Known for movies
Short Info
Died | December 6, 1989, Malibu, California, United States |
Spouse | Alexandra Crowell Curtis, Gloria DeHaven, Anne Shirley |
Fact | Singer, mostly in 20th Century-Fox musicals. |
John Payne (born December 6, 1912 – December 6, 1989) was an American actor. He is best known for his leading roles in the films Miracle on 34th Street (1947), The Bad Seed (1956), and The Long, Hot Summer (1958).
Payne was born in Roanoke, Virginia, the son of Ida Hope (née Scott) and George Henry Payne. His father was a railroad engineer. Payne was educated at Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia, and Washington and Lee University in Lexington. He worked as a journalist for a Roanoke newspaper before moving to New York City to pursue an acting career.
Payne made his Broadway debut in 1935 in the play Elmer the Great. He went on to appear in several Broadway productions, including the musicals High Button Shoes (1947) and Mr. Wonderful (1956). He made his film debut in 1937 in the film version of the play The Last Mile.
Payne’s most famous role was as Kris Kringle in the 1947 film Miracle on 34th Street. He also starred in the films The Bad Seed (1956), The Long, Hot Summer (1958), and The Diary of Anne Frank (1959).
Payne was married three times. His first wife was actress Gloria DeHaven, whom he married in 1940. They had two children together: Christopher and Christina. Payne and DeHaven divorced in 1950. Payne’s second wife was actress Anne Francis, whom he married in 1951. They had one child together: a son, John Jr. Payne and Francis divorced in 1957. Payne’s third wife was actress Julie Adams, whom he married in 1959. They had one child together: a daughter, Amy. Payne and Adams divorced in 1966.
Payne’s net worth at the time of his death was $5 million.
General Info
Full Name | John Payne |
Died | December 6, 1989, Malibu, California, United States |
Height | 1.93 m |
Profession | Actor, Singer, Film producer, Screenwriter, Television producer |
Nationality | American |
Family
Spouse | Alexandra Crowell Curtis, Gloria DeHaven, Anne Shirley |
Children | Julie Payne, Kathleen Hope Payne, Thomas John Payne |
Parents | Ida Hope Payne, George Washington Payne |
Accomplishments
Nominations | Writers Guild of America Award for Television Best Western |
Movies | Miracle on 34th Street, Kansas City Confidential, Sun Valley Serenade, The Razor's Edge, Tin Pan Alley, The Dolly Sisters, Silver Lode, 99 River Street, To the Shores of Tripoli, Springtime in the Rockies, Week-End in Havana, Slightly Scarlet, Hello, Frisco, Hello, Tennessee's Partner, The Crooked W... |
TV Shows | Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century, Spider-Man Unlimited, Exosquad, The Restless Gun, Hot Wheels Highway 35 |
Social profile links
Quotes
# | Quote |
---|---|
1 | Back in 1937 while I was under contract to Paramount, I sang on a five-minute radio program with another contract player from Paramount. A girl who's done rather well since -- Betty Grable. Betty and I didn't do so well then, though. We couldn't find a sponsor and finally gave up the program. I sang low tenor -- or, should I say, high baritone. |
Facts
# | Fact |
---|---|
1 | A science fiction fan, he wanted to produce and star in an adaptation of Robert A. Heinlein's novel The Puppet Masters, but a lawsuit Heinlein brought forth against the makers of The Brain Eaters (1958) killed those ambitions. |
2 | He was cremated and his ashes are scattered into sea. |
3 | In the 1930s, before entering show business, he earned a living at one point as a professional wrestler known various as "Alexei Petroff, the Savage of the Steppes" and "Tiger Jack Payne". |
4 | He made nearly 80 pictures but said in a 1974 interview, in connection with his return to the stage in "Good News," that "I never could quite take it seriously". |
5 | He and actress Lynn Bari both attended a private school, run by a Mrs. Vaughn, in their hometown of Roanoke, VA. |
