Motion pictures have been a part of the culture of Canada since the industry began.
Around 1910, the East Coast filmmakers began to take advantage of California winters, and after Nestor Studios, run by Canadian Al Christie, built the first permanent movie studio in Hollywood, a number of the movie companies expanded or relocated to the new Hollywood. At the same time, because there was no sound in movies, several French filmmakers had their motion pictures distributed in America.
Among those Canadians who took part in the early years of Hollywood were:
Allakariallak (1890s–1924?), Inuit actor and subject of "Nanook of the North"Charles Arling (1880–1922), actorEarl W. Bascom (1906-1995), actor, artist, worked with Roy Rogers, worked on Louis B. Mayer's ranch in Perris, CaliforniaWilliam Bertram (1880–1933), actor, directorBen Blue (1901–1975), actor, comedianRaymond Burr (1917–1993), actor; Perry Mason, IronsideJack Carson (1910–1963), actorAl Christie (1881–1951), co-founder of Christie Film Company, director/producer/screenwriterCharles Christie (1880–1955), co-founder of Christie Film Company; builder of Hollywood's first luxury hotelBerton Churchill (1876–1940), actorJoe De Grasse (1873–1940), directorSam De Grasse (1875–1953), actorFifi D'Orsay (1904–1983), actressMarie Dressler (1869–1934), Academy Award for Best ActressDouglass Dumbrille (1889–1974), moving and television actorDeanna Durbin (1921–2013), actress, singerAllan Dwan (1885–1981), director, producer, screenwriterEdward Earle (1882–1972), actorRockliffe Fellowes (1883–1950), actorGlenn Ford (1916–2006), actorJohn Harvey Gahan (1888–1958), as Oscar Gahan, actor, musician, composer; Canada's child prodigy violinist, aka ArvéHuntley Gordon (1887–1956), actorLorne Greene (1915–1987), actor; played Ben Cartwight, Commander AdamaHarry Hayden (1882–1955), actorDel Henderson (1883–1956), actor, director, writerWalter Huston (1884–1950), Academy Award winning actorMay Irwin (1862–1938), actor, first screen kiss in 1896Victor Jory (1902–1982), actorRuby Keeler (1909–1993), dancer, actressBarbara Kent (1906–2011), actressFlorence La Badie (1888–1917), actressFlorence Lawrence (1886–1938), "America's first movie star"Beatrice Lillie (1894–1989), actressGene Lockhart (1891–1957), actorDel Lord (1894–1970), comedy directorWilfred Lucas (1871–1940), director, screenwriter, actorHenry MacRae (1876–1944), director, producer, screenwriter, actorRaymond Massey (1896–1983), actorLouis B. Mayer (1885–1957), co–founder of Metro Goldwyn Mayer Motion Picture StudiosBob Nolan (1908–1980), singer/actor in western musicals as leader of "The Sons of the Pioneers"Sidney Olcott (1873–1949), directorJack Pickford (1896–1933), actor, Hollywood's first "Bad Boy"Lottie Pickford (1893–1936), actressMary Pickford (1892–1979), "America's Sweetheart," Academy Award for Best Actress, co–founder of United ArtistsWalter Pidgeon (1897–1984), actorMarie Prevost (1898–1937), actressWilliam Quinn (1884–1965), actorMack Sennett (1880–1960), director, known as the "King of Comedy"Athole Shearer (1900–1985), actress, wife of director Howard HawksDouglas Shearer (1899–1971), sound director/designer, winner of seven Academy AwardsNorma Shearer (1902–1983), Academy Award for Best ActressNell Shipman (1892–1970), actress, writer, producerJay Silverheels (1912–1980), actor known for his portrayal of Tonto, sidekick to the Lone RangerNed Sparks (1883–1957), actorRichard Travers (1885–1935), actorJack L. Warner (1892–1978), co-founder of Warner BrothersMarjorie White (1904–1935), actressJoseph Wiseman (1918–2009), actorFay Wray (1907–2004), actressIn his book Stardust and Shadows: Canadians in Early Hollywood, Charles Foster recounted his experiences meeting some of these Canadians while on leave from the Royal Air Force during World War II. Foster visited Hollywood where he was introduced to Canadian and silent movie director Sidney Olcott. Through Olcott he learned of Hollywood's Canadian community. Although total strangers, young Foster was welcomed with open arms. This social gathering of "Canucks" also included Walter Pidgeon, Deanna Durbin, Fifi D'Orsay, and others who worked in the movie business.
Several of these Canadian pioneers achieved enormous wealth and worldwide fame, such as Louis B. Mayer and Mary Pickford who were, in their day, two of the most powerful personalities in Hollywood. From the late 1920s to the mid-1930s, Canadian female actresses were amongst the greatest box office draws. The Academy Award for Best Actress was won by Canadian women three years in a row:
1929 - Mary Pickford in Coquette1930 - Norma Shearer in The Divorcee1931 - Marie Dressler in Min and BillFoster recounts the feelings and deep loyalty of Louis B. Mayer. Although he had become a naturalized American citizen, Mayer was known to hire Canadian compatriots on the spot, as Saint John, New Brunswick native Walter Pidgeon later recalled:
Several Canadian expatriates also saw their careers decline and died before the age of 55. Florence Lawrence, the "first real movie star", the Biograph Girl in Hollywood history, who appeared in more than 270 movies, committed suicide at the age of 52. She is buried in unmarked grave in the Hollywood Cemetery. Marie Prevost, who was a leading lady during the mid-1920s, suffered from depression after the death of her mother in 1926. In 1937, she died of acute alcoholism and malnutrition at the age of 38. Florence La Badie died of injuries she sustained in a car accident in August 1917 at the age of 29. Jack Pickford, Mary Pickford's younger brother, died at age 36 from what was then known as multiple neuritis, while his sister Lottie died of a heart attack at age 43.
