John Agar
{{short description|American actor (1921–2002)}}
{{for multi|the New York lawyer|John G. Agar (lawyer)|the English painter and engraver|John Samuel Agar}}
{{more citations needed|date=March 2013}}
{{Infobox person
| image = John Agar still.jpg
| caption = Agar, {{Circa|1960}}
| birth_name = John George Agar Jr.
| birth_date = {{birth date|1921|1|31}}
| birth_place = Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|2002|4|7|1921|1|31}}
| death_place = Burbank, California, U.S.
| spouse = {{plainlist|
- {{marriage|Shirley Temple|1945|1950|end=div}}
- {{marriage|Loretta Combs|1951|2000|end=died}}
}}
| occupation = Actor
| years_active = 1948–2001
| resting place = Riverside National Cemetery
| children = 3
}}
John George Agar Jr. (January 31, 1921 – April 7, 2002) was an American film and television actor. He is best known for starring alongside John Wayne in the films Sands of Iwo Jima, Fort Apache, and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon. In his later career he was the star of B movies, such as Tarantula!, The Mole People, The Brain from Planet Arous, Revenge of the Creature, Flesh and the Spur and Hand of Death. He was the first husband of Shirley Temple.
Agar's career suffered in the wake of his divorce, but he developed a niche playing leading men in low-budget science fiction, Western, and horror movies in the 1950s and 1960s. John Wayne gave him several supporting roles in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In later years he worked extensively in television.
Early life
Agar was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Lillian (née Rogers) and John George Agar, a meat packer.John George Agar in the U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007
Name: John George Agar [John G Agar]
Gender: Male
Race: White
Birth Date: 31 Jan 1921
Birth Place: Chicago, Illinois
Death Date: 7 Apr 2002
Father:
John G Agar
Mother:
Lillian Rogers
SSN: 322183716
Notes: Jun 1938: Name listed as JOHN GEORGE AGAR; 10 Apr 2002: Name listed as JOHN G AGAR His great aunt was Edna Gladney.p. 14 Agar, John & Van Savage, L.C. On the Good Ship Hollywood BearManor Media; 1st Edition (July 11, 2007) He was educated at the Harvard School for Boys in Chicago {{Cite web|url=http://www.illinoishsglorydays.com/id909.html|title=Chicago Harvard School|website=www.illinoishsglorydays.com|access-date=2021-04-03|archive-date=2020-11-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128134657/http://illinoishsglorydays.com/id909.html|url-status=dead}} and Lake Forest Academy in Lake Forest, Illinois. He graduated from Trinity-Pawling Preparatory School in Pawling, New York, but did not attend college. He and his family moved from Chicago to Los Angeles in 1942, after his father's death.{{cite book|last1=Edwards|first1=Anne|title=Shirley Temple: American Princess|date=2017|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|location=Lanham, Maryland|isbn=9781493026920|pages=163–164|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FzEmDwAAQBAJ&q=%22he+was+exactly+one+foot+taller+than+she%2C+which+was+also%22&pg=PA163|access-date=19 July 2017|language=en}}
In 1941, Agar joined the U.S. Navy Air Corps, had basic training in Texas, and instructed in physical training at March Field in Riverside, California. He was medically discharged from the Navy in 1943 due to an ear infection that affected his balance.p. 19 Agar, John & Van Savage, L.C. On the Good Ship Hollywood BearManor Media; 1st Edition (July 11, 2007) He then enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps. He was a sergeant and a physical training instructor{{Cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/news/2002/apr/13/guardianobituaries.filmnews|title=Obituary: John Agar|date=April 13, 2002|website=the Guardian}} when he left the USAAF in 1946.[http://www.monstershack.net/articles/agar.php John Agar Biography at Monster Shack] accessed January 19, 2014
Career
Agar met Shirley Temple in 1943 when he was asked to escort her to a Hollywood party.{{cite book |last1=Wilson |first1=Scott |title=Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed. |date=19 August 2016 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-1-4766-2599-7 |page=11 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FOHgDAAAQBAJ&q=Iris+Adrian |access-date=January 17, 2021 |language=en}}
