{{Short description|American actress (1920–1968)}} {{Other people|Helen Walker}} {{Infobox person | name = Helen Walker | image = Helen Walker 1940s portrait.jpg | caption = Walker {{circa}} 1940s | birth_name = | birth_date = {{Birth date|1920|7|17}} | birth_place = Worcester, Massachusetts, U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|1968|3|10|1920|7|17}} | death_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S. | resting_place = | occupation = Actress | years_active = 1942–1960 | spouse = {{plainlist| * {{marriage|Robert F. Blumofe|1942|1946|reason=divorced}} * {{marriage|Edward DuDomaine|1950|1952|reason=divorced}} }} }}
'''Helen Marion Walker''' (July 17, 1920 – March 10, 1968) was an American actress.<ref name="WVobit">Obituary ''Variety'', March 13, 1968, page 79.</ref>
==Biography== ===1920–1940: Early life=== Helen Marion Walker was born July 17, 1920, in Worcester, Massachusetts, the daughter of Irish-American parents.{{sfn|Wagner|2020|p=183}} According to Walker, she grew up "quite poor."{{sfn|Wagner|2020|p=183}} Her father, who managed a grocery store, died when she was six years old, and she and her two sisters went to live on a farm in Upton, Massachusetts.{{sfn|Wagner|2020|p=183}} Her mother took a job working in a department store but later suffered a nervous breakdown.{{sfn|Wagner|2020|pages=183–184}}
Walker's initial acting experience came in high school, performing in school plays.{{sfn|Wagner|2020|p=183}} She won a scholarship to the Erskine School of Dramatics in Boston{{sfn|Wagner|2020|p=183}} and completed one semester of studies, but she withdrew after completing her first play, embarrassed by her performance.{{sfn|Wagner|2020|p=183}}
===1941–1946: Career beginnings and film=== After dropping out of the Erskine School of Dramatics, Walker began to appear in local stock theater.<ref name=nyt/> On Broadway, she portrayed Lisa Otis in ''Jason'' (1942).<ref name="ibdb">{{cite web |title=Helen Walker |url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/helen-walker-106025 |website=Internet Broadway Database |publisher=The Broadway League |access-date=January 18, 2021 }}</ref> She married Paramount lawyer Robert Blumofe on November 19, 1942, in Tijuana, Mexico,{{sfn|Wagner|2020|p=185}} but the marriage ended in divorce in 1946.
Walker made her film debut in 1942's ''Lucky Jordan'', a comedy starring Alan Ladd. She earned a solid reputation playing leading roles in comedies as what she termed a "reactress,” i.e., a straight man to comic leads in films such as ''Brewster's Millions'' and ''Murder, He Says'' (both released in 1945).<ref>{{cite news|title=Helen Walker Clings to Ideals: Recruit From Stage Confidently Waits for 'Grown-up' Parts Stage Recruit Holds Fast to Her Ideals Helen Walker Sure She'll Be Assigned 'Grown-up' Parts|author=Scheuer, Philip K.|work=Los Angeles Times|date=4 Nov 1945|page=B1}}</ref>
According to Yvonne de Carlo, Walker, "the good natured but tough talking starlet," took Gail Russell "under her wing and introduced her to the tranquilizing benefits of vodka" when they were both under contract to Paramount.<ref>{{cite book|first1=Yvonne|last1=De Carlo|title=Yvonne : an autobiography|url=https://archive.org/details/yvonneautobiogra00deca_0|url-access=registration|last2=Warren|first2=Doug|date=1987|publisher=St Martins Press|page=[https://archive.org/details/yvonneautobiogra00deca_0/page/72 72]|isbn=978-0-312-00217-6 }}</ref> Russell subsequently became an alcoholic.
