June Walker

For the American activist and former Hadassah leader, see June Walker (Hadassah)

June Walker (June 14, 1900 – February 3, 1966) was an American stage and film actress.

Early years

Walker was born in New York City on June 14, 1900, and was orphaned when she was 14. She worked as a millinery clerk before becoming an actress.

Stage career

File:Green-Grow-the-Lilacs-1931.jpg

Walker (left) with fellow performers Helen Westley and Franchot Tone in the 1931 Broadway production Green Grow the Lilacs

Walker performed as a member of the chorus of a Globe Theater production of Hitchy-Koo when she was 16 years old.

She appeared on Broadway in such plays as Green Grow the Lilacs, The Farmer Takes a Wife, and Twelfth Night. She was the first actress to portray the character of Lorelei Lee, in the 1926 Broadway production of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Her obituary in The New York Times said the role "was as much her creation as that of Anita Loos who wrote the book that became the comedy ..." The success of the play launched Walker's career, and she had further Broadway successes. She played Linda Loman to Thomas Mitchell's Willy in the 1949 touring company of Death of a Salesman and also toured, performing in the role of Vinnie, in Life with Father.

For four weeks in 1924 Walker appeared as the Leading Lady in the Summer Stock cast at Elitch Theatre. She appeared in: The Changelings, by Lee Wilson Dood; Rolling Home, by John Hunter Booth; The New Poor, by Cosmo Hamilton; and Across the Street, by Richard A. Purdy.

Film career

Walker acted in silent films for Essanay Studios and in sound films, including A Child Is Waiting, Through Different Eyes, The Unforgiven, and War Nurse.

Personal life

In 1926, she married British actor Geoffrey Kerr. The couple divorced in 1943; their son was actor John Kerr. She appeared with her son in a 1954 episode of NBC's Justice. It was his first acting engagement.

Death

On February 3, 1966, aged 65, Walker died of undisclosed causes at her son's home in Los Angeles. She was interred in the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1921	Coincidence	Phoebe Howard	Lost film
1930	War Nurse	Babs
1942	Thru Different Eyes	Margie
1960	The Unforgiven	Hagar Rawlins
1961	The Tom Ewell Show	Madge	Season 1 Episode 20: "Storm Over Shangri-La"
1961	Whispering Smith	Ma Gates	Season 1 Episode 2: "The Grudge"
1961	My Three Sons	Annie	Season 2 Episode 10: "Mike in Charge"
1961	Thriller	Dierdre Pennaroyd	Season 2 Episode 9: "A Third for Pinochle"
1961	Alfred Hitchcock Presents	Mrs. Millie Wright	Season 7 Episode 12: "A Jury of Her Peers"
1963	A Child Is Waiting	Mrs. McDonald	Uncredited
1963	The Alfred Hitchcock Hour	Mrs. Wales	Season 1 Episode 20: "The Paragon"
1964	The Alfred Hitchcock Hour	Aunt Mary Jane	Season 3 Episode 1: "The Return of Verge Likens"

External links

• Template:Trim/ Template:PAGENAMEBASE at IMDbTemplate:EditAtWikidata
• Template:First word Template:PAGENAMEBASE at the Internet Broadway DatabaseTemplate:EditAtWikidataTemplate:WikidataCheck
• Template:PAGENAMEBASE at Find a GraveTemplate:EditAtWikidata
• June Walker at Historic Elitch Theatre

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