THE ICONS

Mary Pickford was a talented performer, a creative producer and a savvy businesswoman who helped shape the film industry as we know it today. She was a founder of United Artists, the Motion Picture Television Fund, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Mary became the first actor to obtain a million-dollar contract, and her popularity reached unimaginable heights. Mary Pickford’s philanthropy was a hallmark of her entire life and by creating her Foundation, she assured that her commitment to her craft, her community and her giving would continue way beyond her passing in 1979. Her legacy continues through the work of her foundation, to inspire future generations of women and filmmakers with the restoration, preservation, and distribution of her films. Mary will always be “America’s Sweetheart.”

You can learn more about Mary Pickford here.

Mamie Van Doren has been a movie icon for more than seven decades. She has appeared in more than 40 films, both in America and overseas; made countless appearances on television, performed in top night club venues around the world, toured front line fire stations in Vietnam during the war, and authored three books and scores of magazine articles.
Mamie was the first woman to perform rock ‘n’ roll in the movies. Her appearance in Teacher’s Pet opposite Clark Gable and Doris Day singing The Girl Who Invented Rock ‘n’ Roll cemented her reputation as a rock ‘n’ roll pioneer.
Many of Mamie’s films featured her singing performances with artists such as Jerry Lee Lewis, Bill Haley and the Comets, the Platters, Eddie Cochran, Conway Twitty and Ferlin Husky. Her performances in High School Confidential, Untamed Youth, Running Wild, Girls Town, Beat Generation, and Sex Kittens Go to College remain memorable and YouTube-able events. Nearly all of her films have become cult classics, playing at retro-festivals around the world.

You can learn more about Mamie Van Doren through her book, Playing the Field. Mamie’s new memoir, Secrets of the Goddess, will be released in 2024.

Eyes. Attitude. Talent. The “Benevolent Volcano.”
The incomparable and truly legendary Bette Davis was nominated for ten Oscars during her career. Both as an actress and force of nature, Davis pushed Hollywood to a new plateau. On-screen, she reinvented women’s roles. Off-screen, she fought voraciously for good scripts, decent treatment of crew members, and, especially, for control over her own career. She was the first woman president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scientists in 1941. That same year, she joined forces with John Garfield to organize the Hollywood Canteen. Often referred to as “The Fourth Warner Brother,” she was a true inspiration and role model to generations of women and aspiring actors.

You can learn more about Bette Davis here.

An icon with a well-documented adoration for her fans, Joan Crawford was born to be a star. With a career spanning over 45 years and an appearance in around 80 films, Crawford dominated the big screen over multiple eras from silent films to pre-code talkies to the movies made in what is most commonly referred to as the “Golden Age of Hollywood.”

“If you want to see the girl next door – go next door.”

Learn more about Joan Crawford here.

An actor with one of the most extensive bodies of work, Boris Karloff has over 200 acting credits attached to his legacy including the embodiment of two legendary monster characters. He was also one of the 9 founding members of the screen actors guild.

Learn more about Boris Karloff here.

One of the most recognizable figures of the Golden Age of Hollywood, Ava Gardner, was a bold and independent woman whose breakout role in the 1946 movie, The Killers, cemented her place in film and helped pave the way for longevity within entertainment. Her life through the 1940s and 1950s was a highly publicized one due to her hot-topic relationships. Her major move abroad to Spain and later, the UK, could at least partially be credited to her craving for privacy and space from the hustle and bustle of Hollywood. 

Learn more about Ava Gardner here.

Referred to as the “First Lady of Song,” Ella Fitzgerald was the first African American woman to win a Grammy, winning a total of 13 in her lifetime. She broke down racial barriers with her voice, and her talent allowed her to pave the way for other African American performers. Since 1993, she has helped people of all races, cultures, and beliefs with The Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation, which is still changing lives today.

Learn more about Ella Fitzgerald here.

Dubbed the “King of Daredevil Comedy” after his 1923 film, Safety Last!, Harold Lloyd starred in nearly 200 films between his debut in 1913 and his final movie in 1947. His passion for 3-D photography kept him creating for the remainder of his life.

“It has been amazing to me that these comedies can still strike a responsive note of laughter with audiences of all ages and in all parts of the world. Laughter is the universal language. It establishes a common identity among people—regardless of other differences. It is the sweetest sound in the whole world.” –  Harold Lloyd

Learn more about Harold Lloyd here.

“Dubbed the ‘too beautiful’ girl after law enforcement forced her out of Los Angeles at age seventeen for being ‘too beautiful’ to be on her own in the city, Barbara La Marr (1896-1926) was an acclaimed stock theater actress, cabaret dancer, vaudevillian, and screenwriter before skyrocketing to fame as a leading actress and siren of the silent screen.

“She made over two dozen films during her meteoric five-year film acting career, seducing audiences with her laudable talent, exotic beauty, and enigmatic allure. Offscreen, her sweetness, tender heart, and giving nature endeared her to others.

“She lived a full, accomplished, sometimes scandalous life before succumbing to tuberculosis and nephritis at age twenty-nine. After her passing, her publicist remarked, ‘There was no reason to lie about Barbara La Marr…Everything she said, everything she did was colored with news-value. A personality dangerous, vivid, attractive; a desire to live life at its maddest and fullest; a mixture of sentiment and hardness, a creature of weakness and strength— that was Barbara La Marr.'” – actress, writer, & Barbara La Marr biographer Sherri Snyder in affiliation with Barbara La Marr’s estate

“I’m not silly enough to pretend I’m an ingenue.
It isn’t my line—on or off the screen…I just want to be a woman.” –  Barbara La Marr

Learn more about Barbara La Marr here.

Beginning her career as an actress at the age of 16, the Oscar-nominated talent known as Cara Williams lived life her way. Her work on films such as The Defiant Ones and The Great Diamond Robbery keep her present within the households of film fans today.

Learn more about Cara Williams here.

BOZO, the world’s most famous clown, starred in live Bozo TV Shows and cartoons worldwide. For 50+ years, BOZO’s motto has been P.U.L.L – – – PEACE, UNDERSTANDING, LOVE and LAUGHTER – while his goal has always been to make the world a better place.

Learn more about Bozo the Clown here.

Harvey Brownstone is a trailblazer. The first openly gay judge appointed in Canada. The first sitting judge in the world to write a national bestseller. The first to host a prime time TV talk show. Then, the first to host an internet talk show. His monumental role in advocating for same-sex marriages, and then officiating at thousands of same-sex marriages, culminated when he officiated at the wedding of Edie Windsor and Thea Spyer, which led to the Supreme Court ruling overturning the Defense of Marriage Act.
Harvey’s popular YouTube talk show, “Harvey Brownstone Interviews,” featuring hundreds of legendary celebrities, has become an internet sensation because of his thorough research, innovative questions, and incomparable interviewing style.

Learn more about Harvey Brownstone here.

Aaron Ozee is a bestselling American author, producer, and director of the international children’s phenomenon, Regulus. At 15, the release of his first anthology, “Celestial Inferno: Poems of Another Realm,” made Ozee one of the youngest published authors in the world.

Learn more about Dr. Aaron Ozee here.