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The Mary Pickford Theatre is located in Cathedral City, California. Nestled in between Rancho Mirage and Palm Springs, the Mary Pickford Theatre is on the east end of the Cathedral City Town Square, adjacent to City Hall and in the same promenade as the IMAX Theater. The Mary Pickford Theatre is easily accessible off of Highway 111, the main artery that runs through the Coachella Valley.

Mary Pickford Theatre
36-850 Pickfair Street, Cathedral City, CA 92234
(760) 328-7444

Who Was Mary Pickford?

In 1907, a young Mary Pickford arrived in the United Sates looking for work. A Vaudeville star since the age of six, she traveled alone from her home in Toronto, Canada hoping to land a job on Broadway. Talented and full of confidence, she was offered her first role in American theatre at the age of 15.

Two years later, Pickford auditioned for her first motion picture role, a "Flicker" as they were called. It was 1909, and working actors were earning $5 a day. Pickford, a very confident 17 year-old actress asked for $10, and her request was granted. From that day on Mary Pickford never underestimated her worth as a working woman. By the age of 21 she had worked in over 156 motion pictures, and by the age of 24, she was earning over $1 million a year.

By the age of 27 she earned a prominent place in American business by co-founding Hollywood's first independent film company, United Artists.

At the age of 29, she helped form the Motion Picture Relief Fund (now the Motion Picture & Television Fund) to provide health, retirement, and unemployment assistance to members in the motion picture industry.

At the age of 37 Mary Pickford made her first talking picture. "Coquette" was her 203rd film, and it earned her an Academy Award for Best Actress.

By the age of 40, Pickford was turning her focus to charity. America was in the midst of the Great Depression when Pickford engaged other actors to join her in organizing benefits to help the unemployed. At the age of 41, with over 200 film credits to her name, she retired as an actress but continued to produce and direct for United Artists.

Put on stage at the age of six to help support her widowed mother and siblings, by the age of 15 Pickford started to pave the way for women in the business world, and generations of filmmakers by setting industry standards for better pay. This year, United Artists celebrates the 90-year anniversary of the company she helped form with her partners D.W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin and Douglas Fairbanks. Adolph Zukor, a longtime colleague and founder of Paramount Pictures commented that "If Pickford had gone into manufacturing, she might have become president of United States Steel." Biographer Eileen Whitfield, wrote that Pickford was "The Woman Who Made Hollywood," and in Washington, D.C., a theatre located at the United States Library of Congress is named in her honor.

Mary Pickford was our country's first leading lady, but she accomplished much more than a career in theatre and film. She is an inspiration to women, young girls, and anyone striving to achieve. It is with the greatest respect and honor that I invite you to attend the inaugural Wheels on Wheels Film Festival at the only other Mary Pickford Theatre outside of the United States Library of Congress - named after this phenomenal woman.

Bernadine Bogdanovs
Festival Director