===1947–1955: Auto accident and career decline=== [[File:Charles Coburn-Helen Walker in Impact.jpg|thumb|upright|Charles Coburn and Helen Walker in ''Impact'' (1949)]] thumb|upright|Helen Walker in a publicity still for ''Impact'' (1949) Walker had just finished filming ''Her Adventurous Night'' (1946) and was set to begin ''Heaven Only Knows''<ref name="WVobit"/> when an auto accident drastically disrupted her career. On December 31, 1946,{{sfn|Wagner|2020|p=183}} while driving a convertible coupe<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|date=1947-01-03|title=Soldier Dies, Three Hurt As Coupe Skids Off Road|page=12|work=The San Bernardino Sun}}</ref> belonging to director Bruce "Lucky" Humberstone from Palm Springs to Hollywood on U.S. Route 99,<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|date=1947-01-03|title=Soldier Dies, Three Hurt As Coupe Skids Off Road|page=12|work=The San Bernardino Sun}}</ref> she picked up three hitchhikers: first, a soldier named Robert E. Lee, and later 18-year-old students Philip Mercado and Joseph Montalde.{{sfn|Wagner|2020|p=186}} Near Redlands, California, the car slid off the road into a dirt division strip and rolled for more than 300 feet, flipping over as many as seven times and ejecting all four passengers. Lee was killed as his head struck the pavement,<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|date=1947-01-03|title=Soldier Dies, Three Hurt As Coupe Skids Off Road|page=12|work=The San Bernardino Sun}}</ref> and Walker and the other two passengers were seriously injured.{{sfn|Wagner|2020|pages=186–188}} Walker suffered fractures to her pelvis and clavicle as well as a crushed foot,<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|date=1947-01-03|title=Soldier Dies, Three Hurt As Coupe Skids Off Road|page=12|work=The San Bernardino Sun}}</ref> and spent more than a month in the hospital.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|date=1968-03-12|title=Helen Walker, Actress, West Boylston Native|page=27|work=The Boston Globe}}</ref> Mercado, who had been thrown nearly {{Convert|80|ft|m|abbr=out}} from the car,<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|date=1947-01-03|title=Soldier Dies, Three Hurt As Coupe Skids Off Road|page=12|work=The San Bernardino Sun}}</ref> sued Walker for $150,000,<ref name="LAThitch">{{cite news |title=Hitchhiker Seeks Damages From Helen Walker |work=Los Angeles Times |date=1947-03-06}}</ref> claiming that Walker was driving "like a fool," ignored his requests to slow down and diverted her attention from the road to ask for a cigarette just before the accident.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news|date=1947-01-05|title=Chief of Police Says Film Player To Face Charges|page=16|work=The San Bernardino Sun}}</ref> Montalde sued Walker for $100,000.<ref name="SBSun">{{cite news |title=Film Actress Must Stand Trial |work=The San Bernardino County Sun |date=1947-03-26 |page=12 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/49428331/?terms=%22Helen%2Bwalker%22&match=1 |via=Newspapers.com |url-access=registration}}</ref> The police estimated that Walker had been traveling in excess of {{Convert|80|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} and a responding officer stated that he had smelled alcohol on her breath.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news|date=1947-01-05|title=Chief of Police Says Film Player To Face Charges|page=16|work=The San Bernardino Sun}}</ref> A coroner's jury found that Walker had been driving negligently.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|date=1968-03-12|title=Helen Walker, Actress, West Boylston Native|page=27|work=The Boston Globe}}</ref> She was charged with manslaughter for Lee's death,<ref name="SBSun" /> but the charge was later dismissed for lack of "evidence".<ref name="LATclear">"Helen Walker Cleared in Hitchhiker's Death" ''Los Angeles Times'', April 9, 1947.</ref> Walker was replaced in ''Heaven Only Knows'' by Marjorie Reynolds.
Despite the accident and her legal troubles, Walker continued to act, and she appeared in perhaps her most famous role as the duplicitous psychoanalyst in the original version of ''Nightmare Alley'' (1947) with Tyrone Power. She also took prominent roles in films such as ''Call Northside 777'' (1948) with James Stewart, ''My Dear Secretary'' (1948) with Kirk Douglas and ''Impact'' (1949) with Brian Donlevy.
In 1950, Walker married department-store executive Edward DuDomaine,<ref>"Hollywood Couples Marry Over Weekend."Herkimer (NY) Evening Telegram, 2 May 1950.</ref> but the couple divorced in 1952.<ref name="WVobit" /><ref>"Actress Given Final Decree." Albany Times-Union, 18 June 1953.</ref>
Following starring roles in ''My True Story'' (1951) and ''Problem Girls'' (1953), Walker made her final film appearance in Joseph H. Lewis's film noir ''The Big Combo'' with Cornel Wilde in 1955. She retired from acting that year at the age of 35.
