Jean Acker (born Harriet Ackers; October , â€" August , ) was an
American actress with a career dating from the silent film era through
the s. She was perhaps best known as the estranged wife of silent film
star Rudolph Valentino.Jean Acker was born Harriet Ackers on October ,
in Trenton, New Jersey. Her father was Joseph Ackers, said to be of
Cherokee descent. Her mother Margaret (unconfirmed) was Irish. In the
census, Harriet is with Joseph and her grandparents, but no wife of
Joseph is listed. In fact, he is reported to be single. Growing up on
a farm, she became an expert horsewoman. She attended the St. Mary's
Seminary in Springfield, New Jersey, for a time. Sometime prior to ,
the family moved to Lewistown, Pennsylvania. In the Lewistown
Directory, Joseph is listed with a wife by the name of Eleanor. When
he married Eleanor is not yet known, but it was after and before the
family moved to Lewistown. They were divorced in . Six years later,
Joseph married Virginia Erb in Lewistown. He managed the Casino
Bowling Alley and The Ritz restaurant, and later owned the Boston Shoe
Store on Valley Street. He also managed several bowling alleys in the
Philadelphia area, and it may have been that during these visits Jean
was "bitten by the acting bug." She performed in vaudeville until she
moved to California in . After arriving in Hollywood, Acker became the
protegee and lover of Alla Nazimova, an actress whose clout and
contacts enabled Acker to negotiate a $ per week contract with a movie
studio. Acker appeared in numerous films during the s and s, but by
the early s, she began appearing in small, mostly uncredited film
roles. She made her last on-screen appearance in the film How to Be
Very, Very Popular, opposite Betty Grable.After meeting and
befriending the then-struggling actor Rudolph Valentino at a party,
they entered a two-month courtship and married on November , . Acker
quickly had regrets and locked him out of their hotel bedroom on their
wedding night. The marriage was reportedly never consummated.
American actress with a career dating from the silent film era through
the s. She was perhaps best known as the estranged wife of silent film
star Rudolph Valentino.Jean Acker was born Harriet Ackers on October ,
in Trenton, New Jersey. Her father was Joseph Ackers, said to be of
Cherokee descent. Her mother Margaret (unconfirmed) was Irish. In the
census, Harriet is with Joseph and her grandparents, but no wife of
Joseph is listed. In fact, he is reported to be single. Growing up on
a farm, she became an expert horsewoman. She attended the St. Mary's
Seminary in Springfield, New Jersey, for a time. Sometime prior to ,
the family moved to Lewistown, Pennsylvania. In the Lewistown
Directory, Joseph is listed with a wife by the name of Eleanor. When
he married Eleanor is not yet known, but it was after and before the
family moved to Lewistown. They were divorced in . Six years later,
Joseph married Virginia Erb in Lewistown. He managed the Casino
Bowling Alley and The Ritz restaurant, and later owned the Boston Shoe
Store on Valley Street. He also managed several bowling alleys in the
Philadelphia area, and it may have been that during these visits Jean
was "bitten by the acting bug." She performed in vaudeville until she
moved to California in . After arriving in Hollywood, Acker became the
protegee and lover of Alla Nazimova, an actress whose clout and
contacts enabled Acker to negotiate a $ per week contract with a movie
studio. Acker appeared in numerous films during the s and s, but by
the early s, she began appearing in small, mostly uncredited film
roles. She made her last on-screen appearance in the film How to Be
Very, Very Popular, opposite Betty Grable.After meeting and
befriending the then-struggling actor Rudolph Valentino at a party,
they entered a two-month courtship and married on November , . Acker
quickly had regrets and locked him out of their hotel bedroom on their
wedding night. The marriage was reportedly never consummated.
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