The First Movie Stars:Florence Lawrence,Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and Charlie Chaplin

Movie stars are actors whose personas transcends their work, that is, persons whose personas becomes part of our mass culture. Several of the very first movie starts set the pattern for all those who followed. In the very early days of the Silent Film era however, there were no movie stars. The studios purposely did not publicize their actors, since to do so might encourage them to demand more money. That changed forever with Florence …

…their exceedingly popular films. Other stars soon eclipsed Florence Lawrence, and she faded from the limelight by 1916. Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks were famous and made pictures into the 30s. Charlie Chaplin's fame has scarcely faded, even though he made very few films after 1940. His films are still studied and enjoyed today. These stars, from the first two decades of the American Film Industry, truly presaged the kind of fame achieved by all their successors.