6 | He was an understudy in the 1935 Broadway musical "At Home Abroad," which co-starred Reginald Gardiner and Beatrice Lillie. When Gardiner became ill, the 22-year-old Payne went on, replacing him until Gardiner's health improved enough to return to the role. In the best Hollywood tradition, the studio talent scout who placed him under contract to Samuel Goldwyn Pictures was Samuel Goldwyn's wife Frances Howard, who often traveled to Broadway from Hollywood looking for new talent for her husband's film projects (on a 1941 trip to Broadway to see Kurt Weill-Ira Gershwin-Moss Hart musical "Lady in The Dark" she discovered Danny Kaye). |
7 | He moved to Paramount and made a series of melodramas and musicals, and then signed with Warner Bros. When Dick Powell turned down the Busby Berkeley musical Garden of the Moon (1938), Payne was given the role and thereafter appeared as singer and actor in some "memorable moving pictures". |
8 | Owned Window Glen Productions, the company that produced his series The Restless Gun (1957). |
9 | He appeared with Alice Faye in four films: Tin Pan Alley (1940), The Great American Broadcast (1941), Week-End in Havana (1941) and Hello Frisco, Hello (1943). |
10 | Had appeared with Rhonda Fleming in five films: The Eagle and the Hawk (1950), Crosswinds (1951), Caribbean (1952), Tennessee's Partner (1955) and Slightly Scarlet (1956). |
11 | Had appeared with Betty Grable in five films: College Swing (1938), Tin Pan Alley (1940), Footlight Serenade (1942), Springtime in the Rockies (1942) and The Dolly Sisters (1945). |
12 | He was awarded two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Motion Pictures at 6125 Hollywood Boulevard; and for Television at 6687 Hollywood Boulevard. |
13 | Daughter Julie Payne has stated that there is no validity to the story that her father pressured his studio (20th Century-Fox) into filming Miracle on 34th Street (1947) while putting up his own money. She said that the movie was a small black-and-white film with low expectations, and that had John indeed put money into it he would not have received any profit participation because that option did not even exist until 1950, three years after the film was made. Moreover, at the time of filming John did not have the money to put into any film because he was strapped not only paying child support but had a wife with a third child on the way. |
14 | John's daughter Julie Payne (aka Julie Anne Payne) is a legal researcher for book writers of both film and the City of Los Angeles. |
15 | Daughter Julie Payne has stated that John's mother, Ida Hope Schaeffer, was never an opera singer, for the Metropolitan Opera or anywhere else. However, his father was heavily involved with the building of the city of Roanoke, Virginia. |
16 | According to his daughter Julie Payne, John was actually born on May 28, 1912, and not May 23. Somewhere along the line, she said, the "8" in "28" was accidentally transformed into a "3". |
17 | Julie Payne states that while her father John carries the man's name, her family is not related to the Long Island-born, "Home, Sweet Home" songwriter John Howard Payne (1791-1852). That was a studio-generated myth. |
18 | As early as 1953 he planned to produce a film of "The Puppet Masters, finally striking a deal with author Robert A. Heinlein in 1959. However, the story was plagiarized and spoiled by Roger Corman's The Brain Eaters (1958). |
19 | Was a Boy Scout. |
20 | Writer France Ingram, in her article on John for "Classic Images", March 2011, states that his first acting break was while he was working as a radio singer in the mid-1930s. The Shubert Organization discovered him and offered him a part touring with one of their road companies at $40 a week. |
21 | He was a shrewd investor in real estate and owned many parcels in Southern California as well as a ranch near Billings, Montana. |
22 | He was a lifelong Republican and conservative. |
23 | He was one of many actors considered for the role of Rhett Butler in Gone with the Wind (1939). |
24 | Attended Mercersburg Academy (preparatory school) in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, graduating in 1932. |
