How did Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., help William Wellman begin a Hollywood career?

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Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. played a pivotal role in launching William Wellman’s Hollywood career after seeing him play professional ice hockey in Boston. Impressed by Wellman, Fairbanks offered to help him find work in the film industry.1

Following his service as a fighter pilot during World War I, Wellman accepted Fairbanks’s longstanding offer and moved to Hollywood. Although he initially appeared in a small role in the silent film The Knickerbocker Buckaroo (1919), Wellman realized he did not enjoy acting. Fairbanks subsequently assisted him in securing a position as a messenger at Goldwyn Pictures, which allowed Wellman to begin working his way up through the ranks of the film industry.1