Helen Walker
| Helen Walker | |
|---|---|
 photo of Walker by Whitey Schafer | |
| Born |
July 17, 1920 Worcester, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died |
March 10, 1968 (aged 47) North Hollywood, California, U.S. |
Cause of death | cancer |
| Years active | 1942–1960 |
| Spouse(s) |
Edward DuDomaine (1950-1952) (divorced) Robert Blumofe (1942-1946) (divorced) |
Helen Walker (born July 17, 1920 – March 10, 1968) was an American film actress of the 1940s and 1950s.[1]
Career
She was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, and made her film debut in 1942. She earned a solid reputation playing leading roles in comedies - a "reactress" to comic leads, as she described it.[2]
After a promising start in Hollywood, Walker was involved in a 1946 car wreck. A hitchhiker was killed, and Helen and two others were seriously injured. She was charged with drunk and reckless driving. She was subsequently acquitted and made a comeback, but her career never fully recovered. She retired from acting at the age of 35 and died in North Hollywood, California from cancer at the age of 47.
Auto accident
She was filming Heaven Only Knows [1] when an auto accident drastically disrupted her career. On December 31, 1946, while driving the car of director Bruce "Lucky" Humberstone from Palm Springs to Hollywood, she gave a ride to three hitchiking soldiers named Robert E. Lee, Philip Mercado, and Joseph Montaldo. Near Redlands, California, the car hit a divider and flipped over, killing Lee and causing serious injuries to Walker and the other two passengers. She was charged with drunk driving and reckless driving, and Mercado brought a civil suit for $150,000 against her.[3]
Her criminal trial for manslaughter ended with a dismissal on the motion of San Bernardino County District Attorney Jerome B. Kavanaugh.[4]
Personal life
She was married to Paramount studio lawyer Robert Blumofe (1942, divorced 1946) and department store executive Edward DuDomaine (1950, divorced 1952).[1] When her house burned in 1960, other actresses held a benefit to assist her.[1]
Filmography
- Lucky Jordan (1942)
- The Good Fellows (1943)
- Abroad with Two Yanks (1944)
- The Man in Half Moon Street (1945)
- Brewster's Millions (1945)
- Murder, He Says (1945)
- People Are Funny (1946)
- Murder in the Music Hall (1946)
- Cluny Brown (1946)
- Her Adventurous Night (1946)
- The Homestretch (1947)
- Nightmare Alley (1947)
- Call Northside 777 (1948)
- My Dear Secretary (1949)
- Impact (1949)
- My True Story (1951)
- Problem Girls (1953)
- The Big Combo (1955)
Television
- Dragnet (1 episode, 1956)
- The 20th Century-Fox Hour (1 episode, 1957)
- Lock Up (1 episode, 1960)
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Obituary Variety, March 13, 1968, page 79.
- ↑ Helen Walker Clings to Ideals: Recruit From Stage Confidently Waits for 'Grown-up' Parts Stage Recruit Holds Fast to Her Ideals Helen Walker Sure She'll Be Assigned 'Grown-up' Parts Scheuer, Philip K. Los Angeles Times (1923-Current File) [Los Angeles, Calif] 04 Nov 1945: B1.
- ↑ "Hitchhiker Seeks Damages From Helen Walker" Los Angeles Times, March 6, 1947.
- ↑ "Helen Walker Cleared in Hitchhiker's Death" Los Angeles Times, April 9, 1947.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Helen Walker. |
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