Claude Jarman Jr

Claude Jarman Jr. has written a book, entitled MY LIFE AND THE FINAL DAYS OF HOLLYWOOD about his career as an actor at Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM) during the “Golden Years” of Hollywood in the 1950s. Discovered in his fifth grade classroom in Nashville, Tennessee during a nationwide talent search, Jarman was selected out of 10,000 boys to star with Gregory Peck and Jane Wyman in the classic film, THE YEARLING. The book was a Pulitizer Prize winner by author Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. Jarman received a special Academy Award for his performance as “Jody”. He went on to act in 10 additional films including John Ford’s epic western, RIO GRANDE, where he played the son of John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara. He capped his acting career with a starring role in INTRUDER IN THE DUST, filmed in Oxford, Mississippi and based on William Faulkner’s 1949 controversial book about a black man wrongly accused of murder. Jarman writes about his years at the MGM school with classmates Elizabeth Taylor, Jane Powell, Roddy McDowell and Margaret O’Brien. He discusses how the advent of television led to the eventual collapse of the Hollywood studio system. As the Executive Director of the San Francisco International Film Festival from 1965-1980, he created one of the premier film events in the world. Jarman provides the reader with the inside story of the film festival and the luminaries who attended. He lives in Marin County, California with his wife Katie and their twin daughters Charlotte and Sarah.