Marriages
His first notable relationship was with the actress Joan Crawford, whom he began to date seriously during the filming of Our Modern Maidens. On June 3, 1929, at St Malachy in New York City, Crawford and Fairbanks married. Fairbanks was only 19 and Crawford was four years older.
They went on a delayed honeymoon to England, where he was entertained by Noël Coward, Gertrude Lawrence, Bea Lillie, and Prince George, Duke of Kent. He became active in both society and politics, but Crawford was far more interested in her career and had an affair with Clark Gable. The couple divorced in 1933.
Despite their divorce, Fairbanks was quick to defend Crawford when her adopted daughter Christina Crawford, published Mommie Dearest, a scathing biography of Crawford's personal life. He firmly stated, "The Joan Crawford that I've heard about in Mommie Dearest is not the Joan Crawford I knew back then."
On April 22, 1939, Fairbanks married Mary Lee Hartford (née Mary Lee Epling), a former wife of Huntington Hartford, the A&P supermarket heir. He remained devoted to her until her death in 1988. They had three daughters: Daphne, Victoria, and Melissa, as well as eight grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren.
On May 30, 1991, Fairbanks wed Vera Lee Shelton, a merchandiser for QVC Network Inc.
Read more about this topic: Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.
Famous quotes containing the word marriages:
“If common sense had been consulted, how many marriages would never have taken place; if uncommon or divine sense, how few marriages such as we witness would ever have taken place!”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Good marriages are built on respectful disagreement and back-and-forth cooperation. We learn to cue each other, fill in for each other, forgive each other’s fumbles, celebrate small victories. We revel in the realization that we’re working on something bigger than both of us, and that parenthood is not only incredibly challenging but also incredibly enriching.”
—Susan Lapinski (20th century)
“Women have entered the work force . . . partly to express their feelings of self-worth . . . partly because today many families would not survive without two incomes, partly because they are not at all sure their marriages will last. The day of the husband as permanent meal-ticket is over, a fact most women recognize, however they feel about “women’s liberation.””
—Robert Neelly Bellah (20th century)