Robert Walker | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Walker inStrangers on a Train (1951) | |
| Born | Robert Hudson Walker (1918-10-13)October 13, 1918 Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S. |
| Died | August 28, 1951(1951-08-28) (aged 32) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1939–1951 |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 2, includingRobert Walker Jr. |
Robert Hudson Walker (October 13, 1918 – August 28, 1951) was an American actor[1] who starred as the villain inAlfred Hitchcock's thrillerStrangers on a Train (1951), which was released shortly before his premature death.
He started in youthful boy-next-door roles, often as a World War II soldier. One of these roles was opposite his first wife,Jennifer Jones, in the World War II epicSince You Went Away (1944). He also playedJerome Kern inTill the Clouds Roll By. Twice divorced by 30, he was analcoholic andmentally ill, which were exacerbated by his painful separation and divorce from Jones.[2]
Walker was born inSalt Lake City, Utah.[3][4] Emotionally scarred by his parents' divorce when he was still a child, he subsequently developed an interest in acting, which led his maternal aunt,Hortense McQuarrie Odlum (then the president ofBonwit Teller), to offer to pay for his enrollment at theAmerican Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City in 1937.
While attending the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Walker met fellow aspiring actress Phylis Isley, who later took the stage nameJennifer Jones. After a brief courtship, the couple married inTulsa, Oklahoma, on January 2, 1939.[citation needed] Walker had some small unbilled parts in films such asWinter Carnival (1939) and twoLana Turner films at MGM:These Glamour Girls (1939) andDancing Co-Ed (1939).
Walker and Jones' elder son,Robert Walker Jr., later became a successful film actor. Their other son, Michael Walker (1941–2007), was also an actor who appeared in filmsThe Rogues (1964),Coronet Blue (1967), andHell's Belles (1969), as well as several 1960s television series.[citation needed]
Walker costarred in the weekly radio showMaudie's Diary from August 1941 to September 1942.[5] Isley then returned to auditioning, and her luck changed when she was discovered in 1941 by producerDavid O. Selznick, who changed her name to Jennifer Jones and groomed her for stardom.[citation needed]
The couple returned to Hollywood, and Selznick's connections helped Walker secure a contract withMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer,[citation needed] where he started work on the war dramaBataan (1943), playing a sailor who fights in theBattle of Bataan. He followed it with a supporting role inMadame Curie (1943).
Walker's charming demeanor and boyish good looks proved popular with audiences, and he was promoted to stardom with the title part of the romantic soldier inSee Here, Private Hargrove (1944).
He also appeared in Selznick'sSince You Went Away (1944), in which his wife and he portrayed doomed young lovers duringWorld War II. By that time, Jones' affair with Selznick was a matter of common knowledge, and Jones and Walker separated in November 1943 during production of the film.[6] The filming of their love scenes was trying for Walker, as Selznick insisted that Walker perform multiple takes for each scene with Jones.[citation needed] She filed for divorce in April 1945. Selznick and she were married in 1949.Since You Went Away was one of the most financially successful movies of 1944, earning over $7 million.[7]
Returning to MGM, Walker appeared withSpencer Tracy andVan Johnson inThirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944), the story of theDoolittle Raid. He played flight engineer and turret gunner David Thatcher, and it was another box-office hit. Walker starred as a GI preparing for overseas deployment inThe Clock (1945), withJudy Garland playing his love interest in her second nonmusical film.[8] He then appeared in a romantic comedy withHedy Lamarr andJune Allyson titledHer Highness and the Bellboy (1945). He next appeared in a second Private Hargrove film,What Next, Corporal Hargrove? (1945), and a romantic comedy withJune Allyson,The Sailor Takes a Wife (1945). Walker starred in the musicalTill the Clouds Roll By (1946), in which he played the popular composerJerome Kern. The film earned rental receipts of more than $6 million.[8] He starred as composerJohannes Brahms inSong of Love (1947), which costarredKatharine Hepburn andPaul Henreid, but the lavish production lost MGM more than $1 million. He also appeared in a film about the construction of the atomic bomb,The Beginning or the End (1946), which also resulted in a loss at the box office, and a Tracy-Hepburn drama directed byElia Kazan titledThe Sea of Grass (1947), which was profitable.[8]
In 1948, MGM lent Walker toUniversal to star withAva Gardner in the filmOne Touch of Venus, directed byWilliam A. Seiter. The film was a nonmusical comedy adapted from aBroadway show with music byKurt Weill. Walker married Barbara Ford, the daughter of directorJohn Ford, in July 1948, but the marriage lasted only five months.[9]
Back at MGM, Walker starred in two films that lost money,Please Believe Me (1950) withDeborah Kerr andThe Skipper Surprised His Wife (1950) withJoan Leslie. More popular wasVengeance Valley (1951), a Western withBurt Lancaster.[8]
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In 1949, Walker spent time at theMenninger Clinic, where he was treated for a psychiatric disorder.[10] Following his discharge, he was cast by directorAlfred Hitchcock inStrangers on a Train (1951), for which he received acclaim for his performance as the charming psychopath Bruno Antony.
