Douglas MacLean
Douglas MacLean was born Jan. 10, 1890, in Philadelphia,
PA. His family moved to Illinois when he was a teenager, and he
attended Northwestern University and the Lewis Institute of Technology
in Chicago. After beginning a career in bond sales, he met producer
Daniel Frohman while on vacation in New York. As a result of Frohman's
influence, he enrolled in the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.
Frohman gave him some work after graduation, and he toured in
stock companies on both the west and east coasts. His first film
was "As Ye Sow" with Alice Brady in 1914. While working
in stock, he married actress Faith Cole. His film career began
in earnest in 1918 when he had a small role in "Fuss and
Feathers" (1918) and then two Mary Pickford features, "Captain
Kidd, Jr." (1918) and "Johanna Enlists" (1918).
After a couple more films, one with Dorothy Gish, he co-starred
with Doris May in a romantic comedy, "23 1/2 Hours Leave,"
which was a big hit. Five more comedies with May followed establishing
MacLean as a popular star of light comedies. MacLean was known
as "The Man With the Million Dollar Smile" and contributed
to the success of his films both in front of and behind the camera.
From 1922 to 1929 he starred in fourteen features for Paramount
and First National, all maintaining the standard light romantic
comedy formula that continued to prove successful for him. He
made one talkie, "Divorce Made Easy" in 1929, and then
retired from acting. He embarked on a new career as writer and
producer for RKO, then Paramount. He worked with some of the biggest
stars of the day including Wheeler and Woolsey, Mary Boland and
Charlie Ruggles, W.C. Fields, Cary Grant and others. He was married
a second time in 1931, and then a third time in 1938. This final
marriage ended in 1946. He retired from film producing in 1937,
but continued to freelance write for movies and television in
the 1940's and 1950's. He suffered a stroke in 1962 and died July
9, 1967.
Selected films of this star available for viewing:
Johanna Enlists (1918)
The Home Stretch (1921)
Hold That Lion (1926)
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