After his marriage with Temple in 1945, her boss at the time, David O. Selznick, signed Agar to a five-year acting contract starting at $150 a week, including acting lessons.{{cite news|last1=Bergan|first1=Ronald|title=John Agar|url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2002/apr/13/guardianobituaries.filmnews|access-date=19 July 2017|work=The Guardian|location=London, England|date=12 April 2002|
archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170719191636/https://www.theguardian.com/news/2002/apr/13/guardianobituaries.filmnews|archive-date=19 July 2017}}{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article193118029 |title=SHIRLEY'S HUBBY BECOMES ACTOR WITHOUT HELP |newspaper=Tweed Daily |volume=XXXIII |issue=174 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=22 July 1946 |access-date=14 October 2017 |page=4 |via=National Library of Australia}}{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article229014178 |title=How John Agar wooed Shirley |newspaper=The Sun |issue=2214 |location=Sydney |date=16 September 1945 |access-date=14 October 2017 |page=3 (SUPPLEMENT TO THE SUNDAY SUN) |via=National Library of Australia}} Agar made his film debut as Temple's love interest in Fort Apache (1948), a John Ford western for RKO starring John Wayne and Henry Fonda. It was a financial and critical success.{{cite book|first1=Richard|last1=Jewell|first2=Vernon|last2=Harbin|title=The RKO Story|location=New Rochelle, New York|publisher=Arlington House|date=1982|isbn=978-0517546567|page=228}}
Agar was reunited with Temple for his second film, a suffragette drama Adventure in Baltimore (1949), also for RKO, which was a huge flop.
RKO used him in The Woman on Pier 13 (1950), an anti-communist drama that was a pet project of Howard Hughes. It was Agar's first movie without Temple, and he was billed after Robert Ryan and Laraine Day. It was another flop.
More successful was a reunion with Wayne and Ford, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949), in which Agar played the romantic lead. It was a sizeable hit and has come to be regarded as a classic. Even more popular was the World War II film Sands of Iwo Jima (1949) where Agar supported John Wayne. Made by Republic Pictures, it was a sizeable hit, earning Wayne an Oscar nomination and getting Agar some good reviews. Toward the end of his life, Agar blamed John Wayne for getting him hooked on cigarettes and alcohol, two addictive habits that would later ruin his life.
Warner Bros put Agar in a war film, Breakthrough (1950) which relied extensively on pre-existing war footage. It was a reasonable success at the box office.{{cite web|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/69632/breakthrough#articles-reviews|first=Richard Harland|last=Smith|title=Breakthrough|website=Turner Classic Movies|access-date=May 17, 2012}}
Warner Bros used him in Along the Great Divide (1951), supporting Kirk Douglas. He made a low budget Arabian Knights film for Sam Katzman with Lucille Ball, The Magic Carpet (1951).
In 1952 Agar was fired by Selznick for driving under the influence of alcohol, which affected his career with the large studios in Hollywood.p. 43 Agar, John & Van Savage, L.C. On the Good Ship Hollywood BearManor Media; 1st Edition (July 11, 2007)
Agar was third billed in Woman of the North Country (1952), a Western for Republic, and also starred in Man of Conflict (1953), an independent drama with Edward Arnold.
Agar had support roles in Bait (1954), a Hugo Haas drama with Cleo Moore; The Rocket Man (1954), a Charles Coburn comedy co-written by Lenny Bruce; and Shield for Murder (1954), a film noir starring and co-directed by Edmond O'Brien.
Agar returned to leading roles in The Golden Mistress (1954), an adventure film directed by Abner Biberman.
In 1954 Agar signed a seven-year contract with Universal. He began the association with Revenge of the Creature (1955), the popular first sequel to Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954); it was produced by William Alland and directed by Jack Arnold. He was borrowed by Lippert Pictures for The Lonesome Trail (1955), then, at Universal, made a second film for Haas with Cleo Moore, Hold Back Tomorrow (1955).
