Robert Walker(1918-1951)
- Actor
- Soundtrack
He possessed the same special brand of rebel/misfit sensitivity and
charm that made superstars out of
John Garfield and (later)
James Dean and
Montgomery Clift. In the war-torn
1940s, Robert Walker represented MGM's fresh, instinctive breed of
up-and-coming talent. His boyish good looks combined with an attractive
vulnerability came across the screen with such beauty, power and
naturalness. He went quite far in his short life; however, the many
tortured souls he played so brilliantly closely mirrored the actor
himself and the demons that haunted his own being wasted no time in
taking him down a self-destructive path for which there was no return.
Walker was born Robert Hudson Walker in 1918 in Salt
Lake City, Utah, the youngest of four sons of Zella (McQuarrie) and Horace Hudson Walker, a news editor for the local paper. He was of English and Scottish descent. His maternal aunt, Hortense (McQuarrie) Odlum, was the first female president of Bonwit Teller. His parents separated
while he was quite young and the anxiety and depression built up over
this loss marred his early school years, which were marked by acts of
belligerent aggression and temper tantrums, resulting in his being
expelled from school several times. To control his behavioral problems,
a positive activity was sought that could help him develop confidence
and on which he could focus his energies. It came in the form of
acting. Following a lead in a school play at the San Diego Army and
Navy Academy at Carlsbad-by-the-Sea, California, Walker entered an
acting contest at the Pasadena Playhouse and won a top performance
prize. A well-to-do aunt paid for his tuition at the American Academy
of Dramatic Art (AADA) in 1938, and he was on his way.
Things started off quite promisingly. While there he met fellow student
Phyllis Isley who went on to play
Elizabeth Barrett Browning to
his Robert Browning in a
production of "The Barretts of Wimpole Street" (Phyllis was later
renamed Jennifer Jones). The
couple fell in love and both quit the academy in order to save money
and marry, but they found little work other than some small parts at a
Greenwich Village theater. They eventually found a radio job together
in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and married on January 2, 1939, honeymooning in
Hollywood in order to secure more acting parts. Other than some radio
jobs and bit parts in films, the move didn't pan out. The couple
returned to New York and started a family. Sons
Robert Walker Jr. (born 1940) and
Michael Walker (born 1941) would
both become actors in their own right. Following their births Jennifer
returned to auditioning and caught the eye of producer
David O. Selznick, who took an
immediate interest in her and signed her to a contract. Selznick was
also instrumental in securing a contract for Robert over at MGM.
Stardom would be theirs as a result of this Selznick association, but
at quite a cost to Robert.
Robert gained immediate attention in his first important MGM role as a
shy, ill-fated sailor in Bataan (1943),
but was miscast as a scientist in the
Greer Garson biopic
Madame Curie (1943). Hollywood
notice would come in the form of his sweet, sad-sack title role in the
service comedy
See Here, Private Hargrove (1944),
the story of a cub reporter who is drafted into the army. The role
brought out all the touching, fascinating qualities of Robert. In the
meantime, Jennifer became so caught up in her obsessive relationship
with mentor Selznick that she broke off with Robert. The actor was
devastated and abruptly turned to heavy drinking. He would never
completely recover from this loss. The first of many skirmishes with
the law came about when he was arrested on a hit-and-run charge. In
another self-destructive act, he agreed to appear with his estranged
wife in the Selznick film
Since You Went Away (1944).
Although he suffered great anguish during the filming, the movie was
praised by critics. He played a young soldier who dies before the end
of the last reel, and audiences identified with him in both his
troubled on- and off-screen roles. Another vivid part that showed off
Walker's star quality came opposite the equally troubled
Judy Garland in
The Clock (1945), a simple romantic
story of two lost souls, a soldier and a girl, who accidentally meet
while he is on furlough.
