Mary Pickford continued her reign as "America's Sweetheart" during the early 1920s, though her popularity faded as she grew older and her fans demanded she maintain the persona of a young girl on-screen. Greta Garbo graced the cinema and gossip columns with her on- and off-screen romances with John Gilbert. Clara Bow created an energetic "flapper" persona and influenced women's fashions, as did star Louise Brooks. Gloria Swanson, Norma Shearer and Colleen Moore were draws at the box-office, while rumors regarding their personal lives sold out film magazines at newsstands.
Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. was king of the adventure films in the 1920s, and his marriage to Mary Pickford added to the public's fascination with him. Rudolph Valentino built a huge female following with his 'Latin lover' persona before dying in 1926. John Barrymore was another romantic figure whose struggles with alcohol off-screen added to the public interest in him on-screen. Westerns had their hero in the films of Tom Mix, who would become the inspiration for future film cowboys such as Gene Autry. Fans looking for a fright at the local theater could depend on Lon Chaney, whose makeup talents earned him the title, Man of a Thousand Faces.
Building on his Little Tramp persona, Charlie Chaplin made audiences laugh across the world, although his popularity was challenged by other film comedians during the decade. Buster Keaton and his 'Great Stone Face' came closest to matching Chaplin's box-office success, while Harold Lloyd and his ageless 'College Kid' persona was another comedy contender. Harry Langdon combined age and innocence to create his baby-faced character, which gained him stardom at age 40. Laurel and Hardy were unique for being able to make successful silent films and carry that success into the sound era at the end of the decade.
The stars of the silent screen had the "look" to entertain audiences, but not all of them had the voice to complement their appearances. With the advent of on-screen sound in the late 1920s, the public's taste in movie stars changed. Some performers, like Greta Garbo, worked with voice coaches to ensure they could deliver lines as well as they could perform visually. Others, like Garbo's silent-screen lover, John Gilbert, saw their careers fade because audiences could not accept the voice they were hearing with the image they were seeing. As the world entered the Great Depression with the Stock Market Crash of 1929, movie audiences needed their cinema idols to give inspiration with words and images.