Agar made another science fiction film, Tarantula! (1955), made by Alland and Arnold, which was popular and became a cult favorite.
Universal starred him in a Western, Star in the Dust (1956) with Mamie Van Doren and Richard Boone and produced by Albert Zugsmith. A new company, American International Pictures, borrowed Agar for a Western, Flesh and the Spur (1956) with Marla English and Mike Connors (billed as "Touch Connors"). Then he went back to Universal for The Mole People (1956), produced by Alland.
His contract with Universal ended when he complained that he was tired of only doing science fiction roles.p. 11 Weaver, Tom John Agar Interview in McFarland Publishing (October 1, 1999) His final film with the studio was supporting Universal's Western star Audie Murphy in a comedy Joe Butterfly (1957).
He remained in demand for low budget science fiction, horror and Western films. He starred in The Daughter of Dr. Jekyll (1957) for Edgar G. Ulmer at Allied Artists, then made The Brain from Planet Arous (1957) for Howco International.
Agar starred in some low budget Westerns for Lippert's low budget Regal Films at Fox, Ride a Violent Mile (1958) and Frontier Gun (1958). He went to the Philippines to make Cavalry Command (1958) and did two for AIP, Jet Attack (1958) and Attack of the Puppet People (1958). He shot a television pilot in 1958 that was released as a feature film Destination Space (1959).
He did Invisible Invaders (1958) for director Edward L. Cahn who had made Jet Attack.
Agar could be seen in Journey to the Seventh Planet (1962) and Of Love and Desire (1963). He joined he ensemble casts in several low budget films for producer A.C. Lyles that were released by Paramount Pictures; The Young and The Brave (1963) with Rory Calhoun, Law of the Lawless (1963) starring Dale Robertson and William Bendix, Stage to Thunder Rock (1965) with Barry Sullivan and Marilyn Maxwell, Young Fury (1965) with Rory Calhoun and Lon Chaney Jr., Johnny Reno (1966) with Dana Andrews and Jane Russell, and Waco (1966) with Howard Keel, Jane Russell and Brian Donlevy.
He made some films for Larry Buchanan at AIP that were originally meant as made-for-television-movies, Curse of the Swamp Creature (1966), Zontar, the Thing from Venus (1966) and Hell Raiders (1968). He had the lead in Women of the Prehistoric Planet (1966) and Night Fright (1967).
He had small parts in some studio films like The St. Valentine's Day Massacre (1967) with Jason Robards Jr. and Ralph Meeker, and three more pictures in a row with John Wayne: The Undefeated (1969), Chisum (1970), and Big Jake (1971).
His last prominent roles were small parts in King Kong (1976), Miracle Mile (1988) and Nightbreed (1990).
Personal life
=Marriages=
Agar's sister was a schoolmate of Shirley Temple. In 1944 Agar escorted Temple to a party held by her boss at the time, David O. Selznick. The two were married in 1945. Agar and Temple had a daughter together, Linda Susan Agar, born 1948 (who was later known as Susan Black, taking the surname of her stepfather, Charles Alden Black). However, the marriage foundered, in part because of Agar's drinking (he had been arrested for drunk driving) and in part because of pressures of their high public profile. Temple sued for divorce on the grounds of mental cruelty in 1949.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article48604681 |title=Divorce for Shirley JOHN "FLIRTED, DRANK" |newspaper=The Barrier Miner |volume=LXII |issue=18.029 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=8 December 1949 |access-date=14 October 2017 |page=13 |via=National Library of Australia}}[http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20100608,00.html Kristin McMurran, "Shirley Temple Black Taps Out a Telling Memoir of Child Stardom", People Magazine 28 November 1988] accessed 19 January 2014 The two were divorced on December 7, 1950.{{cite magazine|title=Divorces|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zB0EAAAAMBAJ&q=%22John+Agar%22+actor&pg=PA50|access-date=19 July 2017|magazine=Billboard|date=December 16, 1950|page=50}} After the divorce, Agar had little contact with his daughter or with Temple.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article51197755 |title=The bitter ending of a fairy-tale |newspaper=The Australian Women's Weekly |volume=47 |issue=39 |date=27 February 1980 |access-date=14 October 2017 |page=20 |via=National Library of Australia}}
