Celebrity News January 12, 2025
Claude Jarman Jr., Juvenile Oscar Winner for 'The Yearling,' Dies at 90
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In 1947, Claude Jarman Jr. was presented with one of the few Juvenile Academy Awards ever given for his work in the movie classic "The Yearling" the year before. It was the beginning of a short but sweet experience in front of the camera, and a long life devoted to film.
Born September 27, 1934, in Nashville, he was discovered in an MGM talent search.
He attended classes with Natalie Wood, Dean Stockwell, Jane Powell, Margaret O'Brien and Elizabeth Taylor ahead of making his film debut in "The Yearling," the deeply sentimental story of a young boy who, during the Civil War, befriends a deer, only to have to kill it as the ravages of war take their toll.
Jarman, who died Sunday age 90 at his Kentfield, California, home of natural causes, went on to appear in 11 films, counting "The Yearling," among them the John Wayne western "Rio Grande" (1950) and the Disney film "The Great Locomotive Chase" (1956).
He made just two TV appearances — on an episode of "Wagon Train" in 1959 and "The Best of the Post" the following year — before retiring from acting at age 25.
From there, Jarman directed the San Francisco International Film Festival from 195-1980, did PR for the U.S. Navy, and executive produced "Fillmore" (1972), a doc about rock-concert promoter Bill Graham.
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He returned to acting once, in the highly rated miniseries "Centennial" in 1978.
Jarman published his memoir "My Life and the Final Days of Hollywood" in 2018.
He is survived by his third wife, of nearly 40 years, his seven kids, and his eight grandkids.
