Barbara Payton
| Barbara Payton | |
|---|---|
in Bad Blonde (1953)
|
|
| Born |
Barbara Lee Redfield November 16, 1927 Cloquet, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Died | May 8, 1967 (aged 39) San Diego, California, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Heart and liver failure |
| Resting place | Cypress View Mausoleum and Crematory |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1949–1955 |
| Spouse(s) |
William Hodge (m. 1942; div. 1942) John Payton Jr. (m. 1945; div. 1950) Franchot Tone (m. 1951; div. 1952) George A. Provas (m. 1957; div. 1958) |
| Children | 1 |
Barbara Lee Payton (November 16, 1927 – May 8, 1967) was an American film actress best known for her stormy social life and eventual battles with alcohol and drug addiction. Her life has been the subject of several books including Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye: The Barbara Payton Story (2007), by John O'Dowd, L.A. Despair: A Landscape of Crimes and Bad Times (2005), by John Gilmore, and B Movie: A Play in Two Acts (2014), by Michael B. Druxman. In her brief life, she married four times.
Payton was born Barbara Lee Redfield in Cloquet, Minnesota. She was the daughter of Erwin Lee ("Flip") Redfield and Mabel Irene Todahl, the daughter of Norwegian immigrants. A son, Frank Leslie III was born in 1931 and in 1938, the family moved to Odessa, Texas. With financial assistance from his sister, Payton’s father was able to start his own business, a court of tourist cabins, “Antlers Court,” anticipating it would turn out to be a profitable enterprise in a city like Odessa, whose population was booming due to the oil business.
By various accounts, Payton’s father was a hard-working but difficult man, emotionally closed off, slow-talking but quick-tempered. His interaction with his children was minimal, and child-rearing responsibilities were left to his wife, Mabel, who occupied herself with her homemaking duties and managing family difficulties. Both of Payton's parents had long-standing problems with alcohol. Payton’s first cousin, Richard Kuitu, remembers visits to the home of his uncle and aunt. The Redfields would often start drinking at mid-morning and continue long after midnight. He recalls the violent temper Lee Redfield had when fueled by drink, which would sometimes result in the physical abuse of his wife.
As Payton was growing into maturity, her good looks were also blossoming, which garnered her attention. This type of attention was valued, even encouraged by her mother. She was known as a lively girl, willing to please, and she learned early in life that she had a potent effect on the opposite sex.
In November 1943, the then sixteen-year-old eloped with high school boyfriend William Hodge. The marriage seemingly amounted to nothing more than an act of impulsive, teen-age rebellion, and Payton did not fight her parents' insistence that the marriage be annulled. A few months later, she quit high school in the eleventh grade. Her parents, who did not believe that formal education was needed for success in life, did not object to her leaving high school without a diploma.
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