25 | Graduated from Roanoke College. Studied singing at the Juilliard School of Music and acting at Columbia University. Supplemented his studies by making money as a professional wrestler, before landing his first acting job as understudy to Beatrice Lillie in the 1935 revue "At Home Abroad". |
26 | Initially signed to a short-term contract to appear in Dodsworth (1936) for United Artists, he later worked under contract for 20th Century0Fox (1940-42; 1945-47) and RKO (1954-56). |
27 | Served as a pilot in the United States Army Air Corps during World War II. |
28 | Has stated that his favorite of all the films he has made is Miracle on 34th Street (1947). |
29 | Was romantically involved with Coleen Gray (his co-star in Kansas City Confidential (1952)) in the early 1950s. |
30 | Was very good friends with his co-star Maureen O'Hara, with whom he starred in four films, To the Shores of Tripoli (1942), Sentimental Journey (1946), Tripoli (1950), and their most famous one, the classic Miracle on 34th Street (1947). |
31 | Following the style of the times, and in order to emphasize his boyish, clean-cut image, Payne's chest was shaved to smoothness in his "beefcake" scenes of the 1940s. However, in the 1950s, styles changed, Payne's image darkened, and his "beefcake" scenes now showed a chest with dark hair. |
32 | In 1942, after separating from Anne Shirley, he had an affair with Jane Russell. The affair is detailed in her 1986 autobiography, "My Path and My Detours". The affair ended when she realized that she was still in love with her high school sweetheart, football player Bob Waterfield, whom she married in April 1943 (they divorced in 1967). |
33 | Featured in "Bad Boys: The Actors of Film Noir" by Karen Burroughs Hannsberry (McFarland, 2003). |
34 | Ex-father-in-law of writer-director Robert Towne. |
35 | Grandfather of Katharine Towne and Holly Payne. |
36 | The gap in his career from 1962-68 was the result of a major automobile wreck in which he suffered extensive, life-threatening injuries. In his later roles facial scars can be detected in close-ups. |
37 | Direct descendant of John Howard Payne (1791-1852), composer of the classic song "Home, Sweet Home" ("Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home."). |
38 | Was the first person in Hollywood interested in making the James Bond novels into a film series. In 1955 he paid a $1,000-a-month option for nine months on the Bond novel "Moonraker" (he eventually gave up the option when he learned he could not retain the rights for the entire 007 series). |
39 | Singer, mostly in 20th Century-Fox musicals. |
Pictures
Movies
Actor
Title | Year | Status | Character |
---|---|---|---|
Columbo | 1975 | TV Series | Ned Diamond |
Cade's County | 1971 | TV Series | Clement Stark |
Gunsmoke | 1970 | TV Series | Amos Gentry |
The Name of the Game | 1968 | TV Series | Russ (FBI Agent) |
They Ran for Their Lives | 1968 | Bob Martin | |
The Dick Powell Theatre | 1962 | TV Series | James J. Fitts |
General Electric Theater | 1955-1962 | TV Series | Father Gerringer / Jingles |
O'Conner's Ocean | 1960 | TV Movie | Tom O'Conner |
The Restless Gun | 1957-1959 | TV Series | Vint Bonner / Gene Baroda / Jebediah Bonner / ... |
Hidden Fear | 1957 | Mike Brent | |
Bailout at 43,000 | 1957 | Major Paul Peterson | |
Schlitz Playhouse | 1951-1957 | TV Series | Britt Ponset / Robert Holmi |
Zane Grey Theater | 1957 | TV Series | Clint Belmet |
The Boss | 1956 | Matt Brady | |
Rebel in Town | 1956 | John Willoughby | |
Hold Back the Night | 1956 | Capt. Sam McKenzie | |
Studio 57 | 1956 | TV Series | Mike Conner |
Slightly Scarlet | 1956 | Ben Grace | |
Tennessee's Partner | 1955 | Tennessee | |
The Road to Denver | 1955 | Bill Mayhew | |
Santa Fe Passage | 1955 | Kirby Randolph | |
Hell's Island | 1955 | Mike Cormack | |
The Best of Broadway | 1954 | TV Series | C.K. Dexter Haven |
Silver Lode | 1954 | Dan Ballard | |
Rails Into Laramie | 1954 | Jefferson Harder | |
Robert Montgomery Presents | 1953 | TV Series | Lt. Alec Austen |
99 River Street | 1953 | Ernie Driscoll | |
The Vanquished | 1953 | Rockwell Grayson | |
Raiders of the Seven Seas | 1953 | Barbarossa | |
