John Garfield (born March 4, 1913 in New York City;
died May 21, 1952 in New York City) was an American
actor. Garfield was especially adept at playing brooding,
rebellious characters and was twice nominted for an
academy award (see below).
Born Jacob Julius Garfinkle to David
and Hannah Garfinkle, he was sent to a school for
problem children after the death of his mother when
he was seven years old. It was there that he was introduced
to boxing and acting. He won a scholarship to an acting
school hosted by Maria Ouspenskaya, and made his Broadway
debut in 1932. The play Golden Boy was written for
him, but he was passed over for the role. He decided
to leave Broadway and try his success in Hollywood.
In 1938 he received wide critical acclaim and a nomination
for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for
his role in Four Daughters.
Garfield graduated to leading roles
in films such as The Postman Always Rings Twice, Humoresque
and Gentleman's Agreement. In 1948 he was nominated
for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his starring
role in Body and Soul. A strong willed and often verbally,
sometimes physically combative individual, he did
not hesitate to venture out on his own when the opportunity
arose. When his contract with Warner Bros. expired
in 1946, instead of signing another contract which
was the standard practice, Garfield opted to start
his own independent production company. He was among
the first Hollywood stars to take this step.
Long involved in liberal politics,
Garfield became caught up in the McCarthy Communist
scare of the late 1940s and early 1950s. When called
to testify before the House on Un-American Activities
Committee or HUAC, which was empowered to investigate
proported communist infiltration in America, Garfield
refused to name names. Though his wife had been a
member of the Communist Party, no evidence was ever
presented that Garfield had ever been a Communist.
However, his forced testimony before the committee
damaged his reputation and he was blacklisted by the
Hollywood movie studio bosses for the remainder of
his career.
Long-term heart problems, allegedly
aggravated by the stress of his blacklisting, led
to his early death at the age of 39 on May 21st, 1952.
Two of his children would later become actors themselves.
Academy Award Nominations
1948 - Best Actor in a Leading Role - Body and Soul
1939 - Best Actor in a Supporting Role - Four Daughters
Garfield was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of
Fame at 7065 Hollywood Boulevard.
Filmography
Four Daughters (1938)
Swingtime in the Movies (1939) (short subject)
They Made Me a Criminal (1939)
Blackwell's Island (1939)
Juarez (1939)
Daughters Courageous (1939)
Dust Be My Destiny (1939)
Four Wives (1939)
Castle on the Hudson (1940)
Saturday's Children (1940)
Flowing Gold (1940)
East of the River (1940)
The Sea Wolf (1941)
Out of the Fog (1941)
Dangerously They Live (1942)
Tortilla Flat (1942)
Air Force (1943)
Show Business at War (1943) (short subject)
The Fallen Sparrow (1943)
Thank Your Lucky Stars (1943)
Destination Tokyo (1943)
Between Two Worlds (1944)
Hollywood Canteen (1944)
The Horn Blows at Midnight (1945) (Cameo)
Pride of the Marines (1945)
The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)
Nobody Lives Forever (1946)
Humoresque (1946)
Screen Snapshots: The Skolsky Party (1946) (short
subject)
Body and Soul (1947)
Gentleman's Agreement (1947)
Screen Snapshots: Out-of-This-World Series (1947)
(short subject)
Daisy Kenyon (1947) (Cameo)
Difficult Years (1948) (narrator in American version)
Force of Evil (1948)
We Were Strangers (1949)
Jigsaw (1949) (Cameo)
Under My Skin (1950)
The Breaking Point (1950)
He Ran All the Way (1951) (also producer)
source from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki
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