United Artists film studio was founded in 1919 by which four people, 3 of whom were actors and the other a director ?

In the early days of Hollywood, the biggest stars were often subject to the rigid control of powerful studios. Seeking creative and financial independence, four of the era's most influential figures joined forces in 1919 to form their own company. This revolutionary group consisted of three of the world's most famous actors—comedy icon Charlie Chaplin, "America's Sweetheart" Mary Pickford, and swashbuckling hero Douglas Fairbanks—along with the pioneering and controversial director D.W. Griffith. They were determined to produce and distribute their own films without studio interference.

The move sent shockwaves through the industry, with one rival studio head famously quipping, "The inmates are taking over the asylum." Unlike traditional studios that signed talent to restrictive contracts, United Artists was founded as a distribution network for the founders' independently produced pictures. This artist-led model was a radical concept at the time, giving its creators unprecedented power over their own work and forever changing the power dynamics between talent and the studios in Hollywood.