Claude Jarman Jr in High Barbaree trailer

Claude Jarman Jr. (born September 27, 1934) is an American former child actor, entrepreneur, former executive director of the

San Francisco International Film Festival The San Francisco International Film Festival (abbreviated as SFIFF), organized by the San Francisco Film Society, is held each spring for two weeks, presenting around 200 films from over 50 countries. The festival highlights current trends in in ...

and former director of Cultural Affairs for the City of San Francisco.

Early life and career

Jarman was born in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and t ...

. As a child, he acted in productions of the Nashville Community Playhouse's Children's Theater. Jarman was 10 years old and in the fifth grade in Nashville when he was discovered in a nationwide talent search by

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 ...

Studios, and was cast as the lead actor in the film ''

The Yearling ''The Yearling'' is a novel by American writer Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, published in March 1938. It was the main selection of the Book of the Month Club in April 1938. It won the 1939 Pulitzer Prize for the Novel. It was the best-selling no ...

'' (1946). His performance received glowing reviews and he received a special Academy Award as outstanding child actor of 1946 as a result. He continued his studies at the MGM studio school, and made a total of 11 films. By the time he reached his early twenties he chose to leave his film career behind.

Republic Studios Republic Pictures Corporation (currently held under Melange Pictures, LLC) was an American motion picture production-distribution corporation in operation from 1935 to 1967, that was based in Los Angeles. It had studio facilities in Studio City an ...

cast him in a couple of

B-movie A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double feature ...

s, but discouraged, he moved back to Tennessee to finish college at

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

. Following coursework in pre-law at Vanderbilt, Jarman appeared in Disney's ''

The Great Locomotive Chase ''The Great Locomotive Chase'' is a 1956 American adventure western film produced by Walt Disney Productions, based on the Great Locomotive Chase that occurred in 1862 during the American Civil War. Filmed in CinemaScope and in color, the ...

'' (1956), his final movie. After that, he served three years in the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

, doing public relations work. Jarman moved to working behind the scenes. He ran the

for 15 years (1965–1980) and was known for his in-depth retrospectives of movie stars and directors. He was executive producer of the music documentary film '' Fillmore'' (1972), about rock impresario Bill Graham. He briefly returned to acting in 1978 in the television miniseries ''

Centennial {{other uses, Centennial (disambiguation), Centenary (disambiguation) A centennial, or centenary in British English, is a 100th anniversary or otherwise relates to a century, a period of 100 years. Notable events Notable centennial events at a ...

''. He was a special guest at the 70th and 75th

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment in ...

telecasts, in 1998 and 2003 respectively, as a past acting award winner at the Oscar Family Album retrospectives. He served as director of cultural affairs for the City of San Francisco. He founded Jarman Travel Inc. in 1986 to serve the travel needs of corporations and executives. Jarman wrote ''My Life and the Final Days of Hollywood'', which was published in 2018.

Personal life

Jarman married his first wife, Virginia, in 1959. They had three children: Elizabeth Suddeth, Claude Jarman III and Murray Jarman, before their 1968 divorce. Jarman married his second wife, Maryann, in 1968. They had two daughters together, Vanessa Getty and Natalie Jarman, before their 1983 divorce. Jarman married his current wife, Katharine, in 1986, with whom he has twin daughters, Charlotte and Sarah.

Filmography

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jarman, Claude Jr. 1934 births Living people American male child actors American male film actors Academy Juvenile Award winners 20th-century American male actors Male actors from Nashville, Tennessee Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract players

Early life and career

Personal life

Filmography

References

Further reading

External links