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Robert Walker Sr. 1918 - 1951

Robert Hudson Walker Sr. was born on October 13, 1918 in Salt Lake City, Utah United States, and died at age 32 years old on August 28, 1951 in Brentwood, CA. Robert Walker was buried at Washington Heights Memorial Park South Ogden, Weber County, Utah. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Robert Walker Sr..

Robert Hudson Walker Sr.

October 13, 1918

Salt Lake City, Utah, United States

August 28, 1951

Brentwood, California, 94513, United States

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Robert Hudson Walker Sr.'s History: 1918 - 1951

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Introduction

Film Star. Born October 13, 1918 in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA Died August 28, 1951 in Los Angeles, California, USA (adverse reaction to prescription drugs) Birth Name Robert Hudson Walker Nickname Bob Height 6' (1.83 m) 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 the 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 movie 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 the 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 the film. As for life imitating art, perhaps Robert's agonies are what brought out the magnificence of his acting.
10/13

1918

Birthday

October 13, 1918

Birthdate

Salt Lake City, Utah United States

Birthplace

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Ethnicity & Family History

Family Members Parents Horace Hudson Walker 1883–1964 Zella McQuarrie Walker 1886–1976 Spouses Jennifer Jones 1919–2009 (m. 1939) Barbara Nugent Ford 1922–1985 (m. 1948) Hanna Hertelendy 1919–2008 (m. 1949) Children Robert Walker 1940–2019 Michael Ross Walker 1941–2007
Early Life & Education

Early life 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 (then the president of Bonwit Teller), 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.
Religious Beliefs

Mormon.
Personal Life & Family

Actor. Born Robert Hudson Walker in Salt Lake City. He was the son of Horace Walker, a Salt Lake City newspaper editor. He attended the San Diego Army and Navy Military Academy, the Pasadena California Playhouse Dramatic School and the Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. Following a school play lead at the San Diego Army and Navy Academy, he entered an acting contest at the Pasadena Playhouse which won him a top performance prize. At that time he met fellow student, Phyllis Isley, who was later renamed, Jennifer Jones. They married on January 2, 1939. They had two children, Robert Jr. (born 1940) and Michael (born 1941), both of whom became actors. The movie mogul, David O. Selznick, took an immediate interest in the pair and signed Jones to a contract. Selznick also secured a contract for Robert at MGM. His first important MGM role was in "Bataan"(1943). Hollywood stardom came from his title role in the comedy "See Here, Private Hargrove" (1944). He appeared with his wife in the Selznick film "Since You Went Away" (1944). Jennifer became involved with Selznick and she and Robert divorced. Although Walker continued to work steadily in Hollywood, he was distraught over the divorce and was soon prone to drinking, emotional outbursts and eventually, a nervous breakdown. He starred opposite Judy Garland in "The Clock" (1945). Some of his other film credits include, "Till the Clouds Roll By" (1946), "Song of Love" (1947), and "One Touch of Venus" (1948). He impulsively married Barbara Ford, the daughter of director John Ford. The marriage was annulled within a few weeks. By this time Jennifer had married Selznick. This news sent Robert into a tailspin. He was arrested for drunken driving, and had treatment at the Menninger clinic in Topeka, Kansas. He went back to work after his stay in the clinic and was given the most memorable film role of his career in Alfred Hitchcock's classic thriller, "Strangers on a Train" (1951). During his 15 year movie career, he made 24 films. He had just finished filming "My Son John," and was doing re-shoots for the director when he suddenly died. Suffering a severe panic attack in the early evening, he was given sodium amytal, administered by a doctor. He died of heart failure.
08/28

1951

Death

August 28, 1951

Death date

Respiratory Failure from a doctor administered sedative.

