Chautauqua of Mary Pickford by Anita Watson

Anita Watson will portray Mary Pickford, at the Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park on Wednesday, September 7, at 6:30 pm.

Mary Pickford was America’s Sweetheart. Pickford was an actress on the stage and in film, a writer, a producer, a director, and co-founder of a movie studio. She socialized with Hollywood’s most famous stars and married a swashbuckling film hero, Douglas Fairbanks. In 1955, Mary Pickford published her autobiography, Sunshine and Shadows. In this presentation, Pickford will discuss her book and her life.

Mary Pickford married Owen Moore, an Irish-born silent film actor, on January 7, 1911. Towards the end of their tumultuous 9 year marriage, Pickford became romantically involved with equally famous actor Douglas Fairbanks. She came to Nevada to get her divorce from Moore in 1920, staying at a local ranch in Genoa, in Carson Valley. Once her Nevada residency was up and her divorce granted, Mary Pickford went on to marry Douglas Fairbanks.

This series is also made possible with the assistance of Nevada Humanities, an independent affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Tickets are $5 for adults, free for 16 and younger. Tickets are available in Gardnerville at Battle Born Wine, in Minden at 88 Cups & More, and can also be purchased at dangberg.eventbrite.com. Unless sold out, tickets will also be available at the gate.

Anita Watson is a long time Nevadan who has always been interested in the people and places of the Silver State. Watson earned her Ph.D. at the University of Nevada, Reno, where she now teaches history and is coordinator of the Shared History Program. She has worked in the museum education field in Nevada and Minnesota, and published on the topics of Nevada women, Nevada medicine and general Nevada history. Anita Watson has been doing Chautauqua performances for more than 15 years and Mary Pickford is her newest character.

The park is located at 1450 Hwy 88, ¼ mile north of the Carson Valley Veterinary Hospital. This is an outdoor event, and visitors should bring their own seating. Dogs are not permitted at this event. For more information, visit dangberghomeranch.org.

This will be our final Chautauqua performance this season. The park’s full 2016 event schedule is available at the park’s website.

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