John Agar

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 and military service

Agar was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Lillian (née Rogers) and John George Agar, a meat packer. His great aunt was Edna Gladney. He was educated at the Harvard School for Boys in Chicago 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.

In 1941, Agar joined the 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. He then enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps. He was a sergeant and a physical training instructor at the time he left the AAF in 1946.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.

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. 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.

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.

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.

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