Agar married model Loretta Barnett Combs (1922–2000) in 1951. They tried to elope but officials refused to marry them for an hour because Agar had been drinking.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article212274680 |title=JOHN AGAR WEDS AGAIN |newspaper=Brisbane Telegraph |date=17 May 1951 |access-date=14 October 2017 |page=7 (CITY FINAL) |via=National Library of Australia}} They remained married for 49 years until her death in 2000. They had two sons, Martin Agar and John G. Agar III.[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-apr-09-me-agar9-story.html Los Angeles Times obituary], April 9, 2002; accessed January 19, 2014
=Legal issues=
In 1950 Agar was fined for reckless driving.{{cite news|title=John Agar Fined in Driving Case|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=21 April 1950|page= 2}}{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article84371577 |title=JOHN AGAR CONVICTED |newspaper=The Daily News |volume=LXVIII |issue=23,409 |location=Western Australia |date=22 April 1950 |access-date=14 October 2017 |page=5 (FIRST) |via=National Library of Australia}} In 1951 he was sentenced to five months in jail for drunk driving, and released on probation after 60 days.{{cite news|title=John Agar Sentenced to Jail|newspaper=New York Times |date=28 August 1951|page= 21}} In 1953 Agar was again arrested for drunk driving, and sentenced to 120 days in prison.{{cite news|title=John Agar Gets 120 Days for Violating Probation|newspaper=Chicago Daily Tribune|date=31 January 1953|page= a8}} In 1960 he was again arrested for drunk driving.{{cite news|title=John Agar Fined for Drunk Driving|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=16 January 1960|page= B1}}
=Political views=
Agar supported Barry Goldwater in the 1964 United States presidential election, and Ronald Reagan in 1980.{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QfHXAAAAQBAJ&q=agar | title=When Hollywood Was Right: How Movie Stars, Studio Moguls, and Big Business Remade American Politics| isbn=9781107650282| last1=Critchlow| first1=Donald T.| date=2013|pages=172, 191| publisher=Cambridge University Press}}
=Premature obituary=
Agar was drinking at his friend and filmmaker Ed Wood's apartment one day in the late 1960s when the afternoon news program erroneously announced Agar's obituary. Wood called the studio and told them: "He's alive... he's sitting right here with me now!" The story was corrected shortly thereafter.Rudolph Grey, Nightmare of Ecstasy: The Life and Art of Edward D. Wood, Jr. (1992). pp. 144–145. ISBN 978-0-922915-24-8.
Death
Agar died on April 7, 2002, in Burbank, California from severe complications from emphysema, after being confined for months to an iron lung.Agar, John & Van Savage, L.C. On the Good Ship Hollywood BearManor Media; 1st Edition (July 11, 2007) He was 81.{{cite book|last1=Willis|first1=John|title=Screen World 2003|date=2004|publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation|location=Milwaukee, Wisconsin|isbn=9781557835284|page=355|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nLQcr-jXxYsC&q=%22John+Agar%22+actor&pg=PA355|access-date=19 July 2017|language=en}}
Legacy
As for being associated with science fiction B movies, Agar said, "I don't resent being identified with B science fiction movies at all." Agar later said, "Why should I? Even though they were not considered top-of-the-line, for those people that like sci-fi, I guess they were fun. My whole feeling about working as an actor is, if I give anybody any enjoyment, I'm doing my job, and that's what counts."
The Seattle band The Young Fresh Fellows recorded the songs "The New John Agar" and "Agar's Revenge" on the Topsy Turvy album in 1985.{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/topsy-turvy-mw0000088744|title=Topsy Turvy - The Young Fresh Fellows | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic|via=www.allmusic.com}}
The television series Mystery Science Theater 3000 has featured several of Agar's films, including The Mole People, Women of the Prehistoric Planet and Revenge of the Creature.
