Barton, James, 1890-1962

James Barton (1890-1962) was an American actor, singer, dancer and comedian in vaudeville, theatre, film, and television. Barton was born in Gloucester City, New Jersey, into a theatrical family. His parents James Barton Sr. and Clara Barton were vaudeville performers who also managed their own repertory company. James Jr. made his debut as a child in a scene with his father and would spend the rest of his life performing.

After many years touring and appearing regionally, Barton hit the big time when he was cast in The Passing Show of 1919, produced by Broadway's reigning king, Florenz Ziegfeld. His star continued to burn bright on Broadway for the next decade or so, with roles in operettas such as The Last Waltz (1921), and The Rose of Stamboul (1922), the musical comedy Dew Drop Inn (1923), and revues such as The Passing Show of 1924, No Foolin' (1926) and Sweet and Low (1930).

Barton was mainly a comic song and dance man in these shows, famous for his drunk act, a soft shoe dance routine, which he would revive throughout his career. Barton's truly American dance style was unique in combining the dances from his own Irish-American background with dance moves he learned from African-American performers he had worked with in burlesque and vaudeville.

However, he was also a serious dramatic actor. In 1930 he starred in Arthur Hopkins' Pulitzer Prize winning play Moonshine. The culmination of the first phase of Barton's Broadway career was his starring role as Jeeter Lester in Jack Kirkland's blockbuster play, Tobacco Road (1933). Barton was not the original Jeeter, but after taking over from Henry Hull in 1934, Barton became the most celebrated Jeeter. He played the role on and off for the next 5 years, clocking in over 2,000 of Tobacco Road's 3,100 performances.

In the mid-1930s, Barton also flirted with a film career. He had starring roles in Captain Hurricane and His Family Tree, both in 1935, and a few other supporting roles, but failed to achieve movie superstardom.

Back on Broadway, Barton starred in one of many failed attempts to revive the dying musical form, the revue. Alexander Cohen's Bright Light of 1944 folded after only four performances. A more satisfying stage role came along in 1946, when Barton was hired by the Theatre Guild for a small role in Eugene O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh. Shortly before the play opened, he was promoted to the lead role of Benjamin Hickman (Hickey), in what would be the greatest dramatic role of his career.

Barton went back to films for a few years appearing in dramas The Time of Your Life (1948) and The Scarf (1951); musicals The Daughter of Rosie O'Grady (1950), Wabash Avenue (1950), and Golden Girl (1951); and the comedy Here Comes the Groom (1951).

In 1951 Barton returned to New York for another stage triumph in the musical Paint Your Wagon. Barton starred as California gold prospector Ben Rumson. The show had music by Frederick Loewe, book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, and choreography by Agnes DeMille. Despite a widely praised score, some critics felt that the tone of the book was too dark for a musical comedy, but all agreed that Barton was wonderful. Lerner had written the role for him and even created a spot (following his song "In Between") for Barton's legendary drunk dance.

After a break in the early 1950s, following a period of illness, Barton did a lot of television work, appearing in several episodes of Lux Video Theatre (1952-1956), Kraft Theatre (1954-1957), and Naked City (1959-1961), and individual episodes of other shows as well. He also did a few films here and there like The Naked Hills (1956) and Quantez (1957). On a brief hiatus in New York he starred in the short-lived comedy The Sin of Pat Muldoon (1957), which featured Elaine Stritch. His final film role was a brief comic bit in Arthur Miller's The Misfits (1961).

In 1912, Barton married Ottilia Kleinicke, though they separated after a few years. Later he married dancer Kathryn Mullin (known on stage as Kathryn Penman). Barton and his second wife were an extremely devoted couple for the 35 years they spent together. He died of a heart attack in Mineola, New York on February 19, 1962. Kathryn Barton died in the mid 1990s.

From the guide to the James Barton papers, 1890s-1990s, 1911-1962, (The New York Public Library. Billy Rose Theatre Division.)