The Blazing Forest | 1952 | Kelly Hansen | |
Kansas City Confidential | 1952 | Joe Rolfe | |
Caribbean | 1952 | Dick Lindsay / Robert MacAllister | |
All Star Revue | 1952 | TV Series | Guest Actor |
Crosswinds | 1951 | Steve Singleton | |
Passage West | 1951 | Pete Black | |
Tripoli | 1950 | Lt. O'Bannion | |
Nash Airflyte Theatre | 1950 | TV Series | Thacker |
The Eagle and the Hawk | 1950 | Capt. Todd Croyden | |
Captain China | 1950 | Charles S. Chinnough aka Captain China | |
The Silver Theatre | 1949 | TV Series | |
The Crooked Way | 1949 | Eddie Rice Eddie Riccardi | |
El Paso | 1949 | Clay Fletcher | |
The Saxon Charm | 1948 | Eric Busch | |
Larceny | 1948 | Rick Mason | |
Miracle on 34th Street | 1947 | Fred Gailey | |
Wake Up and Dream | 1946 | Jeff Cairn | |
The Razor's Edge | 1946 | Gray Maturin | |
Sentimental Journey | 1946 | William O. Weatherly | |
The Dolly Sisters | 1945 | Harry Fox | |
Hello Frisco, Hello | 1943 | Johnny Cornell | |
Springtime in the Rockies | 1942 | Dan Christy | |
Iceland | 1942/I | Capt. James Murfin | |
Footlight Serenade | 1942 | William J. 'Bill' Smith | |
To the Shores of Tripoli | 1942 | Chris Winters | |
Remember the Day | 1941 | Dan Hopkins | |
Week-End in Havana | 1941 | Jay Williams | |
Sun Valley Serenade | 1941 | Ted Scott | |
The Great American Broadcast | 1941 | Rix Martin | |
Tin Pan Alley | 1940 | Skeets Harrigan | |
The Great Profile | 1940 | Richard Lansing | |
Maryland | 1940 | Lee Danfield | |
Tear Gas Squad | 1940 | Bill Morrissey | |
King of the Lumberjacks | 1940 | James 'Jim' 'Slim' Abbott | |
Star Dust | 1940 | Ambrose Fillmore / Bud Borden | |
The Royal Rodeo | 1939 | Short | Bill Stevens |
Kid Nightingale | 1939 | Steve Nelson | |
Indianapolis Speedway | 1939 | Eddie Greer | |
Wings of the Navy | 1939 | Jerry Harrington | |
Garden of the Moon | 1938 | Don Vincente | |
College Swing | 1938 | Martin Bates | |
Love on Toast | 1937 | Bill Adams | |
Fair Warning | 1937 | Jim Preston (as John Howard Payne) | |
Hats Off | 1936 | Jimmy Maxwell | |
Dodsworth | 1936 | Harry McKee (as John Howard Payne) |
Producer
Title | Year | Status | Character |
---|---|---|---|
O'Conner's Ocean | 1960 | TV Movie producer | |
The Restless Gun | 1957-1959 | TV Series executive producer - 77 episodes | |
The Boss | 1956 | producer - uncredited |
Soundtrack
Title | Year | Status | Character |
---|---|---|---|
Hidden Hollywood: Treasures from the 20th Century Fox Film Vaults | 1997 | TV Movie documentary performer: "I Can't Begin to Tell You" - uncredited | |
Columbo | 1975 | TV Series performer - 1 episode | |
The 28th Annual Tony Awards | 1974 | TV Special performer: "You're the Cream in My Coffee" | |
Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall | 1959 | TV Series performer - 1 episode | |
The Restless Gun | 1957-1958 | TV Series performer - 2 episodes | |
The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show | 1957 | TV Series performer - 1 episode | |
Wake Up and Dream | 1946 | performer: "Give Me the Simple Life" | |
Movieland Magic | 1946 | Short performer: "The Good Old American Way" - uncredited | |
The Dolly Sisters | 1945 | performer: "I Can't Begin to Tell You" uncredited, "Give Me the Moonlight, Give Me the Girl" uncredited, "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows", "Arrah Go on, I'm Gonna Go Back to Oregon" uncredited | |
Hello Frisco, Hello | 1943 | performer: "Hello, Frisco!", "By the Watermelon Vine Lindy Lou" - uncredited | |
Springtime in the Rockies | 1942 | performer: "Run, Little Raindrop, Run", "Pan American Jubilee" | |
Iceland | 1942/I | performer: "There Will Never Be Another You" - uncredited | |
Footlight Serenade | 1942 | performer: "I'm Still Crazy for You", "I'll Be Marching to a Love Song" - uncredited | |
Remember the Day | 1941 | performer: "Pretty Baby" - uncredited | |
Week-End in Havana | 1941 | "Tropical Magic", uncredited / performer: "The Ñango Nyango" - uncredited | |
Sun Valley Serenade | 1941 | performer: "I Know Why and So Do You" 1941 - uncredited | |
The Great American Broadcast | 1941 | performer: "I Take to You", "Where You Are" | |
