John Garfield

He was quite troubled with the imposed Hollywood blacklisting and in 1952, separated from his wife. A few days later, he met actress Iris Whitney for dinner, after having played tennis (much against doctor’s advice). Later, he suddenly fell ill and Whitney took him to her apartment. The next morning i.e., on May 21, 1952, she found him dead.

His funeral was attended by over ten thousand admirers and he was buried at Westchester Hills Cemetery, New York. His estate, valued at “more than $100,000” was left entirely to his estranged wife.

John Garfield was born on March 4, 1913, in Manhattan's Lower East Side, to Russian Jewish immigrant parents, David and Hannah Garfinkle. His father was a clothes presser and a part-time cantor.

When Garfield was seven, his mother died. As a result, he and his younger brother Max were sent to live with other relatives who were also poor. At school, he underperformed and often missed classes.

Later, he joined a series of street gangs and soon became a gang leader. He began to fight at a boxing gym and was good at mimicking famous performers.

Meanwhile, he caught scarlet fever which remained undiagnosed until adulthood. The illness caused permanent damage to his heart and made him miss school frequently. Finally, his father sent him to a school for problematic children.

The school's principal, educator Angelo Patri noticed his talent and introduced him to acting. His stammering problem was taken care of by a teacher called Margaret O'Ryan.

In 1932, John Garfield made his Broadway debut in a play called ‘Lost Boy’. It ran for two weeks only but earned him the much needed recognition.

Next, he was featured as an office boy in Elmer Rice's play ‘Counsellor-at-Law’. The play also starred Paul Muni and ran for several months. Around this period, Warner Bros approached him for a screen test but he declined.

His former colleagues from the American Laboratory Theatre had started a new theatre team, named ‘The Group’. He tried hard for an apprenticeship with them and was finally accepted after months of rejection.

Soon, ‘The Group’ announced a production of Clifford Odets’ full length drama ‘Awake and Sing’ and he was cast as Ralph, the sensitive young son. The play opened in 1935 and his performance was appreciated by critics.

Following this, his apprenticeship was officially over and he was voted to full membership by the Company. Odets claimed to the press that Garfield was his “find” and committed to writing a play just for him.

John Garfield is best remembered for his performance opposite Lana Turner in Tay Garnett's ‘The Postman Always Rings Twice’ (1946). His other notable performance was in the film ‘Humoresque’ (1947), with Joan Crawford.

In Robert Rossen's film ‘Body and Soul’ (1947), he essayed the role of a poor person who works hard to become a boxing champion, albeit at great personal cost. In Abraham Polonsky's ‘Force of Evil’ (1948), he played the role of a greedy lawyer.

He also played the Jewish buddy of Gregory Peck's character in Elia Kazan's film about anti-Semitism, ‘Gentlemen's Agreement’ (1947).