The tumultuous state of Walker's not-so-private life began to seriously
affect his screen career in the late 1940s. In the musical
Till the Clouds Roll By (1946)
he played composer Jerome Kern but was
eclipsed by the musical numbers and flurry of special guests. He was
third billed behind Katharine Hepburn
and Paul Henreid, who portrayed pianist
Clara Schumann and mentally unstable
composer Robert Schumann, in
Song of Love (1947). Robert played
famed composer and friend
Johannes Brahms. Following a lead part
as a love-struck window dresser in
One Touch of Venus (1948),
which focused more on Ava Gardner's creative
vision of loveliness, he impulsively married
Barbara Ford, the daughter of famed
director John Ford. The marriage ended
in divorce after just five months, following more erratic outbursts,
including arrests for drunkenness. By this time Jennifer had married
Selznick, and this pushed Robert over the brink. He was committed to a
sanatorium and not released until the middle of 1949.
After his recovery and release, he was back to work with top roles in
the comedy
Please Believe Me (1950)
opposite Deborah Kerr and the western
Vengeance Valley (1951) starring
Burt Lancaster. Robert happened to be
loaned out to Warner Bros. when he was handed the most memorable film
role of his career, that of the charming psychopath who attempts to
trade murder favors with Farley Granger
in Alfred Hitchcock's classic
thriller
Strangers on a Train (1951).
Hailed by the critics, Robert was mesmerizing in the part and part of
the Hollywood elite once again. He had begun filming Paramount's
My Son John (1952), which included
Helen Hayes,
Van Heflin and
Dean Jagger in the cast, when tragedy
occurred.
Robert had just finished principal photography and was making himself
available for re-shoots for director
Leo McCarey when, on the night of August 28,
1951, his housekeeper found him in an extremely agitated state. Failing
to calm him down, she panicked and called his psychiatrist, who, upon
arrival, administered a dose of sodium amytal, a sedative, which Walker
had taken in the past. Unfortunately, he had been drinking as well and
suffered an acute allergic reaction to the drug. Robert stopped
breathing, and all efforts to resuscitate him failed. His death cut
short the career of a man destined to become one of the most
charismatic actors in film. As for life imitating art, perhaps Robert's
agonies are what brought out the magnificence of his acting.
charm that made superstars out of
John Garfield and (later)
James Dean and
Montgomery Clift. In the war-torn
1940s, Robert Walker represented MGM's fresh, instinctive breed of
up-and-coming talent. His boyish good looks combined with an attractive
vulnerability came across the screen with such beauty, power and
naturalness. He went quite far in his short life; however, the many
tortured souls he played so brilliantly closely mirrored the actor
himself and the demons that haunted his own being wasted no time in
taking him down a self-destructive path for which there was no return.
Walker was born Robert Hudson Walker in 1918 in Salt
Lake City, Utah, the youngest of four sons of Zella (McQuarrie) and Horace Hudson Walker, a news editor for the local paper. He was of English and Scottish descent. His maternal aunt, Hortense (McQuarrie) Odlum, was the first female president of Bonwit Teller. His parents separated
while he was quite young and the anxiety and depression built up over
this loss marred his early school years, which were marked by acts of
belligerent aggression and temper tantrums, resulting in his being
expelled from school several times. To control his behavioral problems,
a positive activity was sought that could help him develop confidence
and on which he could focus his energies. It came in the form of
acting. Following a lead in a school play at the San Diego Army and
Navy Academy at Carlsbad-by-the-Sea, California, Walker entered an
acting contest at the Pasadena Playhouse and won a top performance
prize. A well-to-do aunt paid for his tuition at the American Academy
of Dramatic Art (AADA) in 1938, and he was on his way.
Things started off quite promisingly. While there he met fellow student
Phyllis Isley who went on to play
Elizabeth Barrett Browning to
his Robert Browning in a
production of "The Barretts of Wimpole Street" (Phyllis was later
renamed Jennifer Jones). The
couple fell in love and both quit the academy in order to save money
and marry, but they found little work other than some small parts at a
Greenwich Village theater. They eventually found a radio job together
in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and married on January 2, 1939, honeymooning in
Hollywood in order to secure more acting parts. Other than some radio
jobs and bit parts in films, the move didn't pan out. The couple
returned to New York and started a family. Sons
Robert Walker Jr. (born 1940) and
Michael Walker (born 1941) would
both become actors in their own right. Following their births Jennifer
returned to auditioning and caught the eye of producer
David O. Selznick, who took an
immediate interest in her and signed her to a contract. Selznick was
also instrumental in securing a contract for Robert over at MGM.
