Barbara Lee Payton

Barbara Payton was born on 16 November 1927 as Barbara Lee Redfield in Cloquet, Minnesota, in the US. She was the daughter of Erwin Lee Redfield and Mabel Irene Todahl. Her parents were Norwegian immigrants.

Her family later moved to Odessa, Texas, where her father started his own business. As she grew up over the years, she started gaining attention for her good looks. She eventually decided to start a modeling career, and therefore, she hired a photographer to take photos of her sporting fashionable outfits.

She eloped with her high school boyfriend William Hodge at the age of sixteen. The marriage was later annulled at the insistence of her parents. She later married combat pilot John Payton in February 1945 and had one son with him. She, however, felt confined in her life as a housewife and mother and left her husband to pursue her career.

Barbara Payton’s career began after she was signed by a clothing designer to model for junior fashion wear. She later found more work in print advertising and also appeared in clothing ads for magazines such as ‘Charm’ and ‘Junior Bazaar’.

She made her film debut with a role in the 1949 film ‘Silver Butte’. She gained attention for her role in the film ‘Trapped’ which was released the same year. Directed by Richard Fleisher, the film was a semi-documentary about the treasury department.

Barbara Payton was next seen in the 1950 film ‘Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye’. Directed by Gordon Douglas, the film was about the life of a criminal who escapes from prison, murders his partner in crime, and then goes back to a criminal lifestyle. The same year, she also played a supporting role in the film ‘Dallas’.

Other films she appeared in over the next few years include ‘Bride of the Gorilla’ (1951), ‘Only the Valliant’ (1951), ‘Run for the Hills’ (1953), ‘The Great Jesse James Raid’ (1953)’, and ‘The Flanagan Boy’ (1953). Her last significant role was in the 1955 mystery film ‘Murder is My Beat’. The film was directed by Edgar G Ulmer. It revolved around a businessman who is found dead, after which his girlfriend is convicted of the murder.

Barbara Payton’s life and career were eventually ruined due to her addiction to drugs and alcohol. She passed away on 8 May 1967, at her parents’ home, due to heart and liver failure. She was just 39 at the time of her demise. She was cremated and interred at the Cypress View Mausoleum and Crematory located in San Diego, California.