Filmography
=Film=
| class="wikitable sortable"
!Year !Title !Role !Notes |
| 1948
|2nd Lt. Michael Shannon O'Rourke | |
| rowspan="4" |1949
|Tom Wade | |
| She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
|Lt. Flint Cohill | |
| The Woman on Pier 13
|Don Lowry | |
| Sands of Iwo Jima
|Professor Peter Conway | |
| 1950
|Lt. Joe Mallory | |
| rowspan="2" |1951
|Billy Shear | |
| The Magic Carpet
|Abdullah al Husan / Dr. Ramoth / The Scarlet Falcon | |
| 1952
|David Powell | |
| 1953
|Ray Compton | |
| rowspan="4" |1954
|Bait |Ray Brighton | |
| The Rocket Man
|Tom Baxter | |
| Shield for Murder
|Mark Brewster | |
| The Golden Mistress
|Bill Buchanan | |
| rowspan="4" |1955
|Professor Clete Ferguson | |
| The Lonesome Trail
|Johnny Rush | |
| Tarantula!
|Dr. Matt Hastings | |
| Hold Back Tomorrow
|Joe Cardos | |
| rowspan="3" |1956
|Sheriff Bill Jorden | |
| Flesh and the Spur
|Luke Random / Matt Random | |
| The Mole People
|Dr. Roger Bentley | |
| rowspan="4" |1957
|Sergeant Dick Mason | |
| The Daughter of Dr. Jekyll
|George Hastings | |
| The Brain from Planet Arous
|Steve March | |
| Ride a Violent Mile
|Jeff Donner | |
| rowspan="4" |1958
|Sgt. Judd Norcutt | |
| Jet Attack
|Capt. Tom Arnett | |
| Attack of the Puppet People
|Bob Westley | |
| Frontier Gun
|Sheriff Jim Crayle | |
| 1959
|Maj. Bruce Jay | |
| 1960
|Ike | |
| 1961
|Fall Girl |Joe McElroy | |
| rowspan="2" |1962
|Journey to the Seventh Planet |Capt. Don Graham | |
| Hand of Death
|Alex Marsh | |
| rowspan="2" |1963
|Intelligence Captain | |
| Of Love and Desire
|Gus Cole | |
| rowspan="3" |1964
|Pete Stone | |
| Stage to Thunder Rock
|Dan Carrouthers | |
| Young Fury
|Dawson | |
| rowspan="3" |1966
|Ed Tomkins | |
| Women of the Prehistoric Planet
|Dr. Farrell | |
| Waco
|George Gates | |
| rowspan="2" |1967
|The St. Valentine's Day Massacre |Dion O'Bannion | |
| Night Fright
|Sheriff Clint Crawford | |
| 1969
|Christian | |
| 1970
|Amos Patton | |
| rowspan="2" |1971
|Bert Ryan | |
| How's Your Love Life?
