Where did the name “Mary Pickford” come from?
Young Gladys Smith seized a chance to work with David Belasco in 1907, but her theatrical mentor (easily one of the most powerful men in American theater at the time) advised her to change her name. In her autobiography, she tells of how Belasco first chose “Pickford” from among the family names that she recited, and then advised her to use Mary (from “Marie,” one of the names she was baptized with) for her first name. She sent home to Toronto a telegraph that she claims read, “GLADYS SMITH NOW MARY PICKFORD ENGAGED BY DAVID BELASCO TO APPEAR ON BROADWAY THIS FALL.” g.
