Discovered by legendary MGM director Clarence Brown in 1945 in his fifth-grade classroom in Nashville, Tennessee, Claude Jarman, Jr., a total unknown, was whisked away to the movie capital of the world where he would star with Gregory Peck and Jane Wyman in the film, The Yearling, based on the Pulitzer Prize–winning book by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. Claude received a special Juvenile Academy Award for his performance as “Jody Baxter” in the film. Jarman attended the MGM studio school with classmates such as Margaret O’Brien, Elizabeth Taylor, Jane Powell, and Roddy McDowell. Throughout his life, Claude remained close to Clarence Brown and his wife Marion, often visiting them in Indian Wells, California.
Jarman made ten other films including Intruder in the Dust, based on William Faulkner’s Pulitzer Prize book. Intruder reunited Claude with director Clarence Brown.
After completing his film career at MGM, Jarman returned to Nashville and finished his college education at Vanderbilt University in 1956. He spent three years as an officer in the Navy, and eventually moved to San Francisco. There he became Director of Cultural Affairs for the City of San Francisco, then Executive Director of the San Francisco International Film Festival from 1965-1980.
Claude's next project was founding his own travel management company, that he headed for 25 years. Claude was a special guest at the 70th and 75th Academy Awards telecasts and recently released his memoir, My Life and the Final Days of Hollywood (2021).
We're pleased to welcome Claude to the Clarence Brown Film Festival (August 2023).