Fairbanks was born Carl Ullman in St. Louis, Missouri, the son of Charles and Emma E. Ullman. His father was born in Bavaria, Germany, emigrated to the U.S. and became a naturalized citizen, and his mother was born in Illinois. His father was a dry goods merchant and his mother a saleslady at their store. At age 16, Carl worked as a clerk in a stationery store in St. Louis. His first film role was as Capt. Pierre Thierry in the war dramaSomewhere in France starring Louise Glaum and Howard C. Hickman. He was then living at 20 Horizon Avenue in Venice, California, where he registered to vote. He appeared in five movies released in 1917, including his role as Dillon in the dramaThe Little Brother starring Enid Bennett and William Garwood. He was then living at 115 Dudley Avenue in Venice, where he registered for the draft of World War I. He went on to serve as an ensign in the U.S. Navy. Appearing in only one movie released in 1918, as Stuart Morley in the comedy/drama The Hired Man starring Charles Ray and Charles K. French, he was then absent from the screen for over a year due to the war. In 1920, he lived at 1309 Ocean Front in Santa Monica, and four of his movies were released that year. He was elevated to star status by independentproducersPhil Goldstone and Ben F. Wilson. His screen name, taken from that of Douglas Fairbanks, whose real surname happened to be the same as his, came about with the release of his starring role in Goldstone's westernHearts of the West opposite Frances Conrad. Fairbanks and Edna Whitson were married in October 1920 and divorced in 1930. They had one son, William Fairbanks, who served in the Navy during World War II. Other movies of Fairbanks include the western The Clean-Up ; the western Down by the Rio Grande co-starring Dorothy Revier, the drama A Fight for Honor co-starring Eva Novak, in which Fairbanks played the role as Jack Adams, the Columbia Pictures auto racing action/drama Racing for Life co-starring Eva Novak, in which Fairbanks played the role as Jack Grant, and the western Border Women co-starring Dorothy Revier, in which Fairbanks played Big Boy Merritt, ; the serialVanishing Millions co-starring Vivian Rich, in which Fairbanks played Dave Merrill, and the actionFlying High co-starring Alice Calhoun, in which Fairbanks played Roy Cummins, ; the crime/drama One Chance in a Million co-starring Viora Daniel, in which Fairbanks played Jerry Blaine, and the action/adventure The Down Grade co-starring Alice Calhoun, in which Fairbanks played Ted Lansing, ; and the MGMwagon train western Wyoming with Tim McCoy and Dorothy Sebastian, and directed by W.S. Van Dyke, in which Fairbanks played Buffalo Bill Cody. Although Fairbanks was a busy movie star through the greater part of the 1920s, after playing Long Collins in The Vanishing West, he retired from the screen. William Fairbanks died at age 50 of lobar pneumonia in Los Angeles. A military funeral service was conducted at graveside in Los Angeles National Cemetery, Sawtelle.
