Douglas Fairbanks , Jr . Douglas Elton Fairbanks , Jr . , KBE , DSC ( December 9 , 1909 – May 7 , 2000 ) was an American actor and a highly decorated naval officer of World War II . Early life . Douglas Fairbanks , Jr . was born in New York City as the only child of actor Douglas Fairbanks and his first wife , Anna Beth Sully . His parents divorced when he was nine years old , and although both remarried , neither had any more children . He lived with his mother in New York , California , Paris and London . Hollywood . Fairbanks ' father was one of cinema ' s first icons , noted for such swashbuckling adventure films as " The Mark of Zorro " , " Robin Hood " and " The Thief of Bagdad " . Largely on the basis of his father ' s name , Fairbanks , Jr . was given a contract with Paramount Pictures at age 14 . After making some undistinguished films , he took to the stage , where he impressed his father , his stepmother Mary Pickford , and Charlie Chaplin , who encouraged him to continue with acting . He began his career during the silent film era . He initially played mainly supporting roles in a range of films featuring many of the leading female players of the day : Belle Bennett in " Stella Dallas " ( 1925 ) , Esther Ralston in " An American Venus " ( 1926 ) and Pauline Starke in " Women Love Diamonds " ( 1927 ) . In the last years of the silent period , he was upped to star billing opposite Loretta Young in several pre - Code films and Joan Crawford in " Our Modern Maidens " ( 1929 ) . He supported John Gilbert and Greta Garbo in " A Woman of Affairs " ( 1928 ) . Progressing to sound , he played opposite Katharine Hepburn in her Oscar - winning role in the film " Morning Glory " ( 1933 ) . With " Outward Bound " ( 1930 ) , " The Dawn Patrol " ( 1930 ) , " Little Caesar " ( 1931 ) , " Prisoner of Zenda " ( 1937 ) , and " Gunga Din " ( 1939 ) , his movies began to have more commercial success . Marriages . His first notable relationship was with the actress Joan Crawford , whom he began to date seriously during the filming of " Our Modern Maidens " . On June 3 , 1929 , at St Malachy in New York City , Crawford and Fairbanks married . Fairbanks was only 19 and Crawford was four years older . They went on a delayed honeymoon to England , where he was entertained by Noël Coward , Gertrude Lawrence , Bea Lillie , and Prince George , Duke of Kent . He became active in both society and politics , but Crawford was far more interested in her career and had an affair with Clark Gable . The couple divorced in 1933 . Despite their divorce , Fairbanks was quick to defend Crawford when her adopted daughter Christina Crawford , published " Mommie Dearest " , a scathing biography of Crawford ' s personal life . He firmly stated , " The Joan Crawford that I ' ve heard about in " Mommie Dearest " is not the Joan Crawford I knew back then . " On April 22 , 1939 , Fairbanks married Mary Lee Hartford ( née Mary Lee Epling ) , a former wife of Huntington Hartford , the A & P supermarket heir . He remained devoted to her until her death in 1988 . They had three daughters : Daphne , Victoria , and Melissa , as well as eight grandchildren and ten great - grandchildren . On May 30 , 1991 , Fairbanks wed Vera Lee Shelton , a merchandiser for QVC Network Inc . World War II . In 1941 , President Franklin D . Roosevelt appointed him a special envoy to South America . Although celebrated as an actor , Fairbanks was commissioned a reserve officer in the United States Navy at the onset of World War II and assigned to Lord Louis Mountbatten ' s Commando staff in the United Kingdom . Having witnessed ( and participated in ) British training and cross - channel harassment operations emphasizing the military art of deception , Fairbanks attained a depth of understanding and appreciation of military deception then unheard of in the United States Navy . Lieutenant Fairbanks was subsequently transferred to Virginia Beach where he came under the command of Admiral H . Kent Hewitt , who was preparing U . S . Naval forces for the invasion of North Africa . Fairbanks convinced Hewitt of the advantages of such a unit , then repeated the proposal at Hewett ' s behest to Admiral Ernest King , Chief of Naval Operations . King thereupon issued a secret letter on March 5 , 1943 charging the Vice Chief of Naval Operations with the recruitment of 180 officers and 300 enlisted men for the Beach Jumper program . The Beach Jumpers ' mission would simulate amphibious landings with a very limited force . Operating dozens of kilometers from the actual landing beaches and utilizing their deception equipment , the Beach Jumpers would lure the enemy into believing that theirs was the principal landing . United States Navy Beach Jumpers saw their initial action in Operation Husky , the invasion of Sicily . Throughout the remainder of the war , the Beach Jumpers conducted their hazardous , shallow - water operations throughout the Mediterranean . For his planning the diversion - deception operations and his part in the amphibious assault on Southern France , Lieutenant Commander Fairbanks was awarded the United States Navy ' s Legion of Merit with bronze V ( for valor ) , the Italian War Cross for Military Valor , the French Légion d ' honneur and the Croix de guerre with Palm , and the British Distinguished Service Cross . Fairbanks was also awarded the Silver Star for valor displayed while serving on PT boat s and the National Order of the Southern Cross , conferred by the Brazilian government . Among his other exploits was the sinking of the light cruiser " Capriole " while in command of a mixed division of American PT Boats and British MGBs . He was made an Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire ( KBE ) in 1949 . Fairbanks stayed in the Naval Reserve after the war and ultimately retired a captain in 1954 . Postwar years . Fairbanks returned to Hollywood at the conclusion of World War II , but as a confirmed Anglophile , he spent a considerable amount of his time in the United Kingdom , where he was well known in the highest social circles . In 1961 , he was a guest at the wedding of Katharine Worsley with Prince Edward , Duke of Kent . Between 1954 and 1956 he also made a number of half - hour programs at one of the smaller Elstree film studios as part of a syndicated anthology series for television called " Douglas Fairbanks , Jr . , Presents " . In the middle 1950s , Fairbanks was a guest star on NBC ' s " The Martha Raye Show " . On February 7 , 1957 , he appeared on NBC ' s " The Ford Show " starring Tennessee Ernie Ford . On stage , Fairbanks toured in " My Fair Lady " in 1968 , and in " The Pleasure of His Company " several times , including tours in the U . S . in 1970 – 72 and the 1977 Australian production with Stanley Holloway . The College of Arms in London granted Fairbanks a coat of arms symbolising the U . S . and Britain united across the blue Atlantic Ocean by a silken knot of friendship . In 1982 , Fairbanks was awarded the German Federal Cross of Merit for his contribution to the relief of the needy in occupied Germany . It has been claimed that Douglas Fairbanks , Jr . was one of the naked men in the incriminating photos used as evidence in the divorce trial of Margaret Campbell , Duchess of Argyll in 1963 . Fairbanks was a friend of Laurence Olivier and was among the contributors to a documentary by " The South Bank Show " called " Laurence Olivier : A Life " . He was also a close friend of Sir Rex Harrison and was a presenter at Harrison ' s New York City memorial service . He wrote his autobiography , " The Salad Days " , in 1988 . Death and legacy . On May 7 , 2000 , Fairbanks died at the age of 90 and was interred at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood , California , in the same crypt as his father . Fairbanks has three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame : one for motion pictures at 6318 Hollywood Boulevard , one for television at 6665 Hollywood Boulevard and one for radio at 6710 Hollywood Boulevard . In 1969 he was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the International Best Dressed List . Estate . Fairbanks ' estate was auctioned September 13 , 2011 by Doyle New York , surpassing estimated proceeds by netting over a half - million dollars .