Jim Horne (model)
Encyclopedia
James Wesley Horne Jr. (March 28, 1917December 29, 2008) was a male model during the 1950s.
, California
. His father, James W. Horne
, was a prolific director of both silent films and talkies, best known for his work with Laurel and Hardy
, including Big Business
and Way Out West
. His mother, Cleo Ridgely
, was an actress and a great beauty from whom, it was generally acknowledged, Mr. Horne inherited his looks. His twin sister, June, grew up to marry the actor Jackie Cooper
.
For about 15 years beginning in the late 1940s, Mr. Horne was ubiquitous, perhaps the most widely seen male model in the country, appearing in hundreds of advertisements in magazines and newspapers, on billboards and catalog covers, in television commercials and industrial brochures.
Horne had small, sometimes uncredited parts in about two dozen films, including Gunga Din and A Place in the Sun
. He auditioned for the part of Joe Bonaparte, the violinist who wants to be a boxer, in the film version of Clifford Odets
's play Golden Boy, but the role went instead to another unknown actor, William Holden
, who shortly thereafter became Mr. Horne's bunkmate in Army basic training. Mr. Horne served in Europe in World War II
, becoming a combat photographer and earning two Bronze Stars.
After returning to California, he continued to work in the movies and began modeling as well. By the early 1950s, as televisions became more common in American homes, advertisers seized on the new medium and began looking for models who could act a little. It was an opportunity that wasn't lost on Mr. Horne, and he moved to New York City, where he was soon immersed in bookings.
This was an era of growth in advertising, especially on television, where many commercials were broadcast live, resulting in a lot of nuttiness. Once, as Horne performed in an ad for the hair tonic Brylcreem, his comb stuck on a thread in his pocket. When he whipped it out to slick back his pompadour
, he accidentally flung it across the room.
A 1953 photograph of Horne smiting his brow became an Internet meme
when linking to the photograph became a popular expression for facepalming
to indicate disgust or exasperation.
Male models were something of a new breed, weirdly anonymous and perceived by many as suspicious or threatening; once, dressed spiffily for work and passing an hour in a bar while he waited for a photographer who was late for an appointment, Mr. Horne was badly beaten by thugs who didn't appreciate his taste in clothes.
In general, male models also didn't get fabulously rich; as late as 1965, Mr. Horne's hourly rate was $50 ($ in 2010). But the job allowed him to lead the high life, traveling with pals like Mickey Mantle
, whom he met at Toots Shor's restaurant, and Clark Gable
, a sometime fishing companion.
Mr. Horne's first marriage ended in divorce. He never had children and is survived by his wife, a former model herself, who became international director of the Barbizon School of Modeling. In 1980, under the name Francine Marlowe, she wrote Male Modeling: An Inside Look (Crown). He also leaves his last remaining blood relative, a nephew, John Cooper, of Marin County, Calif.
Mr. Horne's modeling career continued sporadically through the 1960s, especially in print ads featuring products for "mature" men. In the mid-1960s, he became a sales manager and spokesman for an apparel company, and he later established his own business, manufacturing leather belts.
on December 29, 2008, his death was not published until January 24, 2009. His wife of 45 years, Francesca Marlowe Horne, said the cause was cancer
, but added that he also had congestive heart failure
.
History
James Wesley Horne Jr. was born on March 28, 1917, in GlendaleGlendale, California
Glendale is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the city population is 191,719, down from 194,973 at the 2000 census. making it the third largest city in Los Angeles County and the 22nd largest city in the state of California...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. His father, James W. Horne
James W. Horne
James Wesley Horne was an early American actor, screenwriter and film director. He began his career as an actor under director Sidney Olcott at Kalem Studios in 1913 and directed his first film for the company two years later....
, was a prolific director of both silent films and talkies, best known for his work with Laurel and Hardy
Laurel and Hardy
Laurel and Hardy were one of the most popular and critically acclaimed comedy double acts of the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema...
, including Big Business
Big Business (1929 film)
Big Business is a 1929 silent Laurel and Hardy comedy short subject directed by James W. Horne and supervised by Leo McCarey from a McCarey and H. M. Walker script. The film was deemed culturally significant and entered into the United States National Film Registry in 1992.- Plot :Stan and Ollie...
and Way Out West
Way Out West (1937 film)
Way Out West is a Laurel and Hardy comedy film released in 1937. It was directed by James W. Horne, produced by Stan Laurel and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.-Plot:...
. His mother, Cleo Ridgely
Cleo Ridgely
Cleo Ridgely was a star of silent and sound motion pictures, whose career began early in the silent film era, in 1911. Her acting career continued for forty years. She retired in the 1930s but returned to make more movies. Her final film was Hollywood Story , in which she had a bit part...
, was an actress and a great beauty from whom, it was generally acknowledged, Mr. Horne inherited his looks. His twin sister, June, grew up to marry the actor Jackie Cooper
Jackie Cooper
Jackie Cooper was an American actor, television director, producer and executive. He was a child actor who managed to make the transition to an adult career. Cooper was the first child actor to receive an Academy Award nomination...
