Lex Barker.

A descendant of Rhode Island founder Roger Williams, Lex Barker was born on May 8, 1919 in Rye, New York. He attended the Fessenden School and Phillips Exeter Academy, where he excelled in football and track. After briefly studying at Princeton University, he left to pursue acting, a move that caused his prominent family to disown him.

Spotted in summer stock, Lex Barker was offered a contract from 20th Century Fox, but World War II intervened. He served in the US Army and earned the Purple Heart twice. After the war, he returned to acting and landed his first starring role as Tarzan in Tarzan’s Magic Fountain 1949 for RKO. He played Tarzan in five films, then turned to other adventure roles. In 1957, he moved to Europe, where he learned multiple languages and became a star in German cinema. As Old Shatterhand in Karl May westerns such as Treasure of Silver Lake 1962 and Apache Gold 1963, he attracted a huge following. He also appeared in Federico Fellini’s La Dolce Vita 1960. In 1966, he won Germany’s Bambi Award for Best Foreign Actor.

Lex Barker married five times: Constanze Thurlow 1942-1950, Arlene Dahl 1951-1952, Lana Turner 1953-1957, Irene Labhart 1959-1962, and Carmen Cervera 1965-1973. With Labhart, he had his only child, Christopher Barker. Cervera, a former Miss Spain, was his last wife. His decision to become an actor led his prominent New York family to disown him. He served in the US Army during World War II, was wounded, and received two Purple Hearts.

Few actors have played both Tarzan and Old Shatterhand; Lex Barker was one. His Karl May westerns made him a star in Germany, where he remains popular. He was the first screen Tarzan to film in Africa for Tarzan and the Jungle Queen 1943. He appeared in over 50 films in multiple countries and won the Bambi Award in 1966. His family rejected his acting career, but he built a successful international filmography.