Biography for
John Payne (I) More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

28 May 1912, Roanoke, Virginia, USA

Date of Death

6 December 1989, Malibu, California, USA (congestive heart failure)

Birth Name

John Howard Payne

Height

6' 2" (1.88 m)

Spouse

Alexandra Crowell Curtis	(27 September 1953 - 6 December 1989) (his death)
Gloria DeHaven	(28 December 1944 - 21 September 1951) (divorced) 2 children
Anne Shirley	(22 August 1937 - 1 March 1943) (divorced) 1 child

Trivia

Singer, mostly in 20th Century-Fox musicals.

Father of actress Julie Payne.

Was the first person in Hollywood interested in making the James Bond novels into a film series. In 1955 he paid a $1,000-a-month option for 9 months on the Bond novel "Moonraker" (he eventually gave up the option when he learned he couldn't retain the rights for the entire 007 series).

Direct descendant of John Howard Payne (1791-1852), composer of the classic song "Home, Sweet Home" ("Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home.").

The gap in his career from 1962 to 1968 was the result of a terrible automobile wreck, in which he suffered extensive, life-threatening injuries. In his later roles, facial scars can be detected in close-ups.

Grandfather of actress Katharine Towne and Holly Payne.

Ex-father-in-law of writer-director Robert Towne.

Featured in "Bad Boys: The Actors of Film Noir" by Karen Burroughs Hannsberry (McFarland, 2003).

In 1942, after separating from Anne Shirley, he had an affair with Jane Russell. The affair is detailed in her 1986 autobiography, "My Path and My Detours". The affair ended when she realized that she was still in love with her high school sweetheart, football player Bob Waterfield, whom she married in April of 1943 (they divorced in 1967).

Following the style of the times, and in order to emphasize his boyish, clean-cut image, Payne's chest was shaved to smoothness in his "beefcake" scenes of the 1940s. In the 1950s, however, styles changed, Payne's image darkened, and his "beefcake" scenes now showed a chest with dark hair.

Was very good friends with his co star Maureen O'Hara, with whom he starred in four films, To the Shores of Tripoli (1942), Sentimental Journey (1946), Tripoli (1950), and their most famous one, the classic Miracle on 34th Street (1947).

Was romantically involved with Coleen Gray (his co-star in Kansas City Confidential (1952)) in the early 1950s.

Has stated that his favorite of all the films he's made is Miracle on 34th Street (1947).

Heavily invested in Southern Californian real estate, as well as buying a ranch near Billings, Montana.

Served as a pilot in the Army Air Corps during World War II.

Initially signed to a short-term contract to appear in 'Dodsworth' for United Artists, he later worked under contract for 20th Century Fox (1940-42; 1945-47) and RKO (1954-56).

Graduated from Roanoke College. Studied singing at the Juilliard School of Music and acting at Columbia University. Supplemented his studies by making money as a professional wrestler, before landing his first acting job as understudy to Beatrice Lillie in the 1935 revue 'At Home Abroad'.