Tin Pan Alley | 1940 | "You Say The Sweetest Things Baby" 1940 / performer: "You Say The Sweetest Things Baby" 1940, "America, I Love You" 1915 | |
Star Dust | 1940 | performer: "Secrets in the Moonlight" | |
The Royal Rodeo | 1939 | Short performer: "Sons of the Plains Are We", "That's the Way to Be a Buckaroo", "The Good Old American Way" - uncredited | |
Kid Nightingale | 1939 | performer: "Dancing with Tears in My Eyes" 1930, "Hark, Hark, the Meadowlark" 1939, "Who Told You I Cared?" 1939, "Mother Machree" 1910, "Listen to the Mockingbird" 1855 - uncredited | |
Garden of the Moon | 1938 | performer: "Garden of the Moon" 1938, "Love Is Where You Find It" 1938, "The Lady on the Two Cent Stamp" 1938, "Confidentially" 1938, "The Girl Friend of the Whirling Dervish" 1938 - uncredited | |
College Swing | 1938 | performer: "I Fall In Love With You Every Day", "What Did Romeo Say To Juliet?" | |
Love on Toast | 1937 | performer: "I'd Love to Play a Love Scene" - uncredited | |
Hats Off | 1936 | performer: "Where Have You Been All My Life", "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" |
Writer
Title | Year | Status | Character |
---|---|---|---|
The Restless Gun | TV Series teleplay - 2 episodes, 1957 - 1958 story - 2 episodes, 1957 - 1958 | ||
Hell's Island | 1955 | uncredited | |
99 River Street | 1953 | uncredited | |
Kansas City Confidential | 1952 | uncredited |
Director
Title | Year | Status | Character |
---|---|---|---|
They Ran for Their Lives | 1968 |
Self
Title | Year | Status | Character |
---|---|---|---|
All-Star Party for 'Dutch' Reagan | 1985 | TV Special | Himself |
The 28th Annual Tony Awards | 1974 | TV Special | Himself - Performer |
The Match Game | 1964 | TV Series | Himself - Team Captain |
The Mike Douglas Show | 1963 | TV Series | Himself - Co-Host |
What's My Line? | 1951-1961 | TV Series | Himself - Panelist / Himself - Mystery Guest |
I've Got a Secret | 1960 | TV Series | Himself - Guest |
The Garry Moore Show | 1960 | TV Series | Himself |
Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall | 1959 | TV Series | Himself |
The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show | 1957 | TV Series | Himself - Actor / Singer |
The Steve Allen Plymouth Show | 1957 | TV Series | Himself - Guest |
The Steve Allen Show | 1957 | TV Series | Himself |
Texaco Star Theatre | 1953 | TV Series | Himself - Actor |
Death Valley Days | 1952 | TV Series | Himself / Host (1972; 'Call of the West' version) |
TV Club | 1951 | TV Series documentary | Himself |
The Saturday Night Revue with Jack Carter | 1951 | TV Series | Himself |
Screen Snapshots Series 23, No. 1: Hollywood in Uniform | 1943 | Documentary short | Himself |
Screen Snapshots Series 18, No. 1 | 1938 | Documentary short | Himself |
Archive Footage
Title | Year | Status | Character |
---|---|---|---|
Hidden Hollywood: Treasures from the 20th Century Fox Film Vaults | 1997 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
Biography | 1997 | TV Series documentary | Himself |
20th Century-Fox: The First 50 Years | 1997 | TV Movie documentary | Himself (uncredited) |
A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies | 1995 | TV Movie documentary | Dan Ballard, 'Silver Lode' (uncredited) |
Fred Astaire Salutes the Fox Musicals | 1974 | TV Movie | Himself |
Frontier Justice | 1959-1961 | TV Series | Clint Belmet |
Screen Snapshots: Memories in Uniform | 1954 | Documentary short | Himself |
Movieland Magic | 1946 | Short | |
Take It or Leave It | 1944 | Himself: Clip from 'Tin Pan Alley' (uncredited) |
Awards
Won Awards
Year | Award | Ceremony | Nomination | Movie |
---|---|---|---|---|
1960 | Star on the Walk of Fame | Walk of Fame | Motion Picture | On 8 February 1960. At 6125 Hollywood Blvd. |
1960 | Star on the Walk of Fame | Walk of Fame | Television | On 8 February 1960. At 6687 Hollywood Blvd. |
Nominated Awards
Year | Award | Ceremony | Nomination | Movie |
---|---|---|---|---|
1958 | WGA Award (TV) | Writers Guild of America, USA | Western | The Restless Gun (1957) |
Source: IMDb, Wikipedia