[4] He appeared in five movies released in 1917, including his role as Dillon in the drama The Little Brother starring Enid Bennett and William Garwood.

His screen name, taken from that of Douglas Fairbanks, whose real surname happened to be the same as his, came about with the release of his starring role in Goldstone's Hearts of the West (1920) with Frances Conrad.

They had one son, William Fairbanks (December 12, 1923 – April 20, 1999),[7][8] who served in the Navy during World War II.

Although Fairbanks was a busy movie star through the greater part of the 1920s, after playing Long Collins in The Vanishing West (1928), he retired from the screen.

[1]: 110  A military funeral service was conducted at graveside in Los Angeles National Cemetery in Sawtelle.