Former child star Claude Jarman Jr dies aged 90 decades after rare Oscar win
Former child star Claude Jarman Jr dies aged 90 decades after rare Oscar win
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Claude Jarman Jr has died aged 90. The former child star was one of only 12 recipients of the Juvenile Academy Award as a 12-year-old boy in recognition of his role in classic 1946 movie The Yearling. His wife of 38 years, Katie, told The Hollywood Reporter that Jarman died in his sleep of natural causes.
![[Claude Jarman Jr., Juvenile Oscar Winner for 'The Yearling,' Dies at 90]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_235817145-87de.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
In 1934, Jarman was discovered in an MGM talent search, which led to his debut film appearance in The Yearling. He director Clarence Brown was visiting schools to scout children for the film, and he visited Jarman’s fifth grade classroom. Speaking to the Film Noir Foundation in 2016, Jarman recalled: ‘Next thing, they called three days later and said, “Get ready to leave for Hollywood in a week.’.
![[American actors Claude Jarman Jr. and John Wayne on the set of Rio Grande, directed by John Ford. (Photo by Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images)]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_235817307-5e30.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
He had a starring role in the emotional movie set in the US Civil War as young boy Jody, who adopts a fawn, only to later have to take its life. The movie earned him the Juvenile Oscar, which he was presented with by inaugural winner Shirley Temple. Jarman went onto appear in 10 more films, including John Wayne western Rio Grande, Disney’s The Great Locomotive Chase, and Lassie movie The Sun Comes Up.
![[The Sun Comes Up, US lobbycard, from left: Claude Jarman Jr, Jeanette MacDonald, 1949. (Photo by LMPC via Getty Images)]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_235817435-cf81.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
He would later reunite with The Yearling director Clarence Brown in Intruder in the Dust as a youngster trying to prove the innocence of a Black man. Asked about his early success in 2014, he told the Marina Times: ‘I had nothing to compare it to. I thought, “Doesn’t everyone have this?” I had my own dressing room, my own makeup person and wardrobe person.’.
![[Claude Jarman Jr., Juvenile Oscar Winner for 'The Yearling,' Dies at 90]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_235817142-7892.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
