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Jean Acker
Jean Acker
Born	Harriet Acker; October 23, 1893; Trenton, New Jersey
Died	August 16, 1978 (aged 84); Los Angeles, California
Other name(s)	Mrs. Rudolph Valentino
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1913-1955
Spouse(s)	Rudolph Valentino (1919-1923)
Domestic partner(s)	Chloe Carter (? - 1978)

Jean Acker (October 23, 1893 – August 16, 1978) was an American film 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.

[edit] Early life and career

Acker was born Harriet Acker in Trenton, New Jersey where she attended school. She performed in vaudeville until she moved to California in 1919.^[1] After arriving in Hollywood, Acker became the protegee and lover of Alla Nazimova, a film 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 onscreen appearance in the 1955 film How to Be Very, Very Popular, opposite Betty Grable.

[edit] Marriage to Valentino

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.^[2]^[3] The marriage was reportedly never consummated.^[4]

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.^[5] 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".^[6]^[7]

Acker had an affair with the actress Alla Nazimova. Nazimova included Acker in what was dubbed the "Sewing circles", a group of actors who were forced to conceal the fact that they were not heterosexual, thus living secret lives.^[8]

[edit] Death

After divorcing Valentino in 1923, Acker met Chloe Carter, a former Ziegfeld Follies girl with whom she would remain with for the rest of her life. The couple owned an apartment building together in Beverly Hills.^[9] Acker died of natural causes in 1978 at the age of 84,^[10] and is buried next to Carter in the Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.

[edit] Selected filmography

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1913	Bob's Baby	Bob's Cousin
1915	Are You a Mason?		Alternative title: The Joiner
1914	The $5,000,000 Counterfeiting Plot	Helen Long
1919	Never Say Quit	Vamp
1920	The Round-Up	Polly Hope
1921	Brewster's Millions	Barbara Drew
1922	Her Own Money	Ruth Alden
1923	The Woman in Chains	Felicia Coudret	Credited as Mrs. Rudolph Valentino
1925	Braveheart	Sky-Arrow
1927	The Nest	Belle Madison
1933	No Marriage Ties	Adrienne's Maid	Uncredited
1934	Miss Fane's Baby Is Stolen	Friend of Miss Fane	Uncredited
1935	No More Ladies	Nightclub Extra	Uncredited
1936	San Francisco
1937	Vogues of 1938	Extra	Uncredited
1939	Good Girls Go to Paris	Bit Part	Uncredited
1940	My Favorite Wife	Postponed case witness	Uncredited
1942	Obliging Young Lady	Cousin	Uncredited
1944	The Thin Man Goes Home	Tart	Uncredited
1945	Spellbound	Matron	Uncredited
1946	It's a Wonderful Life		Uncredited
1947	The Peril of Pauline	Switchboard operator	Uncredited
1948	Isn't It Romantic?	Townswoman	Uncredited
1951	The Mating Season	Party guest	Uncredited
1952	Something to Live For	Wife	Uncredited
1955	How to Be Very, Very Popular	Undetermined Supporting Role	Uncredited

[edit] References

^ Leider, Emily W. Dark Lover: The Life and Death of Rudolph Valentino. New York City, Farrar Straus Giroux, 2003. ISBN 0374282390. p. 100.
^ "Jean Acker of Metro Weds". Motion Picture News. 1919. pp. 3774.
^ Donnelley, Paul (2005). Fade to Black: A Book of Movie Obituaries. Omnibus Press. pp. 935. ISBN 1-844-49430-6.
^ Donnelley, Paul (2005). Fade to Black: A Book of Movie Obituaries. Omnibus Press. pp. 7. ISBN 1-844-49430-6.
^ Madsen, Axel (2002). The Sewing Circle: Sappho's Leading Ladies. Kensington Books. pp. 103. ISBN 0-758-20101-X.
^ Newman, Ben-Allah (2004). Rudolph Valentino His Romantic Life and Death: His Romantic Life and Death. Kessinger Publishing. pp. 50. ISBN 1-417-91464-5.
^ Briggs, Joe Bob (2005). Profoundly Erotic: Sexy Movies that Changed History. Universe. pp. 30. ISBN 0-789-31314-6.
^ Jean Acker at Find a Grave
^ Shearer, Stephen Michael (2006). Patricia Neal: An Unquiet Life. University Press of Kentucky. pp. 391. ISBN 0-813-12391-7.
^ Donnelley, Paul (2005). Fade to Black: A Book of Movie Obituaries. Omnibus Press. pp. 8. ISBN 1-844-49430-6.

[edit] External links

Jean Acker at the Internet Movie Database
Jean Acker at Allmovie
Jean Acker at Find a Grave

[0] Leider, Emily W. Dark Lover: The Life and Death of Rudolph Valentino. New York City, Farrar Straus Giroux, 2003. ISBN 0374282390. p. 100.

[1] "Jean Acker of Metro Weds". Motion Picture News. 1919. pp. 3774.

[2] Donnelley, Paul (2005). Fade to Black: A Book of Movie Obituaries. Omnibus Press. pp. 935. ISBN 1-844-49430-6.

[3] Donnelley, Paul (2005). Fade to Black: A Book of Movie Obituaries. Omnibus Press. pp. 7. ISBN 1-844-49430-6.

[4] Madsen, Axel (2002). The Sewing Circle: Sappho's Leading Ladies. Kensington Books. pp. 103. ISBN 0-758-20101-X.

[5] Newman, Ben-Allah (2004). Rudolph Valentino His Romantic Life and Death: His Romantic Life and Death. Kessinger Publishing. pp. 50. ISBN 1-417-91464-5.

[6] Briggs, Joe Bob (2005). Profoundly Erotic: Sexy Movies that Changed History. Universe. pp. 30. ISBN 0-789-31314-6.

[7] Jean Acker at Find a Grave

[8] Shearer, Stephen Michael (2006). Patricia Neal: An Unquiet Life. University Press of Kentucky. pp. 391. ISBN 0-813-12391-7.

[9] Donnelley, Paul (2005). Fade to Black: A Book of Movie Obituaries. Omnibus Press. pp. 8. ISBN 1-844-49430-6.

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