In his final film, Walker played the title role inLeo McCarey'sMy Son John (1952), a stronglyanticommunist film, produced during the height ofMcCarthyism. Despite the film's theme and Walker's identification as a Republican, he took the role to work with McCarey and costarHelen Hayes rather than because of any political motivation.[11] Walker died before production finished, so angles from his death scene inStrangers on a Train were spliced into a similar melodramatic death scene near the end of the film.[12]
On the night of August 28, 1951, Walker's housekeeper found him in an emotional state. She called Walker'spsychiatrist, Frederick Hacker, who arrived and administeredamobarbital for sedation. Walker had allegedly been drinking before the outburst, and the combination of amobarbital and alcohol is believed to have caused him to lose consciousness and stop breathing. Efforts toresuscitate him failed, and he was pronounced dead shortly thereafter at the age of 32.[13]
In her biography of Walker and Jones titledStar-Crossed, author Beverly Linet quoted Walker's friend Jim Henaghan (who was not mentioned in official accounts of the death), as saying that he was present at the events leading to Walker's death. Henaghan stated that he had visited Walker's house in Los Angeles, where they played cards and Walker was behaving normally. Henaghan said that Walker's psychiatrist arrived and insisted that he receive an injection, and when Walker refused, Henaghan restrained him for the physician to administer the injection. According to Henaghan, Walker soon lost consciousness and frantic efforts to revive him failed.[14]
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1939 | Winter Carnival | Wes | Uncredited |
| These Glamour Girls | College Boy | ||
| Dancing Co-Ed | Boy | Uncredited | |
| 1943 | Bataan | Leonard Purckett | |
| Madame Curie | David Le Gros | ||
| 1944 | See Here, Private Hargrove | Private Marion Hargrove | |
| Since You Went Away | Corporal William G. "Bill" Smollett II | ||
| Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo | David Thatcher | ||
| 1945 | The Clock | Corporal Joe Allen | Alternative title:Under the Clock |
| Her Highness and the Bellboy | Jimmy Dobson | ||
| What Next, Corporal Hargrove? | Corporal Marion Hargrove | ||
| The Sailor Takes a Wife | John Hill | ||
| 1946 | Till the Clouds Roll By | Jerome Kern | |
| 1947 | The Beginning or the End | Colonel Jeff Nixon | |
| The Sea of Grass | Brock Brewton | ||
| Song of Love | Johannes Brahms | ||
| 1948 | One Touch of Venus | Eddie Hatch | |
| 1950 | Please Believe Me | Terence Keath | |
| The Skipper Surprised His Wife | Commander William J. Lattimer | ||
| 1951 | Vengeance Valley | Lee Strobie | |
| Strangers on a Train | Bruno Antony | Released two months before Walker's death; final role in a film released during Walker's lifetime | |
| 1952 | My Son John | John Jefferson | Walker's final film role; released after his death |
Notes
Bibliography
