Charlotte Hennessey

Last updated

Charlotte Hennessey Pickford
Charlotte Hennessey & Mary Pickford.jpg
Hennessey and her daughter Mary Pickford in 1919
Born
Charlotte Hennessey

(1873-01-01)January 1, 1873
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
DiedMarch 22, 1928(1928-03-22) (aged 55)
Resting place Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale
OccupationActress
Spouse
John Charles Smith
(m. 1892;died 1898)
Children Mary Pickford
Lottie Pickford
Jack Pickford

Charlotte Hennessey Pickford (formerly Smith; January 1, 1873 March 22, 1928) [1] was a Canadian silent film actress and the mother of Mary, Lottie, and Jack Pickford, who all became actors.

Contents

Early life and marriage

Born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to Irish Catholic parents from Ballyduff, County Kerry, Charlotte Hennessey supported herself as a seamstress. She married John Charles Smith, a son of English Methodist immigrants. She agreed to rear their children in his Methodist faith. The couple had three children: Gladys Louise, later actress Mary Pickford; Charlotte, later actress Lottie Pickford; and John Charles, later actor Jack Pickford.

Film industry

In 1898, John Charles Smith died from a blood clot caused by a workplace accident when he was a purser with the Niagara Steamship Lines. Now a widow, Charlotte Smith struggled to make a living. She allowed her eldest daughter, Gladys, to take some theatre roles in Toronto in parts for children and, as the other children grew, toured with them with theater companies around the United States. They moved to New York, where Gladys landed a role on Broadway. Soon Gladys was able to get some film work, and changed her name to Mary Pickford at the request of a director. Later both her other children adopted Pickford as a surname for their acting work.[ citation needed ]

Harry O. Schwalbe, Mary Pickford dressed for her role in the film Daddy-Long-Legs (1919), and Charlotte Hennessey. Daddy-Long-Legs (1919) - 6.jpg
Harry O. Schwalbe, Mary Pickford dressed for her role in the film Daddy-Long-Legs (1919), and Charlotte Hennessey.

After her daughter, Gladys, known then as actress Mary Pickford, started getting film roles, Charlotte Smith acted in minor parts in three silent films in 1910 and 1911, with her daughter. All three children: Mary, Lottie, and Jack Pickford, became actors, although only Mary Pickford achieved great fame and fortune. Charlotte continued to play a large role in managing her children's careers. [2] She negotiated her daughter Mary Pickford's landmark contracts in the United States as a child star (including her $1 million a year contract, the first of its kind). [3] Smith took a role in United Artists and the Mary Pickford Film Company, founded by her daughter, until her death. [4] [ page needed ]

Death

On March 22, 1928, Smith died of breast cancer after refusing additional surgery. She had already had several major operations. She was buried in the Pickford plot at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California. She bequeathed $200,000 (approximately $3.5 million in 2023 dollars) [5] each in trust to her two younger children, Jack and Lottie, and to Lottie's daughter Gwynne. [6] She left the large bulk of her estate to her eldest daughter Mary of $1 million (approximately $17 million in 2023 dollars), [5] and she acknowledged the reasons in her will: "Whatever property I possess at the time of my death has come to me through my association with my beloved daughter in her business and through her most unusual generosity to me." [7]

Filmography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Pickford</span> Canadian actress and producer (1892–1979)

Gladys Marie Smith, known professionally as Mary Pickford, was a Canadian actress resident in the U.S., and also producer, screenwriter and film studio founder, who was a pioneer in the US film industry with a Hollywood career that spanned five decades.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gladys Cooper</span> British actress

Dame Gladys Constance Cooper, was an English actress, theatrical manager and producer, whose career spanned seven decades on stage, in films and on television.

Motion pictures have been a part of the culture of Canada since the industry began.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Pickford</span> Canadian-American actor (1896–1933)

John Charles Smith, known professionally as Jack Pickford, was a Canadian-American actor, film director and producer. He was the younger brother of actresses Mary and Lottie Pickford.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olive Thomas</span> American actress and model (1894–1920)

Olive Thomas was an American silent-film actress, art model, and photo model.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Owen Moore</span> American actor

Owen Moore was an Irish-born American actor, appearing in more than 279 movies spanning from 1908 to 1937.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norma Talmadge</span> American actress

Norma Marie Talmadge was an American actress and film producer of the silent era. A major box-office draw for more than a decade, her career reached a peak in the early 1920s, when she ranked among the most popular idols of the American screen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles "Buddy" Rogers</span> American actor and jazz musician (1904–1999)

Charles Edward "Buddy" Rogers was an American film actor and musician. During the peak of his popularity in the late 1920s and early 1930s, he was publicized as "America's Boyfriend".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mae Marsh</span> American actress

Mae Marsh was an American film actress whose career spanned over 50 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Brian</span> American actress

Mary Brian was an American actress who made the transition from silent films to sound films.

Pickford is a surname, and may refer to

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kate Price (actress)</span> Irish-American actress (1872–1943)

Katherine Duffy, known professionally as Kate Price, was an Irish-American actress. She is known for playing the role of Mrs. Kelly in the comedy series The Cohens and Kellys, made by Universal Pictures between 1926 and 1932. Price appeared in 296 movies from 1910 to 1937.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlotte Burton</span> American actress

Charlotte E. Burton was an American silent film actress.

Sweet Memories is a 1911 silent short romantic drama film, written and directed by Thomas H. Ince, released by the Independent Moving Pictures Company on March 27, 1911.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lottie Pickford</span> Canadian-American actress (1893–1936)

Charlotte Smith, known professionally as Lottie Pickford, was a Canadian-American silent film actress and socialite. She was the younger sister of fellow actress Mary Pickford and elder sister of actor Jack Pickford.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlotte Walker</span> American actress

Charlotte Ganahl Walker was a Broadway theater actress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Pickford filmography</span>

Mary Pickford (1892–1979) was a Canadian-American motion picture actress, producer, and writer. During the silent film era she became one of the first great celebrities of the cinema and a popular icon known to the public as "America's Sweetheart".

Charlotte Smith may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lottie Venne</span>

Lottie Venne was a British comedian, actress and singer of the Victorian and Edwardian eras, who enjoyed a theatre career spanning five decades. Venne began her stage career in musical burlesque before moving into farce and comedy. She appeared in several works by each of F. C. Burnand and W. S. Gilbert and was often in plays with Charles Hawtrey later in her career.

Hennessey is an Irish surname, being the anglicised form of Ó hAonghusa. Families of this name were found in Kingdom of Uí Failghe and Kingdom of Desmond. Notable people with the surname include:

References

  1. Wilson, Scott (September 5, 2016). Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed. McFarland. ISBN   978-0-7864-7992-4.
  2. Harlan, Jennifer (January 16, 2020). "When the Past Roars Into the Present". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved October 31, 2023.
  3. "The truth about 'Hollywood Moms'". NZ Herald. November 1, 2023. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
  4. Menefee, David. Sweet Memories, (Menefee Publishing Inc., 2012); ISBN   1469966956
  5. 1 2 "What is $200,000 in 1928 worth in 2023?". amortization.org. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
  6. Eileen Whitfield, Pickford: The Woman Who Made Hollywood. The United Press of Kentucky (2007), p. 252
  7. "The Pittsburgh Press - Google News Archive Search".