Jack Pickford (born John Charles Smith, August 18, 1896 – January 3, 1933), was a Canadian-American actor, film director and producer.

While Jack appeared in numerous films as the "All American boy next door" and was a fairly popular performer, he was overshadowed by his sister's success.

This proved a good source of income and, by 1900, the family had relocated to New York City and the children were acting in plays across the United States.

[3] Due to work, the family was constantly separated until 1910 when Gladys signed with Biograph Studios, led by director D. W. Griffith.

When the company arrived in Hollywood, Jack acted in bit parts and as a stunt double for young actresses, earning his way and supporting Mary.

Jack had a leading role in the short A Dash Through the Clouds (1912), but the Pickford family conclusively left Biograph in late 1912.

By the time he signed with First National, Pickford had played bit parts in 95 shorts and full-length feature films.

Pickford appeared in a large number of short films, prior to the mid-1910s, when his sister Mary was at the pinnacle of her fame.

[6] Famous Players–Lasky president Adolph Zukor gave Pickford his first lead performance debut in the film Seventeen (1916), an adaptation of Booth Tarkington's novel.

After gaining critical success from these two productions, Pickford was then cast as the lead in The Dummy (1917), adapted from the 1914 play by Harriet Ford and Harvey J. O'Higgins, which proved extremely popular.

In a letter, on the completion of the production, he wrote: "I've always been fond of Mark Twain's writings and Tom has long been a favorite of mine—somehow we seem to have a great deal in common.

They both appeared in Seventeen (1916), Great Expectations (1917), Freckles (1917), What Money Can't Buy (1917), The Varmint (1917), The Ghost House (1917), Jack and Jill (1917), His Majesty, Bunker Bean (1918), Mile-a-Minute Kendall (1918), and Sandy (1918) under Paramount Pictures.

In early 1918, after the United States entered World War I, Pickford voluntary joined the U.S. Navy as an enlisted sailor and was stationed at the Third Naval District in Manhattan, New York.

[13] In August 1920, he officially became a citizen of the United States and legally changed his surname from Smith to Pickford.

In 1921, he co-directed Little Lord Faunteroy (1921) and Through the Back Door (1921) with Alfred E. Green, under United Artists, both films starring his sister Mary.

Pickford was hired as the director in an attempt to rid him of his depression after the passing of his wife Olive Thomas a year prior.

[4] In 1921, there were plans afoot for A Tailor-Made Man (1922) to be directed by Alfred E. Green and starring Pickford, under United Artists.

[36] His sister Mary's first major extravagance was a car, a Stanley Steamer EMF, and Jack nicknamed it the "Even Mama Fell" and "Every Morning Fix it".

Pickford met actress and Ziegfeld girl Olive Thomas at a beach cafe on the Santa Monica Pier.

Screenwriter and director Frances Marion later commented on the couple's lifestyle:...I had seen her [Thomas] often at the Pickford home, for she was engaged to Mary's brother, Jack.

[39] Although by most accounts Olive was the love of Pickford's life, the marriage was stormy and filled with highly charged conflict, followed by lavish making up through the exchange of expensive gifts.

[41] She was taken to the American Hospital in the Paris suburb of Neuilly, where Pickford, together with his former brother-in-law Owen Moore, remained at her side until she died from the poison a few days later.

On July 31, 1922, he married Marilyn Miller (1898–1936), a celebrated Broadway dancer and former Ziegfeld girl, at his sister and brother-in-law's famed home Pickfair.

[43][45] Pickford's final marriage was to Mary Mulhern, aged 22 and a former Ziegfeld girl, whom he married on August 12, 1930.

Mary Pickford recalled in her autobiography that she felt a wave of premonition when watching her brother leave.

[51] For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Jack Pickford has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1523 Vine Street.