Jack Dougherty (born Virgil Ashley Dougherty) was an American actor who appeared in B-movies in the 1910s, 1920s, and 1930s.[1] He was married to actress Barbara La Marr at the time of her death.
Jack Dougherty | |
|---|---|
| Born | Virgil Ashley Dougherty November 16, 1895 Bowling Green, Missouri, U.S. |
| Died | May 16, 1938 (aged 42) |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Spouse(s) |
|
Biography
Jack was born in Bowling Green, Missouri, to Roy Dougherty and Julia Ach. The family relocated to Southern California when Jack was young.[2] He began a career as an actor in Broadway musicals in the late 1910s.[3] In 1920, after returning from serving in France during World War I, he was signed with Metro to play Alice Lake's leading man.[4]
He and actress Barbara La Marr got married in 1923, the same year Dougherty was signed to a five-year contract at Universal. The marriage was tumultuous, and multiple separations were noted in the press.[5] The pair were still legally wed, however, when La Marr died of tuberculosis in 1926 at the age of 29.[6][7]
In 1927, Dougherty married his second wife, actress Virginia Brown Faire.[8] That marriage did not last long—the pair parted ways in 1929, and she soon married director Duke Worne.[9] In 1928, he and actress Lottie Pickford were assaulted by robbers outside of a cafe in East Los Angeles.[10] Later that year, Dougherty was charged for assaulting another male guest at a party held by Pickford.[11]
His legal foibles and troubles with alcohol led to diminishing roles on screen right as the silent era waned; he was no longer getting starring roles or gigs from major studios. After an attempted suicide in 1933, he committed suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning on May 16, 1938, in the Hollywood Hills; he reportedly left behind four suicide notes that blamed financial troubles for his ultimate fate.[12][13] He was 43 years old.[14][15]
Selected filmography
- The Main Event (1938)
- One Wild Night (1938)
- The Big Broadcast of 1938 (1938)
- No Time to Marry (1938)
- Double Wedding (1937)
- The Game That Kills (1937)
- Charlie Chan on Broadway (1937)
- It Can't Last Forever (1937)
- Yodelin' Kid from Pine Ridge (1937)
- Sinner Take All (1936)
- General Spanky (1936)
- Afraid to Talk (1932)
- The Body Punch (1929)
- The Vanishing West (1928)
- Into No Man's Land (1928)
- Gypsy of the North (1928)
- Haunted Island (1928)
- The Trail of the Tiger (1927)
- Lure of the Night Club (1927)
- Special Delivery (1927)
- Arizona Bound (1927)
- Down the Stretch (1927)
- The Fire Fighters (1927)
- The Runaway Express (1927)
- The Radio Detective (1926)
- The Scarlet Streak (1925)
- The Meddler (1925)
- The Fighting Ranger (1925)
- The Burning Trail (1925)
- The Meddler (1925)
- The Iron Man (1924)
- A Girl of the Limberlost (1924)
- The Wheel of Fortune (1923)
- The Haunted Valley (1923)
- Money, Money, Money (1923)
- Impulse (1922)
- Second Hand Rose (1922)
- Chain Lightning (1922)
- The Greater Claim (1921)
- Neptune's Bride (1920)
References
- ^ "Lead with American Beauty". The Los Angeles Times. 28 Jun 1922. Retrieved 2020-03-16.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Moose Minstrel Players Give High-Class Performance". Santa Maria Times. 24 Feb 1921. Retrieved 2020-03-16.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Katherine Acquires Leading Man". The Sacramento Bee. 5 Aug 1922. Retrieved 2020-03-16.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Jack Dougherty Engaged". The Los Angeles Times. 15 Oct 1920. Retrieved 2020-03-16.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Barbara LaMarr in New Marital Row". The San Francisco Examiner. 9 Jul 1924. Retrieved 2020-03-16.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "The Pace That Killed". Oakland Tribune. 11 Apr 1926. Retrieved 2020-03-16.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Noted Star of Films Ill in South". Visalia Daily Times. 7 Jan 1926. Retrieved 2020-03-16.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "It's Birthday Week!". The Los Angeles Times. 11 Dec 1927. Retrieved 2020-03-16.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Hollywood Marriage in July Is Rumored". The Pasadena Post. 15 Mar 1929. Retrieved 2020-03-16.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Pickford Case Baffles Police". The Los Angeles Times. 10 Nov 1928. Retrieved 2020-03-16.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Guest Chokes Hostess as Fight Rages". The San Francisco Examiner. 26 Dec 1928. Retrieved 2020-03-16.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Virgil Dougherty, Actor, Kills Self in Auto". The Sacramento Bee. 17 May 1938. Retrieved 2020-03-16.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Up and Down California". Santa Maria Times. 17 May 1938. Retrieved 2020-03-16.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Ellenberger, Allan R. (2001-05-01). Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-0983-9.
- ^ Stumpf, Charles (2010-04-13). ZaSu Pitts: The Life and Career. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-6023-6.