Barbara Payton
Barbara Payton was an American actress born on November 16, 1927, in Cloquet, Minnesota. She gained attention during the 1950s for her beauty and acting talent, but her career was ultimately overshadowed by personal struggles and a tumultuous personal life.
Payton's career began in the late 1940s when she signed a contract with Universal Pictures. She made her film debut in the crime drama "Trapped" (1949), where she played a small supporting role. However, it was her role in the film noir "Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye" (1950), opposite James Cagney, that brought her critical acclaim and established her as a promising actress.
Throughout the 1950s, Payton appeared in a series of films, often cast in femme fatale roles due to her striking looks and seductive on-screen presence. Some of her notable films from this period include "Only the Valiant" (1951), "Bride of the Gorilla" (1951), and "Run for the Hills" (1953). Despite her talent and potential, Payton's personal life began to affect her career.
Payton's personal life was marked by a series of tumultuous relationships and destructive behavior. She had a highly publicized affair with the actor Franchot Tone, which led to the end of his marriage to Joan Crawford. Payton's subsequent relationships with wealthy men, including the actor Tom Neal and the gangster Abner "Longie" Zwillman, further contributed to her troubled reputation.
As Payton's personal life spiraled out of control, her career suffered. She struggled with alcohol and substance abuse, which affected her reliability and professionalism. Studios began to lose interest in her, and her film roles became increasingly sporadic. By the mid-1950s, her acting career was essentially over.
In the years following her decline, Payton's personal life continued to deteriorate. She had a string of unsuccessful marriages, battled addiction, and faced financial difficulties. Her story became one of the cautionary tales of Hollywood, as she went from being a rising star to a tragic figure.
Barbara Payton's life came to a tragic end when she passed away on May 8, 1967, at the age of 39 due to heart and liver failure. Despite her troubled personal life and short-lived career, she remains a symbol of the fleeting nature of fame and the devastating effects of personal struggles in the entertainment industry.
Payton's career began in the late 1940s when she signed a contract with Universal Pictures. She made her film debut in the crime drama "Trapped" (1949), where she played a small supporting role. However, it was her role in the film noir "Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye" (1950), opposite James Cagney, that brought her critical acclaim and established her as a promising actress.
Throughout the 1950s, Payton appeared in a series of films, often cast in femme fatale roles due to her striking looks and seductive on-screen presence. Some of her notable films from this period include "Only the Valiant" (1951), "Bride of the Gorilla" (1951), and "Run for the Hills" (1953). Despite her talent and potential, Payton's personal life began to affect her career.
Payton's personal life was marked by a series of tumultuous relationships and destructive behavior. She had a highly publicized affair with the actor Franchot Tone, which led to the end of his marriage to Joan Crawford. Payton's subsequent relationships with wealthy men, including the actor Tom Neal and the gangster Abner "Longie" Zwillman, further contributed to her troubled reputation.
As Payton's personal life spiraled out of control, her career suffered. She struggled with alcohol and substance abuse, which affected her reliability and professionalism. Studios began to lose interest in her, and her film roles became increasingly sporadic. By the mid-1950s, her acting career was essentially over.
In the years following her decline, Payton's personal life continued to deteriorate. She had a string of unsuccessful marriages, battled addiction, and faced financial difficulties. Her story became one of the cautionary tales of Hollywood, as she went from being a rising star to a tragic figure.
Barbara Payton's life came to a tragic end when she passed away on May 8, 1967, at the age of 39 due to heart and liver failure. Despite her troubled personal life and short-lived career, she remains a symbol of the fleeting nature of fame and the devastating effects of personal struggles in the entertainment industry.
quotes:
[poem] "Love is a memory. Time cannot kill the cherished tune, gay and absurd, and the music unheard."
"He [Franchot Tone] couldn't accept me as Barbara Payton from the day of our marriage. If he could have we might have been happy. But I was the Barbara Payton of Tom Neal's--of my lover's--of my past--all of it. He hated me for what I had been and loved me for what I was. He tortured himself. I was only somebody for his doubts, fears, recriminations to bounce off. I resolved to let himself spend himself of the torture. It was endless. It built and there was no end in sight. Every part of my body reminded him of another man . . . It couldn't work. I agreed to give him a divorce by default. After days of wrangling and reconciliations our attorneys agreed on a settlement."
- Barbara Payton
trivia:
Jessica Lange read Payton's autobiography "I Am Not Ashamed" while filming The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981), figuring that the character of hard luck roadhouse waitress Cora perhaps drifted to Hollywood to become an actress. Coincidentally, both Lange and Payton were born in Cloquet, MN, and Payton starred in a stage version of "The Postman Always Rings Twice" in 1953.
Eloped with and married her high school sweetheart, William Hodge. Her parents had the marriage annulled quickly.
In 1964 she was arrested for shoplifting an outfit of clothing. | In 1965 she was arrested and charged with possession of heroin and a hypodermic syringe. The charges were dismissed, due to "insufficient evidence."
Her autobiography, "I Am Not Ashamed", was actually ghostwritten by someone else. According to her ghostwriter, Leo Guild, Barbara had one favor to ask. She didn't want to be paid in cash or check. She wanted payment in red wine because there were claims on her cash. | When Franchot Tone decided to divorce her, he had a private detective take pictures of her having sex with other men. He then sent the photos to all the major Hollywood studios, hoping they would ruin her career.
The film industry finally shut her out when she began flaunting the interracial relationship she was involved in, with black actor Woody Strode.
Dated or was romantically linked to actor Mickey Knox, producer Howard Hughes, actor John Ireland, gangster Mickey Cohen, actor George Raft, entertainment attorney Greg Bautzer, actors Gregory Peck, Tom Conway, Woody Strode, Guy Madison, Gary Cooper, Steve Cochran, and Jerry Bialac.
She had a six-month affair with Bob Hope in 1949 in which he paid for her to live in a luxurious apartment. The affair ended when she began making demands for more money.
Eloped with and married her high school sweetheart, William Hodge. Her parents had the marriage annulled quickly.
In 1964 she was arrested for shoplifting an outfit of clothing. | In 1965 she was arrested and charged with possession of heroin and a hypodermic syringe. The charges were dismissed, due to "insufficient evidence."
Her autobiography, "I Am Not Ashamed", was actually ghostwritten by someone else. According to her ghostwriter, Leo Guild, Barbara had one favor to ask. She didn't want to be paid in cash or check. She wanted payment in red wine because there were claims on her cash. | When Franchot Tone decided to divorce her, he had a private detective take pictures of her having sex with other men. He then sent the photos to all the major Hollywood studios, hoping they would ruin her career.
The film industry finally shut her out when she began flaunting the interracial relationship she was involved in, with black actor Woody Strode.
Dated or was romantically linked to actor Mickey Knox, producer Howard Hughes, actor John Ireland, gangster Mickey Cohen, actor George Raft, entertainment attorney Greg Bautzer, actors Gregory Peck, Tom Conway, Woody Strode, Guy Madison, Gary Cooper, Steve Cochran, and Jerry Bialac.
She had a six-month affair with Bob Hope in 1949 in which he paid for her to live in a luxurious apartment. The affair ended when she began making demands for more money.
