Three Big Stars – Fairbanks, Coogan and Valentino

When Douglas Fairbanks Sr. died on December 12, 1939, newspapers pointed out that he was one of the three biggest moneymakers of Hollywood just 14 years earlier. After 1925 Fairbanks starred in only seven more films, with his final film being 1934’s The Private Life Of Don Juan.

Here is the original news caption:

THEY WERE THE TOP THREE MOVIE STARS THEN
Hollywood, Calif – A picture made in 1925, in Hollywood, showing the three top stars of the movie industry. They are Douglas Fairbanks, Rudolph Valentino, and Jackie Coogan in his costume of “The Kid.” Death has removed two of these stars, Valentino and now Fairbanks, who died of a heart attack in his Santa Monica home this morning, Dec. 12th. Fairbanks was in his 55th year and was home alone with his third wife, Lady Sylvia Ashley of London. 12-12-1939 photo International News