Claude Jarman Jr. | |
|---|---|
 InIntruder In The Dust (1949) | |
| Born | Claude Miller Jarman Jr. (1934-09-27)September 27, 1934 Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Died | January 12, 2025(2025-01-12) (aged 90) Kentfield, California, U.S. |
| Resting place | Woodlawn Memorial Park,Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Occupations |
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| Years active |
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| Spouse(s) | |
| Children | 7, includingVanessa Getty |
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Claude Miller Jarman Jr.[1] (September 27, 1934 – January 12, 2025) was an American actor. He became achild star with his role as Jody Baxter inThe Yearling (1946), for which he won anAcademy Juvenile Award.[2] Further roles in films likeIntruder in the Dust (1949) andRio Grande (1950) followed. Jarman largely retired from acting in early adulthood and later served as executive director of theSan Francisco International Film Festival, anddirector of Cultural Affairs for the City of San Francisco.
Jarman was born inNashville, Tennessee, the son of Mildred (Freeman) and Claude Miller Jarman, an accountant for the railroad.[3][4] As a child, he acted in productions of The Nashville Community Playhouse's Children's Theatre.[5]
Jarman was 10 years old and in the fifth grade in Nashville when he was discovered in a nationwide talent search byMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer and was cast as Jody Baxter in the filmThe Yearling (1946), a high-budget film adaptation of the novel byMarjorie Kinnan Rawlings, in whichGregory Peck andJane Wyman played his parents.[6] His performance received glowing reviews and, as a result, he received aspecial Academy Award as outstanding child actor of 1946.[7][8]
He continued his studies at the MGM studio school,[9] and made a total of 11 films. His second film role was inHigh Barbaree, playing the younger version ofVan Johnson's main character.[10]
Jarman is also notable for his starring role as teenager Chick Mallison in the 1949William Faulkner adaptionIntruder in the Dust, which tackled the subject of racism and segregation in the southern states in an unusually open way for a Hollywood film of that time.[11] In April 1949, he appeared with more than four dozen Hollywood stars in a famous photo to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. At the time of his death, he was the last surviving person from that photo session.[10]
The following year, he had another large role as the son ofJohn Wayne andMaureen O'Hara inJohn Ford's westernRio Grande. Jarman, who portrayed a young soldier in the film, learnedroman riding for the role.[12]
Republic Studios cast him in a couple ofB-movies during the early 1950s, but by the time he reached his early adulthood, his acting career was in decline. He subsequently moved back to Tennessee to finish college atVanderbilt University. Following coursework in pre-law at Vanderbilt, Jarman appeared in Disney'sThe Great Locomotive Chase (1956), his final movie. After that, he served three years in theU.S. Navy, doing public relations work.[13]
Jarman moved to working behind the scenes. He ran the San Francisco International Film Festival for 15 years (1965–1980) and was known for his in-depth retrospectives of movie stars and directors. He was executive producer of the music documentary filmFillmore (1972), about rock impresarioBill Graham.[12]
Jarman briefly returned to acting in 1978, for the television miniseriesCentennial. He was a special guest at the 70th and 75thAcademy Award telecasts, in 1998 and 2003 respectively, as a past acting award winner at the Oscar Family Album retrospectives.[9]
Jarman served as director of cultural affairs for the City ofSan Francisco. He founded Jarman Travel Inc. in 1986 to serve the travel needs of corporations and executives.[3]
Jarman wroteMy Life and the Final Days of Hollywood, which was published in 2018.[14]
Jarman married his first wife, Virginia, in 1959. They had three children: Elizabeth Suddeth, Claude Jarman III, and Murray Jarman, before their 1968 divorce. Jarman married his second wife, Maryann, in 1968. They had two daughters together,Vanessa Getty and Natalie Jarman, before their 1983 divorce. Jarman married his third wife, Katharine, in 1986, with whom he had twin daughters, Charlotte and Sarah.[14][9] Jarman died at his home inKentfield, California, on January 12, 2025, at the age of 90.[10] He is buried atWoodlawn Memorial Park inNashville, Tennessee.[15]
| Year | Film[16] | Role | Other notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1946 | The Yearling | Jody | Academy Juvenile Award |
| 1947 | High Barbaree | Alec (age 14) | |
| 1949 | Intruder in the Dust | Chick Mallison | |
| Roughshod | Steve Phillips | ||
| The Sun Comes Up | Jerry | ||
| 1950 | Rio Grande | Trooper Jefferson "Jeff" Yorke | John Wayne's son |
| The Outriders | Roy Gort | ||
| 1951 | Inside Straight | Rip MacCool (age 16) | |
| 1952 | Hangman's Knot | Jamie Groves | |
| 1953 | Fair Wind to Java | Chess | |
| 1956 | The Great Locomotive Chase | Jacob Parrott | Andrews' Raiders USA: TV title |
| 1979 | Centennial | Earl Grebe | "The Winds of Death" – TV miniseries episode[2] |
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