Acknowledgements
A project of this size and scope could not be completed without the financial and professional support of numerous organizations, archives, and persons.
I am particularly indebted to a number of family and friends for their kindness and support during the past five years of Pickford research. Love and thanks to my parents, aunts, and grandmother Mary Mahr for being fans as well as family. A special note of thanks to Jordon Wells (my favorite nephew) who helped me with data entry. And also to Lynanne Rollins, Skitz Schmidt, and Candacy Taylor for their encouragement and friendship. No words can fully express my appreciation and love for Eileen Whitfield, who has been an editor, sounding board, and best friend. Her interest in and vast knowledge of Pickford has aided me more times than she knows.
There are also several people whose work on Mary Pickford has inspired me, including Kevin Brownlow, James Card, and the amazing Robert Cushman. I will always be grateful to Edward Wagenknecht for spending one day of his 99th year sharing memories of silent film and showing me the Pickford scrapbooks he assembled as a teen. His wonderful book Movies in the Age of Innocence includes an insightful look at the actress's screen image and extraordinary fame.
There were many hurdles during this project, but dealing with technology and the editing process were the most formidable. I was very fortunate to have the assistance of Chad Mowry, who advised me on website and imaging software; Pat Padua (my faithful web assistant) who consulted on content, images and gave technical advice; David Reese, who aided my search for frame enlargements/digital images, and George Willeman, who digitally photographed nitrate film frames and answered technical questions. Text editing and content advice were provided by Jane Gaines, Jan-Christopher Horak, Michael Mashon, Zoran Sinobad, Ken Weissman, and Eileen Whitfield. I was aided on HTML editing by Chad Mowry, Pat Padua and Dick Thaxter.
I have been privileged to work on this project at the following institutions and with the aid of the following persons:
George Eastman House
Funding for this project was provided by the Mary Pickford Foundation. Special
thanks to my mentor and friend Ed Stratmann, Associate Curator of Motion Pictures,
whose support and guidance was vital to the completion of my GEH research.
For personal and/or professional support thanks to Mark Betz, Phil Carli,
Saundra Peters, Grant Romer and Roger Watson. And to Paolo Cherchi Usai for
allowing access to the film collection.
Library of Congress
Funding for this project was provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
I am grateful to the staff of the Library's Motion Picture section and the
Conservation Center for their support, effort and enduring patience. A special
note of thanks to Ken Weissman, Head of Motion Picture Conservation Center,
for backing the LC research from my very first approach. The persons who helped
make this project possible include David Francis, former Chief of M/B/RS Division;
Greg Lukow, Chief of M/B/RS Division; and Patrick Loughney, Head of the Moving
Image section. For personal and/or professional support, thanks to Mark Lynn
Anderson, Joseph Balian, Beverly Brannon, Kay and James Dinsmoor, Charles
"Buckey" Grimm, Pamela Hairston, Rosemary Hanes, Keith Lawrence,
Steve Leggett, Michael Mashon, Madeline Matz, Cheryl McCullers, Russell Merrit,
Hugh Neely, Josephus Nelson, Vanessa O'Kelly, David Ponterelli, David Reese,
Irwin Rosenfeld, Sarah Rouse, Zoran Sinobad, Paul Spehr, Brian Taves, Dick
Thaxter, Kim Tomadjoglou, Howard Walls, and George Willeman.
The National Film and Television Archive/British
Film Institute
Funding for this project was provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities. A heartfelt thank you to the staff of the J. Paul Getty Junior Conservation Centre for their support and assistance. I am especially indebted to Elaine Burrows, Special Projects Manager; and archivists Sonia Genaitay and Angelo Lucatello. I also appreciate the time and effort of Derek Alcock, Ian Betts, Simon Baker, Melissa Bromley, Michael Caldwell, Tony Fraser, Graham Herring, Jane Hockings, Chris McKee, Olwen Terris, Toby Wing, Joss Winn, and NFTVA Curator, David Pierce. A special thanks to the "Jolly Ladies" of the NFTVA, including Heather Davis, Teresa Dell, Kelly Hull, and Josie Poulton. Much appreciation to Andrew McCabe and Nick Tinsley for sharing their flat with me and to Amy Gallick, Axel Jansen, and Lynanne Rollins for DC homefront assistance. And, I am extremely grateful for the friendship and generosity of Laura Brown, Emma Hyde, Becky Vick and Roger Watson.
Nederlands Filmmuseum
Funding for this project was provided by the
National Endowment for the Humanities. Thanks to the staff of the Nederlands
Filmmuseum for their time and effort. I am especially grateful for the assistance
of Elif Rongen, Dorette Schootemeijer and Walter Swagemakers whose support
made my work in the archive possible. A special note of thanks to Catherine
Corman and Simona Monizza for their help and friendship. And to Mark-Paul
Meyer for aiding me in the early days of my research into European FIAF archives.
UCLA Film and Television Archive
Funding for this project was provided by the Mary Pickford Foundation. Special
thanks to Eddie Richmond, Curator, UCLA Film and Television Archive, and to
Robert Cushman, Head of Special Collections at the Academy of Motion Picture
Arts and Sciences, for their guidance and support. I am grateful for the hospitality
and friendship of Rhonda Burrell, Siobahn Flynn, Bobby Pappas and Martha Stroud.
Assistance also provided by Eric Aijala, Dan Einstein, Robert Gitt, Jere Guldin,
Charles Hopkins, Rene Hernadez, Jane Johnson, Rob Stone, and Martha Yee.