It was the first mansion in Beverly Hills, transforming this sleepy, little suburb of Los Angeles into the playground of the stars. It was named Pickfair after its owners, two of the biggest stars in silent movies, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks. And its story is the story of the transformation of Los Angeles from a sleepy town of ranches and orange groves into the glamour capital of the world.
In the early 1910s the movie industry was in full swing in southern California. The sunny climate made ideal weather for shooting movies, and filmmakers, actors and actresses flocked to the region from all over the country. One actress in particular, Gladys Smith, was quick to grasp the power of movies. She’d just gotten a supporting role in a Broadway play entitled The Warrens of Virginia, written by William C. DeMille, whose brother, Cecil B. DeMille was in the cast. The play’s producer insisted Gladys should adopt a stage name, and created a new name for her – Mary Pickford. Once the play finished its run, Mary was out of work and looking for acting jobs. In 1909 she screen tested for D. W. Griffith at Biograph Studios in New York for a role in Pippa Passes, a nickelodeon. She didn’t get the part, but Griffith saw potential in the 18-year-old and hired her. She appeared in 51 movies that year. When the company moved to Los Angeles, she went with them. Within five years she was the biggest female star in movies, earning more than a million dollars a year when bread was five cents a loaf.
Pickford was married in 1911 to Owen Moore, a silent film actor. Moore was an alcoholic and became abusive as his wife’s star eclipsed his own. Secretly, Pickford began seeing Douglas Fairbanks, the dashing star swashbuckling adventure movies. Pickford finally divorced Moore on March 2, 1920 and married Fairbanks four weeks later.
The couple bought a house at 1143 Summit Drive in Beverly Hills and transformed it into a lavish 22 room mansion named Pickfair. By most accounts the house was a hunting lodge, but according to Diane Maust, great granddaughter of Lee Phillips, who had built the original house, it was not a hunting lodge. Her great grandfather didn’t even hunt. Lee had built the house for his wife Catherine.
Pickford and Fairbanks used Wallace Neff to redesign the house using the finest materials. Ceiling frescos were employed, and the house was decorated with the finest art from around the world. Gladys Smith had arrived.
Fairbanks and Pickford were considered “Hollywood Royalty” and Pickfair was their Camelot. Parties at Pickfair were the stuff of legend. Guests included, Albert Einstein, H. G. Wells, George Bernard Shaw, Amelia Earhart, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Lord and Lady Mountbatten and Hollywood stars like Charlie Chaplin, Tom Mix, Rudolf Valentino. Pickfair became the social focal point for the Hollywood community. Pickfair made Beverly Hills fashionable, and and many celebrities began building mansions there. But not all was well behind the gated walls of Pickfair.
The coming of sound in 1927 marked the end of Pickford and Fairbanks’ careers. Although busy with United Artists, the company they helped found, Pickford and Farirbank’s stars were on the wane. The constant pressure of being in the public eye, coupled with their foundering careers strained the marriage. When Fairbanks had an affair with Lady Sylvia Ashley, that was the last straw. Pickford divorced Fairbanks in 1936 and kept the house as part of the divorce settlement. The following year, she married Charles “Buddy” Rogers, 12 years her junior. The two would remain married until Pickford’s death in 1979. The couple adopted two children, Ronald and Roxanne. By most accounts, Pickford was not a particularly good mother. The loss of her career, the divorce, and the loss of her mother, brother and sister all within a few years left her broken. She turned to alcohol and became a virtual recluse within the walls of Pickfair.
Pickfair, the scene of so many dinners and celebrations, became a place shut off from the world. In later years, Pickford would only allow visits to the estate from Lillian Gish, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. (her stepson) and a few select others. During this time the house fell into neglect.
In 1979, when Pickford died, her husband moved out of Pickfair and built a house dedicated to Pickford’s memory and designed to be a smaller version of Pickfair. Pickfair stood empty for a couple years. Over the years, Pickford had subdivided the original 18 acre estate. Buddy Rogers further reduced the acreage when he sold the house for $5.4 million to Jerry Buss, owner of the LA Lakers.
In 1988, Pickfair was put up on the market again and was sold to Meshulam Riklis and his wife, sometime actress Pia Zadora for $7 million. Riklis and Zadora stated they planned to renovate the old mansion. The Hollywood community was shocked to find out what the “renovations” really meant. Riklis and Zadora had most of Pickfair demolished to be replaced by a new, larger mansion. Zadora claimed that the house was in poor repair and infested with termites, so the destruction was necessary. The only remaining portions of the old estate were the pool, the front gate and a section of Pickfair’s north wing. As owners of the house Zadora and Riklis could do as they please, but their actions outraged many. However, the party for Pickfair had been over for many years, and in ways, Zadora and Riklis merely turned out the lights.
In 2005 Pickfair was put on the market again with an asking price of $27 million. It was purchased and is currently owned by UNICOM International, a software company.
Click here for pictures of Pickfair PAST and PRESENT.
Sources: UNICOM International, Wikipedia
