John Garfield

He was born on the same day that Woodrow Wilson was inaugurated as the 28th President of the United States (March 4, 1913).

John Garfield was born Jacob Julius Garfinkle on the Lower East Side of New York City, to Hannah Basia (Margolis) and David Garfinkle, who were Jewish immigrants from Zhytomyr (now in Ukraine). Jules was raised by his father, a clothes presser and part-time cantor, after his mother's death in 1920, when he was 7. He was sent to a special school for problem children, where he was introduced to boxing and drama. He won a scholarship to Maria Ouspenskaya's drama school.

He joined the Civic Repertory Theatre in 1932, changing his name to Jules Garfield and making his Broadway debut in that company's Counsellor-at-Law. Joined the Group Theatre company, winning acclaim for his role in Awake and Sing. Embittered over being passed over for the lead in Golden Boy, which was written for him, he signed a contract with Warner Brothers, who changed his name to John Garfield.

Won enormous praise for his role of the cynical Mickey Borden in Four Daughters (1938). Appeared in similar roles throughout his career despite his efforts to play varied parts.

Children Katherine (1938-1945), David Garfield (1942-1995) and Julie Garfield (1946-).

His six-year-old daughter Katharine died of an allergic reaction in 1945. He never got over the loss.

When his Warner Bros. contract expired in 1946, he did not re-sign with the studio, opting to start his own independent production company instead. He was one of the first Hollywood actors to do so.

Garfield was a guest on Ed Sullivan's The Ed Sullivan Show: Episode #2.15 (1948) and quipped that the large TV cameras of this new medium were frightening.

On May 26, 1949, he was a guest on NBC radio's "Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis Show".

The role of Bill Sampson in All About Eve (1950) was originally intended for him, but Gary Merrill was cast instead.

A week before his fatal heart attack Garfield had separated from his wife, and hours before his death he completed a statement modifying his 1951 testimony about his Communist affiliations. Garfield was the fourth actor to die after being subjected to HUAC investigation. The others were Mady Christians (at 59), J. Edward Bromberg (at 47) and Canada Lee (at 45).

Blacklisted during the McCarthy "Red Scare" era in the early 1950s for his left-wing political beliefs, he adamantly refused to "name names" in testimony before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) in April 1951. He was found dead of a heart attack in the apartment of a former showgirl, Iris Whitney on May 21, 1952, the day after Clifford Odets, testifying before HUAC, reaffirmed that Garfield had never been a member of the Communist Party. His funeral in New York was mobbed by thousands of fans.

Garfield's widow Roberta married labor lawyer Sidney Cohn in 1954. He died in 1991 and Roberta Garfield Cohn died of Alzheimer's Disease in January 2004.

Was Nelson Algren's choice to play Frankie Machine in the film version (The Man with the Golden Arm (1955)) of Algren's novel "The Man With the Golden Arm".

Is portrayed by Bruce Ornstein in Will There Really Be a Morning? (1983)

On Piers Morgan Live: Episode dated 11 July 2012 (2012), to promote his autobiography, Robert Blake related that when he was playing John Garfield as a boy in Humoresque (1946), there was a scene he could not get right. Garfield cleared the set and directed Blake himself. After the scene was finished, Garfield told the nine-year-old. "Robert, remember this for the rest of your life. Your life is a rehearsal. Your performance is real.".