Robert Walker was a promising young actor who starred in several popular films in the 1940s, including the Alfred Hitchcock thriller Strangers on a Train. He had a charming demeanor and boyish good looks that made him a favorite among audiences. However, his personal life was troubled by his divorce from actress Jennifer Jones, his alcoholism and his mental illness. He died at the age of 32 from a drug overdose, leaving behind a legacy of talent and tragedy.
Early Life and Career
Robert Walker was born on October 13, 1918, in Salt Lake City, Utah. He was emotionally scarred by his parents’ divorce when he was still a child, which led him to develop an interest in acting. His maternal aunt, Hortense McQuarrie Odlum, who was the president of Bonwit Teller, offered to pay for his enrollment at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City in 1937. Walker lived in her home during his first year in the city.
While attending the academy, Walker met fellow aspiring actress Phylis Isley, who later took the stage name Jennifer Jones. After a brief courtship, the couple married in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on January 2, 1939. They had two sons, Robert Walker Jr. and Michael Walker, who both became actors as well.
Walker and Jones moved to Hollywood, where they were discovered by producer David O. Selznick, who changed Jones’ name and groomed her for stardom. Walker also secured a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, where he started his film career with small roles in movies such as Winter Carnival, These Glamour Girls and Dancing Co-Ed.
He rose to fame with his performance as a soldier in the war drama Bataan, followed by a supporting role in the biopic Madame Curie. He then played the title character in the comedy See Here, Private Hargrove, which was a huge hit and spawned a sequel. He also portrayed composer Jerome Kern in the musical Till the Clouds Roll By, and co-starred with his wife in the epic Since You Went Away.
Divorce and Decline
Walker’s marriage to Jones began to fall apart when she had an affair with Selznick, who was also her mentor and producer. Walker was devastated by the betrayal and became depressed and alcoholic. He also suffered from bouts of paranoia and anxiety, which affected his work and behavior. He and Jones divorced in 1945, and she married Selznick the same year.
Walker tried to cope with his personal problems by dating other women and taking on more film roles. He starred in the western The Sea of Grass, the drama The Clock, the comedy One Touch of Venus and the thriller The Sailor Takes a Wife. However, none of these films matched his earlier success, and his performances were criticized as lackluster and erratic.
He also remarried twice, but both marriages were short-lived and unhappy. He wed actress Barbara Ford, the daughter of director John Ford, in 1948, but they divorced after only five months. He then married Hungarian actress Hanna Hertelendy in 1949, but they separated after a year.
Strangers on a Train and Death
Walker’s career took a turn for the better when he was cast as the villainous Bruno Antony in Alfred Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train, based on the novel by Patricia Highsmith. He played a psychopathic murderer who proposes a criss-cross scheme of killing each other’s targets to a tennis player, played by Farley Granger. Walker’s performance was widely praised as his best and most memorable, and the film was a critical and commercial success.
However, Walker did not live to see the film’s release. On August 28, 1951, he was found dead in his apartment in Los Angeles. He had been prescribed a sedative called amobarbital by his psychiatrist, Dr. Frederick Hacker, to help him sleep. However, he had also been drinking alcohol before taking the drug, which proved to be a fatal combination. According to Wikipedia, the drug and alcohol caused him to lose consciousness and stop breathing. Efforts to resuscitate him failed and he was pronounced dead shortly thereafter at the age of 32.
Walker’s death was ruled as an accident, and his body was cremated and his ashes scattered at sea. He left behind his two sons, his estranged wife and his former wife, who was reportedly heartbroken by his demise. He also left behind a legacy of films that showcased his talent and potential, especially Strangers on a Train, which is considered a classic of the suspense genre. Robert Walker’s cause of death was a tragic end to a promising life.
