Vivian Martin

On Broadway from 1901, vivacious, blond Vivian Martin was one of the first stars of the stage to be signed by the fledgling World Film Corporation in 1914 (then under the auspices of Arthur Spiegel and Lewis J. Selznick). Vivian's first step to fame had come in 1911, when the impresario George M. Cohan cast her as an ingénue for "The Only Son". She then had several back-to-back hits in romantic plays which brought her the attention of the film studios. Vivian rapidly emerged as the youngest major star at Paramount-Artcraft, even briefly regarded as a serious rival to the great Mary Pickford and dubbed "the world's sweetheart" (her other nickname was "The Dresden China Figurine"). She acted opposite most of the popular leading men of the period, including Harold Lockwood, Harrison Ford (no relation to THE Harrison Ford), Ralph Graves and Niles Welch.