Post by teleadm on Oct 13, 2018 10:02:51 GMT
Robert Walker was one of those actors who left us too early, a popular MGM actor with a boyish boy-next-door charm, though his most well-known movie nowdays is as the passenger who sugests a switch in Strangers on a Train 1951.
Walker was born in Salt Lake City, Utah. 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, to offer to pay for his enrollment at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City in 1937. Walker lived in her home during his first year in the city.
While attending the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Walker met fellow aspiring actress Phylis Isley (later to be known as Jennifer Jones). After a brief courtship, the couple were married in Tulsa, Oklahoma on January 2, 1939. he had some small unbilled parts in films like Winter Carnival 1939, and two Lana Turner films at MGM These Glamour Girls 1939 and Dancing Co-Ed 1939.
He found work in radio while Phylis (Jennifer) stayed at home and gave birth to two sons in quick succession, Robert Jr. and Michael in the early 1940s.
He co-starred in the weekly radio show "Maudie's Diary" between 1941 and 1942, Phylis then returned to auditioning where her luck changed when she was discovered in 1941 by producer David O. Selznick, who changed her name to Jennifer Jones and groomed her for stardom, and divorce.
Selznick's connections helped him secure a contract with MGM where he got a build-up as a boy-next-door character, and was promoted to stardom with See Here, Private Hargrove 1944 and it payed off, and he became a star with box-office value.
While his movie persona was charming and boyish, his personal life was a mess, with a trauma after divorcing Jennifer Jones. He spent time at the Menninger Clinic in 1949 where he was treated for a psychiatric disorder.
Robert Walker left us in the late summer of 1951, aged only 32. In older encyclopedias it states that he commited suicide, further reading about his death differs between sources, but suicide it wasn't. One source mentions that he got an injection that turned out to be fatal that could be called a missunderstanding of a situation, that he wasn't in an emotional state when he was actually just drunk.
An uncomplete trip down memory lane:
Madame Curie 1943, with Walter Pidgeon.
Bataan 1943, with Robert Taylor, Lloyd Nolan and Thomas Mitchell.
See Here, Private Hargrove 1944, with Donna Reed. The movie became a hit and Robert Walker became an attractive box-office star. He also made the sequel What Next, Corporal Hargrove? 1945
Since You Went Away 1944, with Jennifer Jones, made at a time when Walker and Jones had separated but not divorced.
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo 1944, with Van Johnson and Spencer Tracy.
The Clock 1945, with Judy Garland. Hailed by some critics as his best movie at MGM.
Her Highness and the Bellboy 1945, with June Allyson and Hedy Lamarr.
As Jerome Kern in Till the Clouds Roll By 1946, with Van Heflin (the movie is out on public domain and probably available on the net).
The Beginning or the End 1947
The Sea of Grass 1947, with Phyllis Thaxter
As composer Johannes Brahms in Song of Love 1947, with Paul Henried and Katherine Hepburn.
One Touch of Venus 1948, with Ava Gardner.
Please Believe Me 1950, with Deborah Kerr.
The Skipper Surprised His Wife 1950, with Joan Leslie. This was the kind of movies Walker hated to do, but was forced to do by contract.
Vengeance Valley 1951, with Burt Lancaster. (The movie is out on public domain, and is probably available somewhere on the net)
Strangers on a Train 1951, with Farley Granger. The movie indicated a new direction for Walker, but was never fullfilled.
My Son John 1952, with Helen Hayes. Walker died before the movie was finished. It's a red scare movie, Walker's own political ideals is unknown and it's said that he did this because he wanted to work with director Leo McCarey and Helen Hayes.
Thanks for watching!
Opinions, thoughts, trivia and other things are welcome!
Walker was born in Salt Lake City, Utah. 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, to offer to pay for his enrollment at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City in 1937. Walker lived in her home during his first year in the city.
While attending the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Walker met fellow aspiring actress Phylis Isley (later to be known as Jennifer Jones). After a brief courtship, the couple were married in Tulsa, Oklahoma on January 2, 1939. he had some small unbilled parts in films like Winter Carnival 1939, and two Lana Turner films at MGM These Glamour Girls 1939 and Dancing Co-Ed 1939.
He found work in radio while Phylis (Jennifer) stayed at home and gave birth to two sons in quick succession, Robert Jr. and Michael in the early 1940s.
He co-starred in the weekly radio show "Maudie's Diary" between 1941 and 1942, Phylis then returned to auditioning where her luck changed when she was discovered in 1941 by producer David O. Selznick, who changed her name to Jennifer Jones and groomed her for stardom, and divorce.
Selznick's connections helped him secure a contract with MGM where he got a build-up as a boy-next-door character, and was promoted to stardom with See Here, Private Hargrove 1944 and it payed off, and he became a star with box-office value.
While his movie persona was charming and boyish, his personal life was a mess, with a trauma after divorcing Jennifer Jones. He spent time at the Menninger Clinic in 1949 where he was treated for a psychiatric disorder.
Robert Walker left us in the late summer of 1951, aged only 32. In older encyclopedias it states that he commited suicide, further reading about his death differs between sources, but suicide it wasn't. One source mentions that he got an injection that turned out to be fatal that could be called a missunderstanding of a situation, that he wasn't in an emotional state when he was actually just drunk.
An uncomplete trip down memory lane:
Madame Curie 1943, with Walter Pidgeon.
Bataan 1943, with Robert Taylor, Lloyd Nolan and Thomas Mitchell.
See Here, Private Hargrove 1944, with Donna Reed. The movie became a hit and Robert Walker became an attractive box-office star. He also made the sequel What Next, Corporal Hargrove? 1945
Since You Went Away 1944, with Jennifer Jones, made at a time when Walker and Jones had separated but not divorced.
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo 1944, with Van Johnson and Spencer Tracy.
The Clock 1945, with Judy Garland. Hailed by some critics as his best movie at MGM.
Her Highness and the Bellboy 1945, with June Allyson and Hedy Lamarr.
As Jerome Kern in Till the Clouds Roll By 1946, with Van Heflin (the movie is out on public domain and probably available on the net).
The Beginning or the End 1947
The Sea of Grass 1947, with Phyllis Thaxter
As composer Johannes Brahms in Song of Love 1947, with Paul Henried and Katherine Hepburn.
One Touch of Venus 1948, with Ava Gardner.
Please Believe Me 1950, with Deborah Kerr.
The Skipper Surprised His Wife 1950, with Joan Leslie. This was the kind of movies Walker hated to do, but was forced to do by contract.
Vengeance Valley 1951, with Burt Lancaster. (The movie is out on public domain, and is probably available somewhere on the net)
Strangers on a Train 1951, with Farley Granger. The movie indicated a new direction for Walker, but was never fullfilled.
My Son John 1952, with Helen Hayes. Walker died before the movie was finished. It's a red scare movie, Walker's own political ideals is unknown and it's said that he did this because he wanted to work with director Leo McCarey and Helen Hayes.
Thanks for watching!
Opinions, thoughts, trivia and other things are welcome!
tribute, as always, 