.
For about 15 years beginning in the late 1940s, Mr. Horne was ubiquitous, perhaps the most widely seen male model in the country, appearing in hundreds of advertisements in magazines and newspapers, on billboards and catalog covers, in television commercials and industrial brochures.
Horne had small, sometimes uncredited parts in about two dozen films, including Gunga Din and A Place in the Sun
A Place in the Sun
A Place in the Sun is a 1951 American drama film based on the novel An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser and the play, also titled An American Tragedy, which was adapted by Patrick Kearney from the novel. It tells the story of a working-class young man who is entangled with two women; one who...
. He auditioned for the part of Joe Bonaparte, the violinist who wants to be a boxer, in the film version of Clifford Odets
Clifford Odets
Clifford Odets was an American playwright, screenwriter, socialist, and social protester.-Early life:Odets was born in Philadelphia to Romanian- and Russian-Jewish immigrant parents, Louis Odets and Esther Geisinger, and raised in Philadelphia and the Bronx, New York. He dropped out of high...
's play Golden Boy, but the role went instead to another unknown actor, William Holden
William Holden
William Holden was an American actor. Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1954 and the Emmy Award for Best Actor in 1974...
, who shortly thereafter became Mr. Horne's bunkmate in Army basic training. Mr. Horne served in Europe in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, becoming a combat photographer and earning two Bronze Stars.
After returning to California, he continued to work in the movies and began modeling as well. By the early 1950s, as televisions became more common in American homes, advertisers seized on the new medium and began looking for models who could act a little. It was an opportunity that wasn't lost on Mr. Horne, and he moved to New York City, where he was soon immersed in bookings.
This was an era of growth in advertising, especially on television, where many commercials were broadcast live, resulting in a lot of nuttiness. Once, as Horne performed in an ad for the hair tonic Brylcreem, his comb stuck on a thread in his pocket. When he whipped it out to slick back his pompadour
Pompadour
Pompadour can refer to:* Arnac-Pompadour, a commune of the Corrèze département of France, former marquisate, famous for its Château and its National Stud...
, he accidentally flung it across the room.
A 1953 photograph of Horne smiting his brow became an Internet meme
Internet meme
The term Internet meme is used to describe a concept that spreads via the Internet. The term is a reference to the concept of memes, although the latter concept refers to a much broader category of cultural information.-Description:...
when linking to the photograph became a popular expression for facepalming
Facepalm
A facepalm is the physical gesture of placing one's hand flat across one's face or lowering one's face into one's hand or hands. The gesture is found in many cultures as a display of frustration, embarrassment, shock, or surprise.The gesture itself is not of recent origin, and although common, is...
to indicate disgust or exasperation.
Male models were something of a new breed, weirdly anonymous and perceived by many as suspicious or threatening; once, dressed spiffily for work and passing an hour in a bar while he waited for a photographer who was late for an appointment, Mr. Horne was badly beaten by thugs who didn't appreciate his taste in clothes.
In general, male models also didn't get fabulously rich; as late as 1965, Mr. Horne's hourly rate was $50 ($ in 2010). But the job allowed him to lead the high life, traveling with pals like Mickey Mantle
Mickey Mantle
Mickey Charles Mantle was an American professional baseball player. Mantle is regarded by many to be the greatest switch hitter of all time, and one of the greatest players in baseball history. Mantle was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974.Mantle was noted for his hitting...
, whom he met at Toots Shor's restaurant, and Clark Gable
Clark Gable
William Clark Gable , known as Clark Gable, was an American film actor most famous for his role as Rhett Butler in the 1939 Civil War epic film Gone with the Wind, in which he starred with Vivien Leigh...
, a sometime fishing companion.
Mr. Horne's first marriage ended in divorce. He never had children and is survived by his wife, a former model herself, who became international director of the Barbizon School of Modeling. In 1980, under the name Francine Marlowe, she wrote Male Modeling: An Inside Look (Crown). He also leaves his last remaining blood relative, a nephew, John Cooper, of Marin County, Calif.
Mr. Horne's modeling career continued sporadically through the 1960s, especially in print ads featuring products for "mature" men. In the mid-1960s, he became a sales manager and spokesman for an apparel company, and he later established his own business, manufacturing leather belts.
Gentlemen's Quarterly
In the summer of 1957, when Apparel Arts, a men's fashion magazine, decided to create a new identity for itself after more than a quarter century, it chose Mr. Horne for the cover of the magazine's first issue under its new name: Gentlemen's Quarterly. He appeared there in a jaunty striped jacket peering rakishly from behind a tropical plant.Death
Although Horne died in ManhattanManhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
on December 29, 2008, his death was not published until January 24, 2009. His wife of 45 years, Francesca Marlowe Horne, said the cause was cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
, but added that he also had congestive heart failure
Congestive heart failure
Heart failure often called congestive heart failure is generally defined as the inability of the heart to supply sufficient blood flow to meet the needs of the body. Heart failure can cause a number of symptoms including shortness of breath, leg swelling, and exercise intolerance. The condition...
.