Jean Acker

Jean Acker (born Harriet Ackers; October 23, 1892 – August 16, 1978) was an American actress with a career dating from the silent film era through the 1950s. She was perhaps best known as the estranged wife of silent film star Rudolph Valentino.

Early life and career

Jean Acker was born Harriet Ackers on October 23, 1892 in Trenton, New Jersey to Joseph and Margaret Ackers. The 1900 census indicates an 1891 birthdate,<ref>ancestry.com</ref>Template:Unreliable source? and other sources have suggested an 1893 birthdate.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> However, her burial plot says 1892.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>Template:Unreliable source? Her parents divorced, and her father remarried to Eleanor Bruseren in 1906.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>Template:Unreliable source? They had two sons together, both named Joseph. Their first son died at 4 months old in 1907, and their second son was a stillbirth.<ref>ancestry.com</ref>Template:Unreliable source?<ref>ancestry.com</ref>Template:Unreliable source?<ref>ancestry.com</ref>Template:Unreliable source? Eleanor and Joseph divorced in 1912, and he married a third time to Virginia Erb.<ref>ancestry.com</ref>Template:Unreliable source? Her father managed the Casino Bowling Alley and The Ritz Restaurant, and later owned the Boston Shoe Store on Valley Street. He also managed several bowling alleys in the Philadelphia area. In 1906, the family moved to Lewistown. Growing up on a farm, Ackers became an expert horsewoman. She attended St. Mary's Seminary in Springfield, New Jersey for a time.

She performed in vaudeville until she moved to California in 1919.<ref>Leider, Emily W. Dark Lover: The Life and Death of Rudolph Valentino. New York City, Farrar Straus Giroux, 2003. Template:ISBN. p. 100.</ref> After arriving in Hollywood, Acker became the protegee and lover of Alla Nazimova, an actress whose clout and contacts enabled Acker to negotiate a $200 per week contract with a movie studio. Acker appeared in numerous films during the 1910s and 1920s, but by the early 1930s, she began appearing in small, mostly uncredited film roles. She made her last on-screen appearance in the 1955 film How to Be Very, Very Popular, opposite Betty Grable.

Marriage to Valentino

File:Jean Acker 1923.jpg

Acker in 1923

After meeting and befriending the then-struggling actor Rudolph Valentino at a party, they entered a two-month courtship and married on November 6, 1919. Acker quickly had regrets and locked him out of their hotel bedroom on their wedding night.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The marriage was reportedly never consummated.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

After filing for divorce, Valentino did not wait the requisite period for it to be finalized before marrying his second wife, Natacha Rambova, in Mexico, and he was charged with bigamy when the couple returned to the United States.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Acker then sued Valentino for the legal right to call herself Mrs. Rudolph Valentino. Valentino remained angry with her for several years, but they mended their friendship before his death in 1926. Acker wrote a popular song about him soon after he died called "We Will Meet at the End of the Trail".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Acker had an affair with the actress Alla Nazimova. Nazimova included Acker in what was dubbed the sewing circles, a group of actresses who were forced to conceal the fact that they were lesbian or bisexual, thus living secret lives. Another of her female lovers was Grace Darmond, with whom she was involved during her relationship with Valentino.Template:Citation needed

In the 1977 film Valentino a character loosely based on Acker is played by Carol Kane. In the credits, the character is simply called Starlet.

Later life and death

After divorcing Valentino in 1923, Acker was engaged to Marquis Luis de Bezan y Sandoval of Spain.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Then, she was in the news over her relationship with Rahmin Bey.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 1930, after she lost her fortune in the 1929 stock market crash, she sued William Delahanty, claiming that he agreed to pay her $18,400 per year if she gave up her film career. The married politician denied that he made such a promise but admitted that he spent thousands of dollars on Acker.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Acker met Chloe Carter (June 21, 1903 – October 28, 1993), a former Ziegfeld Follies girl, who was the first wife of film composer Harry Ruby.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Acker remained with Carter for the rest of her life. The couple owned an apartment building together in Beverly Hills.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Acker died of natural causes in 1978 at the age of 85,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and is buried next to Carter at the Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.<ref>Wilson, Scott. Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed.: 2 (Kindle Location 325). McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. Kindle Edition.</ref>