|Police Lt. Rafferty | |
| 1976
|City Official | |
| 1978
|Police Capt. Hathaway | |
| 1982
|Divided We Fall |Yankee Officer |short Film |
| rowspan="2" |1988
|Perfect Victims |Neighbor Walking His Dog | |
| Miracle Mile
|Ivan Peters | |
| rowspan="2" |1990
|Decker's Victim | |
| Fear
|Leonard Scott Levy | |
| 1992
|Invasion of Privacy |Old Convict |direct-to-video |
| 2001
|The Vampire Hunters Club |Reggie |direct-to-video short film |
| 2005
|Dr. Clete Ferguson | |
=Television=
| class="wikitable sortable"
!Year !Title !Role !Notes | |||
| rowspan="2" |1952
| |Episode: "Delaying Action" | |||
| The Unexpected
|Alan Liveright |Episode: "Desert Honeymoon" | |||
| 1952–1954
|John Cushing |2 episodes | |||
| rowspan="2" |1953
| |Episode: "The Old Man's Bride" | |||
| The Loretta Young Show
|Lloyd |Episode: "Earthquake" | |||
| 1954
|Otis Tack |Episode: "Little War at San Dede" | |||
| 1954–1957
|Marvin Potter |2 episodes | |||
| 1955
|Larry Dorrant |Episode: "The First and the Last" | |||
| rowspan="2" |1958
|The Gale Storm Show: Oh! Susanna |Lt. Arnold Van Dyke |Episode: "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" | |||
| Flight
| |Episode: "Vertijet" | |||
| rowspan="2" |1959
|Kenneth Baxter |Episode: "The Case of the Caretaker's Cat"; credited as John G. Agar | |||
| Destination Space
|Col. Matthews |TV movie | |||
| 1959 | Rawhide | Lon Grant | S2:E7, "Incident at the Buffalo Smokehouse" |
| 1960 | Rawhide | Mike Anderson | S3:E5, "Incident of the Slavemaster" |
| 1960
|Danny Flynn |Episode: "Four Little Indians" | |||
| rowspan="3" |1961
|Lt. Larry Bronsford |Episode: "Band of Brothers" | |||
| Bat Masterson
|Sam Phelps |Episode: "Farmer with a Badge" | |||
| Ripcord
|Warrant Officer Frank Pierson |Episode: "Chuting Stars" | |||
| 1962
|Jim Martin |Episode: "The Witness" | |||
| 1963
|Dr. Charles Edwards |Episode: "Pioneer Doctor" | |||
| 1964–1968
|Joe Williams / Tom Anders |2 episodes | |||
| 1965
|The Sheriff |Episode: "$10,000 for Durango" | |||
| 1966
|Capt. Thorpe |Episode: "The Mockingbird" | |||
| rowspan="3" |1967
|Gabe |Episode: "What Did You Do in the West, Uncle?" | |||
| Hondo
|Frank James |Episode: "Hondo and the Judas" | |||
| Zontar: The Thing from Venus
|Dr. Curt Taylor |TV movie | |||
| rowspan="2" |1968
|Barry Rogers |TV movie | |||
| The Name of the Game
|Bert Walker |Episode: "Nightmare" | |||
| 1969
|Hell Raiders |Maj. Ronald Paxton |TV movie | |||
| 1971
|Jim Thorne |Episode: "Taste of Fear" | |||
| 1972
| |Episode: "The Man Upstairs-The Man Downstairs Project" | |||
| 1974
| |Episode: "Remote Control" | |||
| rowspan="2" |1976
|Hammack |Episode: "The Long Ball" | |||
| Charlie's Angels
|Col. Blaylock |Episode: "Target: Angels" | |||
| 1984
|Morton Clay |Episode: "The Return of the Masked Rider" | |||
| 1986
|Pop |Episode: "A Day in Beaumont" | |||
| 1991
|The Perfect Bride |Gramps |TV movie | |||
| 1993
|Dr. Lang |TV movie; in the section "Eye" |
= Video games =
| class="wikitable sortable"
!Year !Title !Role !Notes |
| 1996
|Thomas Malloy | |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{wikiquote}}
{{commons category}}
- [http://johnagar.com/ The Official John Agar Website]
- {{Imdb name}}
- {{Tcmdb name | 1070%7C85026 }}
- {{Find a Grave}}
- [http://drgangrene.blogspot.com.au/2012/04/scary-monsters-magazine-76-interview.html Interview with John Agar III at Scary Monsters Magazine]
{{Shirley Temple|state=collapsed}}
{{The Life Career Award}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Agar, John}}
Category:20th-century American male actors
Category:American male film actors
Category:Burials at Riverside National Cemetery
Category:Deaths from emphysema
Category:Lake Forest Academy alumni
Category:Male actors from Chicago
Category:Military personnel from California
Category:Military personnel from Illinois
Category:Respiratory disease deaths in California
Category:United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II
Category:United States Army Air Forces soldiers