Cause of death

Brentwood, California 94513, United States
Death location

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Gravesite & Burial

mm/dd/yyyy
Funeral date
Washington Heights Memorial Park South Ogden, Weber County, Utah
Burial location
Obituary

Robert Walker Obituary by Gladwin Hall (New York Times, August 30, 1951) Actor Walker Dies After Drug Dosage Breathing of Film Star Stops When Doctors Use Sedative in Emotional Crisis LOS ANGELES, Aug. 29 – Robert Walker, a 32-year-old film star whose own desperate and protracted struggle with dark emotional forces topped any of his conflicts on the screen, died last night while undergoing medical treatment for the latest of many tragic crises in his life. The actor, who attracted national attention in December, 1948, when he fled from a Topeka, Kan., psychiatric clinic and smashed up the local police station after being arrested for drunkenness, succumbed to what was reported as a “respiratory failure” after receiving a sedative injection at his Sunset Boulevard home in suburban Brentwood. Dr. Frederick J. Hacker, a psychiatrist who had been treating Mr. Walker for eighteen months, said he had been called about 6 p.m. by the actor’s housekeeper and found him in “a highly emotional state.” He kept saying, “I feel terrible, Doc – do something quick,” the psychiatrist reported, adding that he did not know whether the actor had been drinking. After two hours’ pleading failed to calm Mr. Walker, Dr. Hacker said he called Dr. Sidney Silver to administer sodium amytal, which “we had given him twenty-five to thirty times in the past without ill effects.” A seven-and-one-half grain dose was given, Dr. Hacker said, only a fraction of previous doses the actor had received, but almost immediately he turned blue and gradually stopped breathing – a reaction which, Dr. Silver aid, occurred only about once in 10,000 cases. He certified the death as natural, due to respiratory failure. Dr. Victor Cefalu, the assistant county coroner, said today that a fifteen-grain dose could be toxic, and that the drug accumulated in the system. The coroner’s office said there would be no autopsy unless a member of the family requested it. Mr. Walker, whose career as a star in a score of pictures had been concentrated in a brief eight years, only last Saturday had completed work in the Helen Hayes film “My Son John” at Paramount studios and had been reported in an apparently cheerful mood. His death cut short what had been regarded as a successful comeback from a severe psychological crackup. This manifested itself in 1945, when he was divorced after a marriage of six years by Jennifer Jones, the film actress, who subsequently became the wife of David O. Selznick, film producer. Although at that time, only two years after his debut in “Bataan”, he was making $100,000 a year according to the divorce testimony, the actor suddenly disappeared in the midst of the filming of “See Here, Private Hargrove,” and was located only after two days. A year later he was arrested for hit-and-run driving in Beverly Hills and fined $500. In July, 1948, he married Barbara Ford, daughter of John Ford, the producer-director, but they separated after five weeks and she subsequently obtained an annulment. Shortly after their separation, he was arrested for drunken driving, and his treatment at the Menninger clinic in Topeka became known with his outburst there. However, he left the clinic in May, 1949, reported completely readjusted, and returned to Hollywood to resume his film career. Though Dr. Hacker said that the actor’s psychiatric difficulties dated back to 1943, it was generally supposed (and occasional comments of Mr. Walker himself lent substance to this? that his separation from Miss Jones had precipitated his distress. They had two children, Robert, 11, and Michael, 10, who had been visiting the actor this summer, but who were away from the home visiting friends when Mr. Walker died. Since his return to Hollywood, the actor had played in “Vengeance Valley” at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios, where he was under contract, and, on loan, in “Strangers on a Train” at Warner Brothers before his recent Paramount assignment. Leo McCarey, producer and director of the last picture, said: “I have worked closely with Bob during these past few months and learned to know him as both a fine gentleman and a great actor. We had our final working session together only last Saturday. At that time he showed no indication of being in ill health. On the contrary, he did his final recording with great zest. I had just run the rough-cut of the picture for him, and, although a modest fellow, he fairly beamed at the results.” His films also included “Madame Curie,” “See Here, Private Hargrove,” “Since You Went Away,” “Thirty Seconds Over Toyko,” “Till The Clouds Roll By,” and “Sea of Grass.” He was the son of Horace Walker, Salt Lake City newspaper editor, who is flying here with Mrs. Walker. The actor attended the San Diego Army and Navy Military Academy, the Pasadena (Calif.) Playhouse dramatic school and the Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. After an unproductive stage debut in Greenwich Village, he did radio work in Tulsa, Okla. and in New York, where his voice attracted the attention of Hollywood scouts.

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