Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Silent Film Legend Mary Pickford Visits Los Angeles Harbor



"America's Sweetheart" Mary Pickford visited Los Angeles Harbor on August 12, 1919. Pickford and other dignitaries went aboard the battleship Texas anchored in the outer harbor to honor the crew which had raised $130,000 for the second Liberty Bond campaign, the most of any ship in the U.S. Navy. Pickford presented the men with a silver cup as a reward. The pennant of the George Washington, the ship that had transported President Woodrow Wilson to the Peace Conference in France, was also given to the Texas crew as a personal gift from the President.
While reading her formal remarks, Pickford received the greatest ovation when she quipped that she would prefer to make "a real speech" if she "didn't have to be so formal with the Secretary of Navy" (Josephus Daniels) present. Shortly after this visit, Pickford helped establish the United Artists film studio.

1 comment:

Janice Sniker said...

Can you please provide a source for this information re: Pickford and TEXAS? I am the Collections Manager on the ship, which is berthed near Houston as a museum ship. I would LOVe to be able to do a little more research on this -
Janice Sniker - janice.sniker@tpwd.state.tx.us