Legacy

Although not born in the Central Pennsylvania town of Lewistown, Jean Acker is considered a local celebrity. Her face dominates an outdoor mural titled "Mifflin County Movie History" and is located on Monument Square in Downtown Lewistown. The mural was painted in 2012 by Dwight Kirkland of Blackleaf Studio, Mifflintown, Pennsylvania.Template:Citation needed

Filmography

Jean Acker filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Template:Abbr
1913	The Man Outside	Helen Lattimore	Short Lost film
1913	In a Woman's Power	Marcelle – the Wife	Lost film
1913	Bob's Baby	Bob's Cousin	Short Lost film
1913	The Daredevil Mountaineer		Short Lost film
1914	The $5,000,000 Counterfeiting Plot	Helen Long	Dramascope Co. Lost film	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1915	Are You a Mason?		Alternative title: The Joiner Famous Players Film Company Lost film	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1919	Never Say Quit	Vamp	Fox Film Lost film	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1919	Checkers	Pert Barlow	Fox Film Lost film	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1919	Lombardi, Ltd.	Daisy	Metro Pictures	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1919	The Blue Bandanna	Ruth Yancy	Jesse D. Hampton Productions Lost film	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1920	The Ladder of Lies	Dora Leroy	Famous Players–Lasky Corp. Lost film	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1920	An Arabian Knight	Zorah	Haworth Pictures Corp. Lost film	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1920	Help Wanted – Male	Ethel	Jesse D. Hampton Productions Lost film	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1920	The Round-Up	Polly Hope	Famous Players–Lasky Corp.	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1921	See My Lawyer	Betty Gardner	Christie Film Company Lost film	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1921	Brewster's Millions	Barbara Drew	Famous Players–Lasky Corp. Lost film	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1921	Wealth	Estelle Rolland	Famous Players–Lasky Corp. Lost film	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1921	The Kiss	Isabella Chavez	Universal Pictures Lost film	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1922	Her Own Money	Ruth Alden	Famous Players–Lasky Corp. Lost film	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1923	The Woman in Chains	Felicia Coudret	Credited as Mrs. Rudolph Valentino Amalgamated Producing Corp.	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1925	Braveheart	Sky-Arrow	Cinema Corp. of America	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1926	The Ace of Cads		Rumored to be cast, but no show Famous Players–Lasky Corp. Lost film	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1927	The Nest	Belle Madison	Excellent Pictures Corp.	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1933	No Marriage Ties	Adrienne's Maid	Listed in pre-production notes only	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1934	Miss Fane's Baby Is Stolen	Friend of Miss Fane	Uncredited Paramount Pictures	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1935	The Lone Wolf Returns	Unknown	Billed as Jean Acker Valentino Columbia Pictures	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1935	It's in the Air		Rumored to be cast, but no show MGM	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1936	San Francisco		Rumored to be cast, but no show MGM	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1937	Vogues of 1938	Extra	Uncredited
1939	Good Girls Go to Paris	Bit Part	Uncredited
1940	My Favorite Wife	Postponed case witness	Uncredited RKO Pictures	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1942	Obliging Young Lady	Cousin	Uncredited RKO Pictures	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1945	The Thin Man Goes Home	Tart	Uncredited MGM	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1945	The Stork Club	Saleslady	DeSylva Productions, Inc.	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1945	Spellbound	Matron	Selznick International Pictures	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1946	It's a Wonderful Life	Townswoman	Uncredited Liberty Films	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1947	The Peril of Pauline	Switchboard operator	Uncredited Paramount	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1948	Isn't It Romantic?	Townswoman	Uncredited Paramount	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1951	The Mating Season	Party guest	Uncredited Paramount	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1952	Something to Live For	Wife	Uncredited Paramount	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1955	How to Be Very, Very Popular	Minor Role	Rumored to be cast, but no show 20th Century Fox	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>

External links

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