"If you have made mistakes... there is always another chance for you... you may have a fresh start any moment you chose, for this thing we call failure is not the falling down, but the staying down." ~ Mary Pickford
The first actress to be called "America's Sweetheart," silent screen star Mary Pickford (1893-1979) was born Gladys Marie Smith on this day in Toronto, Canada.
Following the death of her father, she began acting on stage at age five as "Baby Gladys" to support her family.
"It would have been more logical if silent pictures had grown out of the talkies instead of the other way around," said the golden-haired actress.
As D.W. Griffith's shining star, Pickford gained international fame with her child-woman beauty and passionate screen presence. She won an Academy Award for her first talkie Coquette (1929).
"Make them laugh, make them cry, and back to laughter," Pickford advised. "What do people go to the theater for? An emotional exercise... I am a servant of the people. I have never forgotten that."
Married to Douglas Fairbanks, the popular screen star was also a successfulbusinesswoman, amassing a fortune and building a film studio, United Artists, to control the quality of her productions.
"When you make a mistake, don't look back at it long. Take the reason of the thing into your mind, and then look forward. Mistakes are lessons of wisdom. The past cannot be changed. The future is yet in your power," she said.
Keep trying. Don't give up.