| Harold Lloyd Jr. | |
|---|---|
Harold Lloyd Jr. in The Flaming Urge |
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| Born | Harold Clayton Lloyd, Jr. January 25, 1931 Beverly Hills, California, U.S. |
| Died | June 9, 1971 (aged 40) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Cerebral hemorrhage |
| Occupation | Actor, singer |
| Years active | 1950-65 |
Harold Clayton Lloyd, Jr. (25 January 1931 – 9 June 1971) was an American actor and singer.
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The second child and only son of the silent film comedian Harold Lloyd and actress Mildred Davis, Lloyd made several B-movies in the 1950s and 60s, including The Flaming Urge (1953) (his only starring role) and Frankenstein's Daughter (1958). He was also given production roles in the compilations of his father's films, released in the early 1960s. As a singer he performed in several films, had moderate successes in cabaret in Hollywood and elsewhere, and released an album of romantic ballads in 1965 entitled Intimate Style.
As Harold Lloyd Sr.'s biographer Tom Dardis points out, Lloyd (known as 'Dukey' to his family) found it very difficult to live in the shadow of his very famous father, and was alcoholic from his twenties.[1] He was also gay at a time when it was considered socially unacceptable. To Lloyd Sr.'s credit, Dardis notes that he was very mature and understanding about his son's sexuality, all the more so given Lloyd's tendency to acquaint with violent lovers. Consequentially the younger Lloyd often returned to Greenacres, the family estate, battered and bruised after his encounters. His father's tolerance had its limits however, and (in not an uncommon view at the time) Lloyd Sr. blamed his own absences during his son's childhood for his sexuality.[2] In 1953 he was briefly engaged to the Chilean actress Marina Cisternas.
Lloyd suffered a massive stroke in 1965 from which he never fully recovered. He died aged forty, having outlived his father by three months.