Jean Acker
| Jean Acker | |
|---|---|
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| Born | Harriet Acker October 23, 1893 Trenton, New Jersey, United States |
| Died | August 16, 1978 (aged 84) Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Other names | Mrs. Rudolph Valentino |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1913–1955 |
| Spouse | Rudolph Valentino (1919-1923) |
| Partner | Chloe Carter (?-1978) |
Jean Acker (October 23, 1893 – August 16, 1978) was an American film actress with a career dating from the silent film era through the 1950s. She was perhaps best known as the estranged wife of silent film star Rudolph Valentino.
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[edit] Early life and career
Acker was born Harriet Acker in Trenton, New Jersey where she attended school. She performed in vaudeville until she moved to California in 1919.[1] After arriving in Hollywood, Acker became the protegee and lover of Alla Nazimova, a film actress whose clout and contacts enabled Acker to negotiate a $200 per week contract with a movie studio. Acker appeared in numerous films during the 1910s and 1920s, but by the early 1930s she began appearing in small, mostly uncredited film roles. She made her last onscreen appearance in the 1955 film How to Be Very, Very Popular, opposite Betty Grable.
[edit] Marriage to Valentino
After meeting and befriending the then-struggling actor Rudolph Valentino at a party, they entered a two-month courtship and married on November 6, 1919. Acker quickly had regrets and locked him out of their hotel bedroom on their wedding night.[2][3] The marriage was reportedly never consummated.[4]
After filing for divorce, Valentino did not wait the requisite period for it to be finalized before marrying his second wife, Natacha Rambova, in Mexico, and he was charged with bigamy when the couple returned to the United States.[5] Acker then sued Valentino for the legal right to call herself "Mrs. Rudolph Valentino." Valentino remained angry with her for several years, but they mended their friendship before his death in 1926. Acker wrote a popular song about him soon after he died called "We Will Meet at the End of the Trail".[6][7]
Acker had an affair with the actress Alla Nazimova. Nazimova included Acker in what was dubbed the "Sewing circles", a group of actors who were forced to conceal the fact that they were lesbian, bisexual, and romantically and sexually attracted to women, thus living secret lives.[8]
[edit] Death
After divorcing Valentino in 1923, Acker met Chloe Carter, a former Ziegfeld Follies girl with whom she would remain for the rest of her life. The couple owned an apartment building together in Beverly Hills.[9] Acker died of natural causes in 1978 at the age of 84,[10] and is buried next to Carter in the Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.
[edit] Selected filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1913 | The Man Outside | Helen Lattimore | |
| 1913 | In a Woman's Power | ||
| 1913 | Bob's Baby | Bob's Cousin | |
| 1913 | The Daredevil Mountaineer | ||
| 1914 | The $5,000,000 Counterfeiting Plot | Helen Long | |
| 1915 | Are You a Mason? | Alternative title: The Joiner | |
| 1919 | Never Say Quit | Vamp | |
| 1920 | The Round-Up | Polly Hope | |
| 1921 | Brewster's Millions | Barbara Drew | |
| 1922 | Her Own Money | Ruth Alden | |
| 1923 | The Woman in Chains | Felicia Coudret | Credited as Mrs. Rudolph Valentino |
| 1925 | Braveheart | Sky-Arrow | |
| 1927 | The Nest | Belle Madison | |
| 1933 | No Marriage Ties | Adrienne's Maid | Uncredited |
| 1934 | Miss Fane's Baby Is Stolen | Friend of Miss Fane | Uncredited |
| 1935 | No More Ladies | Nightclub Extra | Uncredited |
| 1936 | San Francisco | ||
| 1937 | Vogues of 1938 | Extra | Uncredited |
| 1939 | Good Girls Go to Paris | Bit Part | Uncredited |
| 1940 | My Favorite Wife | Postponed case witness | Uncredited |
| 1942 | Obliging Young Lady | Cousin | Uncredited |
| 1944 | The Thin Man Goes Home | Tart | Uncredited |
| 1945 | Spellbound | Matron | Uncredited |
| 1946 | It's a Wonderful Life | Uncredited | |
| 1947 | The Peril of Pauline | Switchboard operator | Uncredited |
| 1948 | Isn't It Romantic? | Townswoman | Uncredited |
| 1951 | The Mating Season | Party guest | Uncredited |
| 1952 | Something to Live For | Wife | Uncredited |
| 1955 | How to Be Very, Very Popular | Undetermined Supporting Role | Uncredited |
[edit] References
- ^ Leider, Emily W. Dark Lover: The Life and Death of Rudolph Valentino. New York City, Farrar Straus Giroux, 2003. ISBN 0374282390. p. 100.
- ^ "Jean Acker of Metro Weds". Motion Picture News. 1919. pp. 3774.
- ^ Donnelley, Paul (2005). Fade to Black: A Book of Movie Obituaries. Omnibus Press. pp. 935. ISBN 1-844-49430-6.
- ^ Donnelley, Paul (2005). Fade to Black: A Book of Movie Obituaries. Omnibus Press. pp. 7. ISBN 1-844-49430-6.
- ^ Madsen, Axel (2002). The Sewing Circle: Sappho's Leading Ladies. Kensington Books. pp. 103. ISBN 0-758-20101-X.
- ^ Newman, Ben-Allah (2004). Rudolph Valentino His Romantic Life and Death: His Romantic Life and Death. Kessinger Publishing. pp. 50. ISBN 1-417-91464-5.
- ^ Briggs, Joe Bob (2005). Profoundly Erotic: Sexy Movies that Changed History. Universe. pp. 30. ISBN 0-789-31314-6.
- ^ Jean Acker at Find a Grave
- ^ Shearer, Stephen Michael (2006). Patricia Neal: An Unquiet Life. University Press of Kentucky. pp. 391. ISBN 0-813-12391-7.
- ^ Donnelley, Paul (2005). Fade to Black: A Book of Movie Obituaries. Omnibus Press. pp. 8. ISBN 1-844-49430-6.
[edit] External links
- Jean Acker at the Internet Movie Database
- Jean Acker at AllRovi
- Jean Acker at Find a Grave
