitman, John Candy, Donald & Keifer Sutherland, Sarah Polley, James Cameron, Michael J. Fox, Martin Short, Mike Meyers – the path was laid out for them thanks to these legendary Canadians that proceeded them. But we’re not looking at mid-20th century; Canadians played a major role in the establishment of Hollywood at the turn of the century.
Alfred Christie
He was born and raised in London, Ontario, Canada, before moving to New York to start in the fledgling picture business. In 1910, his first job was with the Centaur Film Company where he made one-reel shorts based on the Mutt and Jeff comic strips. The following year, he switched to the Nestor Film Company and went to Hollywood with the rest of the studios seeking warmth and inexpensiveness. Christie was Nestor’s first general manager as they became the first company to build a permanent movie studio, located at Sunset and Gower where currently the abandoned former studios for CBS stand. Christie and his brother, Charles, then formed their own production company that specialized in comedies, signing up stars like Mack Sennett (another noted Canadian) and Bobby Vernon, who would later write for W.C. Fields and Bing Crosby. Christie would maintain a directing career through the 1930s and he died in 1951.
Walter Huston
The patriarch of generations with actors and directors of the same last name, Walter was born on April 5, 1883, in Toronto. Growing up in the town of Orangeville, Walter worked as a farmer and in construction and attended acting school on his days off. After starting in stage plays in 1902, he was recruited to tour in the United States, as well as acting vaudeville, but upon marrying his first wife, he quit acting and returned to labor work in Missouri. Several years later, his marriage failed (but had a child, John Huston) and Walter went to New York to act again where he met his second wife, also an actress. Soon, Walter was acting on Broadway and was recognized by talent scouts looking to get actors over to Hollywood.
As talkies became the norm in pictures, Huston thrived as the lead in Abraham Lincoln (directed by D.W. Griffith), Dodsworth (directed by William Wyler, and his first Oscar nomination), and The Devil And Daniel Webster (his second Oscar nomination). John, meanwhile, quickly rose up the ranks as a writer and would get his shot at directing with The Maltese Falcon, which Walter had an uncredited cameo in. But for father & son, it was 1948’s The Treasure of Sierra Madre that both would simultaneously win Oscars, Walter for Supporting Actor, John for Adapted Screenplay, and Best Director. Walter died in 1950, but the spawning of other Hustons has kept the acting descendency alive.
Mary Pickford
Born Gladys Louise Smith on April 8, 1892, in Toronto, “America’s Sweetheart,” as she was known, started acting when they met a theatrical stage manager who suggests Gladys and her two young siblings be cast in plays. As the oldest, Gladys got more substantial roles and acting became a family business. They toured the rest of Eastern Canada and the Northeast of the U.S., making it all the way to Broadway where all of them were cast in The Warrens of Virginia. It was there when the 15-year-old Smith was suggested by the producer, David Belasco, to adopt the more recognizable stage name, Mary Pickford. In 1909, she made her first movies with director D.W. Griffith, who took her with him to California the following year.
For the next 20 years, Pickford would be one of the first great movie stars, receiving formal billing in movies and became known recognized for her curly hair. Her stature allowed her to be more open and seek independence, especially when it came to being a businesswoman who wanted control of her own ideas. She, Griffith, her husband, Douglas Fairbanks, and Charlie Chaplin got together to form United Artists in 1919, the first company independent from the studios for distribution. Compared to other Hollywood emigrates, Pickford never sought American citizenship, preferring to, “die as a Canadian”. The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto features a bust of Pickford, memorializing her as a native of the city and the country.
Mack Sennett
Born in Richmond, Quebec, in 1880, Michael Sinnott, as he was born, moved to the U.S. when he was 17. Living in Massachusetts, Sennett saw a passing vaudeville and was inspired to get into acting, singing, and dancing, which took him to New York City and was hired by the Biograph Company. Taking on the business side of moviemaking, Sennett founded Keystone Studios in 1912 and built the first enclosed film studio in town. The sound stage is still standing, located at 1712 Glendale Blvd, but now as a storage facility for movie equipment. Under his direction, the Keystone Cops and Bathing Beauties became very popular in short films. Slapstick humor and promotional bathing suits aside, Charlie Chaplin embarked on his legendary career in Hollywood courtesy of Bennett in 1915. Others including Fatty Arbuckle, Gloria Swanson, Harold Lloyd, Marie Dressler (from Canada), and Harry Langdon also got their start at Keystone.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpxArDrXByQ
But Sennett left his own company in 1917 to form Mack Sennett Comedies Corporation, which was independent of the studios. He had success throughout the 1920s and made short talkies into the 30s, even winning an Oscar for what is now Live Action – Short Film for Wrestling Swordfish. His decline was sharp because of the Great Depression which cost Sennett his studio and his style of filmmaking with made his works outdated. There was some success with comic shorts alongside W.C. Fields, but by 1935, his career was over after 1,000+ silent films and few dozen talkies. In 1938, Sennett was awarded an Honorary Oscar, “for his lasting contribution to the comedy technique of the screen, the basic principles of which are as important today as when they were first put into practice.”
Norma Shearer
A native of Montreal, Shearer was born in 1902 and raised in an affluent home and decided to pursue acting at age 9, something her mother feared because of Shearer’s imperfect looks. Aware of it, she persisted, especially when her father’s business went bankrupt and the family was forced to move into a more modest home with her older sister, Athole, and brother, Douglas. Eventually, the Shearer mom of three decided to risk what they had left to go to New York City in 1920 to seek out a professional acting career for the daughters. While Athole never got off the ground due to her struggle with bipolar disorder (she was married to director Howard Hawks from 1928 to 1940), Norma would make it through.
Louis B. Mayer would invite Shearer to Hollywood and began her film career – as well as introduce her to her future husband, producer Irving Thalberg. Now in contract with MGM, Shearer would make a string of hits that continued into the 30s, where she became the first actress to receive five acting Oscar nominations, winning one for The Divorcee. (Brother Douglas would win 7 Oscars for Sound and Visual Effects.) Her performances were praised, portraying women liberated sexually instead of good girl roles that were common in the 20s. Marrying Thalberg made her the “First Lady of MGM” and remained so after Thalberg’s sudden death in 1936. Shearer retired in 1942, remarried, and lived the rest of her life out of the public spotlight.
Follow me on Twitter: @brian_cine (Cine-A-Man)
