We suppose it’s common for every generation to think they invented the wheel, but talented women yielding power in a man’s world is not a 21st century phenomenon. In the world of film, Ida Lupino was the only woman to direct episodes of the original The Twilight Zone series, as well as the only director to have starred in the show.  She was the first woman to direct a film noir, formed her own film company, and bucked the system by writing and directing movies that exposed difficult topics, such as rape, unwed motherhood, and bigamy. It was the 1950s.

A decade later, Lucille Ball made her mark not just as the dizzy TV wife of Ricky Ricardo (to whom she was actually married), but as the first woman to head a production company. She was the first actress to use a teleprompter, and, according to some, had a hand in the three-camera approach to taping a live show.

Before either of them, however, was Mary Pickford.  Known as “America’s Sweetheart,” Mary Pickford was a talented actress, a creative producer, and a savvy businesswoman who helped shape the film industry as we know it today. She was a founder of the Society of Independent Motion Picture Producers in 1941,  and was the last of the original United Artists founders to sell her interest in the mid-1950s. Mary Pickford was an early leader in the film preservation movement, and an ardent supporter of creating a museum devoted to the art of moviemaking.

We mention Mary Pickford at the suggestion of a reader who shared with us this picture of Mary Pickford with her Fox Terrier,  “Zorro.” As the story goes, Zorro walked through the wet cement at Pickfair leaving paw prints. Mary actually liked how Zorro was now permanently part of Pickfair, and mentioned it to Sid Grauman when he was opening his theatre, the famous Grauman’s Chinese Theatre. 

Show of hands: How many of you have had a dog walk through wet cement, brush against fresh paint, or paw at dry wall?  Yeah, us too.