Jess Barker

{{Infobox person

| image = Jess Barker in Scarlet Street.jpg

| caption = Barker in Scarlet Street (1945)

| birth_date = {{birth date|1912|6|4}}

| birth_place = Greenville, South Carolina, U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age|2000|8|8|1912|6|4}}

| death_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S.

| occupation = Actor

| yearsactive = 1936–1977

| spouse = {{marriage|Susan Hayward|1944|1954|end=divorced}}

| children = 3

}}

Jess Barker (June 4, 1912 – August 8, 2000) was an American actor who was active between the 1940s and 1970s. He was best known as the first husband of actress Susan Hayward.

Early years

Barker was born in Greenville, South Carolina.{{cite book|last1=Lentz|first1=Harris M. III|title=Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2000: Film, Television, Radio, Theatre, Dance, Music, Cartoons and Pop Culture|date=2001|publisher=McFarland|isbn=9780786452057|pages=14–15|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GnnGCwAAQBAJ&q=%22Jess+Barker%22+actor&pg=PA14|accessdate=20 November 2017|language=en}}

Career

Barker began his film career credited as Philip Barker until changing his stage name to Jess Barker in the early 1940s.{{Citation needed |date=May 2024}}

Barker's movie career was damaged because of the publicity resulting from a bitter custody dispute, but he still managed to find work as an actor on radio and films in supporting roles.{{Citation needed |date=May 2024}} Barker appeared as an art critic in Fritz Lang's Scarlet Street (1945) and the Abbott and Costello film The Time of Their Lives (1946). He also made two guest appearances on Perry Mason. In 1961 he played defendant Walter Eastman in "The Case of the Injured Innocent," and in 1965 he played Doug Hamilton in "The Case of the Murderous Mermaid."

Personal life

Barker wed Susan Hayward on July 23, 1944.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2284178/barker_hayward/|title=Persuaded Barker to Marry Her---Hayward|newspaper=The Bakersfield Californian |date=June 18, 1954|accessdate=April 24, 2015|agency=The Bakersfield Californian|page=26|via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}}{{cite news|title=Susan Hayward and Jess Barker Wedded|newspaper=The Piqua Daily Call |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2284469/hayward_barker_wedding/|agency=The Piqua Daily Call|date=July 24, 1944|page=1|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = April 24, 2015}} {{Open access}} They had twin sons together during their ten-year marriage, whose custody was won by Hayward after a bitter court battle.{{Cite news |last=Larman |first=Alexander |date=2024-04-09 |title=The woman who was nearly Bond: the turbulent life of Susan Hayward |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/susan-hayward-the-turbulent-life-of-the-female-james-bond/#:~:text=She%20was%20voted%20%E2%80%9Cthe%20most,the%20Hollywood%20Foreign%20Press%20Association.&text=This%20stellar%20career%20was%20nearly,Irish,%20this%20infuriated%20me.%E2%80%9D |access-date=2024-11-13 |work=The Telegraph |language=en-GB |issn=0307-1235}}

In 1956, Barker lost a paternity suit in Los Angeles. Judge Walter H. Odemar ruled that Barker was the father of Morgana, a daughter born to actress Yvonne Doughty.{{cite news|title=Actor Jess Barker Loses Court Fight In Paternity Suit|newspaper=Moberly Monitor-Index |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2284238/jess_barker_paternity_suit/|agency=Moberly Monitor-Index|date=December 28, 1956|page=8|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = April 24, 2015}} {{Open access}}

Barker died of liver failure in 2000.{{cite book|last1=Lentz|first1=Harris M. III|title=Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2000: Film, Television, Radio, Theatre, Dance, Music, Cartoons and Pop Culture|date=2001|publisher=McFarland|isbn=9780786452057|pages=14–15|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GnnGCwAAQBAJ&q=%22Jess+Barker%22+actor&pg=PA14|accessdate=20 November 2017|language=en}}

Filmography

class="wikitable"
Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes
1936 \| The Trail of the Lonesome Pine \| Merd Falin \| Film debut
rowspan=2\|1943 \| Good Luck, Mr. Yates \| Oliver B. Yates \|
Government Girl \| Dana McGuire \|
rowspan=3\|1944 \| Cover Girl \| John Coudair as a Young Man \|
Jam Session \| George Carter Haven \|
She's a Soldier Too \| Dr. Bill White \|
rowspan=5\|1945 \| Keep Your Powder Dry \| Junior Vanderheusen \|
Senorita from the West \| Tim Winters \|
This Love of Ours \| Chadwick \|
The Daltons Ride Again \| Jeff Colton \|
Scarlet Street \| Damon Janeway \|
rowspan=3\|1946 \| Girl on the Spot \| Rick Crane \|
Idea Girl \| Larry Brewster \|
The Time of Their Lives \| Thomas Danbury \|
rowspan=2\|1949 \| Take One False Step \| Arnold Sykes \|
Reign of Terror \| Saint Just \|
1950 \| The Milkman \| John Carter \|
1953 \| Marry Me Again \| Jenkins \|
1954 \| Dragonfly Squadron \| Dixon \|
rowspan=2\|1955 \| Kentucky Rifle \| Daniel Foster \|
Shack Out on 101 \| Artie \|
rowspan=2\|1956 \| Three Bad Sisters \| George Gurney \|
The Peacemaker \| Ed Halcomb \|
1961-1965 \| Perry Mason \| Walter Eastman/Doug Hamilton \| 2 episodes
1964 \| Night Walker \| Malone \|
1968 \| The Green Berets \| Soldier \| Uncredited
1975 \| Murph the Surf \| Museum Guard \|
1977 \| Sudden Death \| Barnett \| Final film

class="wikitable"

Year

! Title

! Role

! Notes

1936

| The Trail of the Lonesome Pine

| Merd Falin

| Film debut

rowspan=2|1943

| Good Luck, Mr. Yates

| Oliver B. Yates