Douglas Fairbanks Jr.
American actor and United States naval officer (1909–2000)
Douglas Elton Fairbanks Jr. (December 9, 1909 – May 7, 2000) was an American actor, producer, and United States Navy officer. He was a leading man during the Golden Age of Hollywood, notably in adventure and swashbuckling roles like in The Prisoner of Zenda (1937), Gunga Din (1939), and The Corsican Brothers (1941). He was the son of Douglas Fairbanks and the stepson of Mary Pickford. Fairbanks, Jr. "picked up his father's swashbuckling style and later cut a dash in high society and royal circles." His first marriage was to actress Joan Crawford.
Fairbanks was a decorated Naval officer during the Second World War, overseeing the Beach Jumpers special warfare unit. For his war service, he received several military accolades including the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit, the French Legion of Honour and Croix de Guerre, and the British Distinguished Service Cross.
Early life
Douglas Elton Fairbanks Jr. was born in New York City in 1909.
The public source identifies “Douglas Fairbanks Jr.” as american actor and United States naval officer (1909–2000). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Douglas, Fairbanks and American.
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Biographical claims are most persuasive when dates, appointments and relationships can be traced to records created close to the events described. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 8, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q528428. VIAF identifies the subject as 101713318. The Library of Congress control number is n50011598. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1909, 2000, 1937 and 1939.
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This entry incorporates text from “Douglas Fairbanks Jr.” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.