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 Susan Hayward (born Edythe Marrenner; June 30, 1917 – March 14, 1975) was an American film actress, best known for her film portrayals of women that were based on true stories. After working as a fashion model for the Walter Thornton Model A ...

Early years

Barker was born in

Greenville, South Carolina Greenville (; locally ) is a city in and the seat of Greenville County, South Carolina, United States. With a population of 70,720 at the 2020 census, it is the sixth-largest city in the state. Greenville is located approximately halfway be ...

Career

Barker began his film career credited as Philip Barker until changing his stage name to Jess Barker in the early 1940s. 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. Barker appeared as an art critic in

Fritz Lang Friedrich Christian Anton Lang (; December 5, 1890 – August 2, 1976), known as Fritz Lang, was an Austrian film director, screenwriter, and producer who worked in Germany and later the United States.Obituary ''Variety'', August 4, 1976, p. 6 ...

's ''

Scarlet Street ''Scarlet Street'' is a 1945 American film noir directed by Fritz Lang. The screenplay concerns two criminals who take advantage of a middle-aged painter in order to steal his artwork. The film is based on the French novel ''La Chienne'' (literal ...

'' (1945) and the

Abbott and Costello Abbott may refer to: People *Abbott (surname) *Abbott Handerson Thayer (1849–1921), American painter and naturalist * Abbott and Costello, famous American vaudeville act Places Argentina * Abbott, Buenos Aires United States * Abbott, Arkansas ...

film ''

The Time of Their Lives ''The Time of Their Lives'' is a 1946 American fantasy-comedy film starring the comedic duo Abbott and Costello and directed by Charles Barton. Plot In 1780, master tinker Horatio Prim arrives at the Kings Point estate of Tom Danbury. Although ...

'' (1946). He also made two guest appearances on ''

Perry Mason Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in 82 novels and 4 short stories, all of which involve a cli ...

''. 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

on July 23, 1944. They had twin sons together during their ten-year marriage, whose custody was won by Hayward after a bitter court battle. 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. Barker died of liver failure in 2000.

Filmography

References

External links

* * * American male film actors American male radio actors Deaths from cirrhosis Actors from Greenville, South Carolina 1912 births 2000 deaths 20th-century American male actors {{US-film-actor-1910s-stub