===1956–1968: Post-acting=== In 1960, after Walker's house was destroyed by fire, several other Hollywood actresses held a benefit to assist her.<ref name="WVobit"/>
==Death== Walker died of cancer following a nine-year illness<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|date=1968-03-12|title=Helen Walker, Actress, West Boylston Native|page=27|work=The Boston Globe}}</ref> on March 10, 1968, in the North Hollywood section of Los Angeles, California at the age of 47.<ref name="nyt">{{cite news |title=Helen Walker, 47, Dies on Coast; Fdm Actress in '40's and '50's |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/118202685 |access-date=January 18, 2021 |work=The New York Times |agency=Associated Press |date=March 12, 1968 |page=43|id={{ProQuest|118202685}} }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title="Film Actress Helen Walker Dies of Cancer"|date=Mar 12, 1968|work=Chicago Tribune|page=43}}</ref>
==Filmography== ===Film=== {| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes |- ! scope="row"| 1942 | ''Lucky Jordan'' | Jill Evans | |- ! scope="row"| 1943 | ''The Good Fellows'' | Ethel Hilton | |- ! scope="row"| 1944 | ''Abroad with Two Yanks'' | Joyce Stuart | |- ! scope="row"| 1945 | ''The Man in Half Moon Street'' | Eve Brandon | |- ! scope="row"| 1945 | ''Brewster's Millions'' | Peggy Gray | |- ! scope="row"| 1945 | ''Murder, He Says'' | Claire Matthews | |- ! scope="row"| 1945 | ''Duffy's Tavern'' | Helen Walker | |- ! scope="row"| 1946 | ''People Are Funny'' | Corey Sullivan | |- ! scope="row"| 1946 | ''Murder in the Music Hall'' | Millicent | |- ! scope="row"| 1946 | ''Cluny Brown'' | Elizabeth 'Betty' Cream | |- ! scope="row"| 1946 | ''Her Adventurous Night'' | Constance Fry | |- ! scope="row"| 1947 | ''The Homestretch'' | Kitty Brant | |- ! scope="row"| 1947 | ''Nightmare Alley'' | Lilith Ritter | |- ! scope="row"| 1948 | ''Call Northside 777'' | Laura McNeal | |- ! scope="row"| 1949 | ''My Dear Secretary'' | Elsie | |- ! scope="row"| 1949 | ''Impact'' | Irene Williams | |- ! scope="row"| 1951 | ''My True Story'' | Ann Martin | |- ! scope="row"| 1953 | ''Problem Girls'' | Miss Dixon | |- ! scope="row"| 1955 | ''The Big Combo'' | Alicia Brown | |- |}
===Television=== {| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes |- ! scope="row"| 1956 | ''Dragnet'' | | 1 episode |- ! scope="row"| 1957 | ''The 20th Century-Fox Hour'' | Shirley Larkin | 1 episode |- ! scope="row"| 1960 | ''Wichita Town'' | Sue, Scotty's girlfriend | 1 episode |- ! scope="row"| 1960 | ''Lock-Up'' | Janice Horton / Margaret Benedict | 2 episodes (final appearance) |}
==References== {{reflist}}
==Sources== * {{cite book |last1=Wagner |first1=Laura |title=Hollywood's Hard-Luck Ladies: 23 Actresses Who Suffered Early Deaths, Accidents, Missteps, Illnesses and Tragedies |year= 2020 |publisher=McFarland|location=Jefferson, North Carolina |isbn=978-1-4766-3833-1 }}
==External links== {{commons category}} * {{IMDb name|id=0907785|name=Helen Walker}} * {{IBDB name}} * {{Find a Grave|136433233}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Helen}} Category:1920 births Category:1968 deaths Category:20th-century American actresses Category:Actresses from Worcester, Massachusetts Category:American film actresses Category:American stage actresses Category:American people of Irish descent Category:Deaths from cancer in California