Despite his humble beginnings as a character created on a train ride by a little known film producer who was flirting with bankruptcy, Mickey Mouse exploded on the scene in 1928, quickly earning millions of fans, including one of the biggest Hollywood Stars of The silent era- Mary Pickford.
Mary Pickford was the biggest star of Hollywood’s early years, having earned the right to use her own name on her films, something that was not permitted by the studios at the time; she was originally called the “Biograph Girl”, named after her original studio.
With her husband Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford co-founded United Artists along with Charlie Chaplin and D. W. Griffith. Together, Douglas and Mary formed Hollywood’s very first super couple and were known around the world. Mary became one of Mickey and Walt Disney’s biggest fans, telling the press that Mickey Mouse was her favorite actor. When Walt Disney lost his first Mickey Mouse film distributor due to a contract dispute, Mary intervened and got a new contract for Mickey at United Artists.