Stardom would be theirs as a result of this Selznick association, but
at quite a cost to Robert.
Robert gained immediate attention in his first important MGM role as a
shy, ill-fated sailor in Bataan (1943),
but was miscast as a scientist in the
Greer Garson biopic
Madame Curie (1943). Hollywood
notice would come in the form of his sweet, sad-sack title role in the
service comedy
See Here, Private Hargrove (1944),
the story of a cub reporter who is drafted into the army. The role
brought out all the touching, fascinating qualities of Robert. In the
meantime, Jennifer became so caught up in her obsessive relationship
with mentor Selznick that she broke off with Robert. The actor was
devastated and abruptly turned to heavy drinking. He would never
completely recover from this loss. The first of many skirmishes with
the law came about when he was arrested on a hit-and-run charge. In
another self-destructive act, he agreed to appear with his estranged
wife in the Selznick film
Since You Went Away (1944).
Although he suffered great anguish during the filming, the movie was
praised by critics. He played a young soldier who dies before the end
of the last reel, and audiences identified with him in both his
troubled on- and off-screen roles. Another vivid part that showed off
Walker's star quality came opposite the equally troubled
Judy Garland in
The Clock (1945), a simple romantic
story of two lost souls, a soldier and a girl, who accidentally meet
while he is on furlough.
The tumultuous state of Walker's not-so-private life began to seriously
affect his screen career in the late 1940s. In the musical
Till the Clouds Roll By (1946)
he played composer Jerome Kern but was
eclipsed by the musical numbers and flurry of special guests. He was
third billed behind Katharine Hepburn
and Paul Henreid, who portrayed pianist
Clara Schumann and mentally unstable
composer Robert Schumann, in
Song of Love (1947). Robert played
famed composer and friend
Johannes Brahms. Following a lead part
as a love-struck window dresser in
One Touch of Venus (1948),
which focused more on Ava Gardner's creative
vision of loveliness, he impulsively married
Barbara Ford, the daughter of famed
director John Ford. The marriage ended
in divorce after just five months, following more erratic outbursts,
including arrests for drunkenness. By this time Jennifer had married
Selznick, and this pushed Robert over the brink. He was committed to a
sanatorium and not released until the middle of 1949.
After his recovery and release, he was back to work with top roles in
the comedy
Please Believe Me (1950)
opposite Deborah Kerr and the western
Vengeance Valley (1951) starring
Burt Lancaster. Robert happened to be
loaned out to Warner Bros. when he was handed the most memorable film
role of his career, that of the charming psychopath who attempts to
trade murder favors with Farley Granger
in Alfred Hitchcock's classic
thriller
Strangers on a Train (1951).
Hailed by the critics, Robert was mesmerizing in the part and part of
the Hollywood elite once again. He had begun filming Paramount's
My Son John (1952), which included
Helen Hayes,
Van Heflin and
Dean Jagger in the cast, when tragedy
occurred.
Robert had just finished principal photography and was making himself
available for re-shoots for director
Leo McCarey when, on the night of August 28,
1951, his housekeeper found him in an extremely agitated state. Failing
to calm him down, she panicked and called his psychiatrist, who, upon
arrival, administered a dose of sodium amytal, a sedative, which Walker
had taken in the past. Unfortunately, he had been drinking as well and
suffered an acute allergic reaction to the drug. Robert stopped
breathing, and all efforts to resuscitate him failed. His death cut
short the career of a man destined to become one of the most
charismatic actors in film. As for life imitating art, perhaps Robert's
agonies are what brought out the magnificence of his acting.