John Agar

Infobox Actor

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birthdate = January 31, 1921
birthplace = Chicago, Illinois USA
deathdate = death date and age|2002|4|7|1921|1|31
deathplace = Burbank, California USA
spouse = Shirley Temple (1945-1950) Loretta Combs (1951-2000)

John G. Agar (January 31, 1921 – April 7, 2002) was an American actor. He starred alongside John Wayne in the films "Sands of Iwo Jima" and "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon", but was later relegated to B Movies, such as "Tarantula", "The Mole People", "The Brain from Planet Arous", Flesh and the Spur, and "Hand of Death". He is also mentioned in the Frank Zappa song, "The Radio is Broken" from the album "The Man From Utopia" (1983) and the Young Fresh Fellows have written songs about him, including "The New John Agar" and "Agar's Revenge," found on the album "Topsy Turvy". He also starred with Lucille Ball in the 1951 movie, The Magic Carpet.

Agar was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Lillian (née Rogers) and John Agar, Sr., a meat packer. [ [http://www.filmreference.com/film/76/John-Agar.html John Agar Biography (1921-2002) ] ] He was educated at Harvard School for Boys and Lake Forest Academy in Chicago, Illinois and graduated from Pawling Preparatory School in Pawling, New York, but did not attend college. He and his family moved from Chicago to Los Angeles in 1942 following his father’s death. During World War II he served in the Army Air Corps, and he was a sergeant at the time he left the army in 1946.

He was Shirley Temple's first husband (1945-1950), and they worked together in "Fort Apache". His marriage to Temple lasted five years and they had one daughter together, Linda Susan Agar who was later known as Susan Black, taking the surname of her stepfather Charles Alden Black. Following his divorce from Temple, Agar was married in 1951 to model Loretta Barnett Combs (1922-2000). They remained married until her death in 2000. They had two sons: Martin Agar and John G. Agar III.

Agar died on April 7, 2002 at Burbank, California of complications from emphysema. He was buried beside his wife at Riverside National Cemetery in Riverside, California.

ee also

*John Agar's Land of Kong, an Arkansas theme park co-owned by Agar in the 1960s, known for its 40 foot tall statue of King Kong known as the "World's Largest King Kong".

References

External links

*imdb name|id=0000730|name=John Agar
*amg name|2:439
*findagrave|6521308 Retrieved on 2008-02-07