John Garfield

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John Garfield (born March 4, 1913 in New York City , New York ; † May 21, 1952 ; actually Jacob Julius Garfinkle ), was an American actor .

Life

After the death of his mother in 1920, John Garfield was raised by his father alone, but could not cope with the death of his mother and was sent to a school for difficult to educate children. Here he came into contact with the theater for the first time and started boxing, which later also helped him in film.

After school he received a scholarship to the famous drama school of the Russian actress Maria Ouspenskaya in New York. From 1932 he played theater professionally and was a member of the politically left-wing independent theater Group Theater . He had his breakthrough in the play Golden Boy by Clifford Odets , but lost the role in the filming to William Holden . Instead, he signed a contract with Warner Brothers , but where he was quickly committed to the role of underdog, rebel and gangster. The few demanding roles until the mid-1940s included In the Net of Passions alongside Lana Turner and Joan Crawford in Humoreske . Starting with In the Net of Passions , Garfield increasingly appeared in film noirs .

Garfield, a staunch liberal , was also socially and politically involved. On his initiative, he and Bette Davis opened the Hollywood Canteen with support and donations from all circles in Hollywood in October 1942 , in which the biggest stars of all entertainment branches appeared for free to entertain American soldiers before they had to go to war. The soldiers got free entry and could eat and drink for free. When the Hollywood Canteen closed on Thanksgiving in November 1945, over 3,000 artists had performed in front of approximately 3 million soldiers. The institution and the history of the one millionth visitor were immortalized in 1944 in a film called Hollywood Canteen , in which many stars also had cameo appearances . Later, Bette Davis said of this engagement: “There are only a few accomplishments in my life that I am sincerely proud of. The Hollywood Canteen is one of them. "

In the course of the persecution in the McCarthy era , he was accused of being a sympathizer and party member of the communists because of his liberal commitment . In 1951, before the Committee for Un-American Activities , Garfield refused to give the names of leftist companions and from then on could only work at the theater.

Garfield had been married since 1935 and had three children, the eldest daughter of whom died in 1945 at the age of eight. His wife separated from him shortly before his death, which plunged him into deep depression and developed heart problems that led to his untimely death in 1952.

John Garfield was nominated twice for an Oscar , but did not receive the trophy. He received his first nomination directly for his film debut in the Michael Curtiz comedy Father Conducts .

Filmography (selection)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Chandler: Bette Davis - The personal biography. 2008, pp. 207-208.
  2. ↑ Hollywood Canteen. Internet Movie Database , accessed June 10, 2015 .
  3. ↑ Bette Davis quote (homepage). (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on October 14, 2013 ; Retrieved December 11, 2013 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.bettedavis.com
  4. ^ Patrick J. McGrath: John Garfield: The Illustrated Career in Films And on Stage. McFarland & Co., Jefferson (NC) 1993, pp. 90-92, pp. 120, pp. 149 ff.
  5. ^ Robert Nott: He Ran All the Way: The Life of John Garfield. Limelight / Proscenium Publishers, New York 2003, p. 301.
  6. ^ Robert Sklar: City Boys: Cagney, Bogart, Garfield. Princeton University Press, 1992, pp. 183-188.
personal data
SURNAME Garfield, John
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Garfinkle, Jacob Julius (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION US-American actor
DATE OF BIRTH March 4, 1913
PLACE OF BIRTH New York City , New York, United States
DATE OF DEATH May 21, 1952
Place of death New York City , New York, United States