John Huston - Early Life

Early Life

John Huston was born on August 5, 1906, in Nevada, Missouri. He was the only child of Reah (née Gore) and Canadian-born Walter Huston. His father, who was of Scots and Scots-Irish descent, was an actor, initially in vaudeville, and later in films. His mother, of English and Welsh background, initially worked as a sports editor for various publications but gave it up after Huston was born. Similarly, his father gave up his stage acting career for steady employment as a civil engineer, although he returned to stage acting within a few years. He would later become highly successful on both Broadway and then in motion pictures.

Huston's parents divorced in 1913, when he was 6, and as a result much of his childhood was spent living in boarding schools. During summer vacations, he traveled with each of his parents separately — with his father on vaudeville tours, and with his mother to racetracks or other sports events. The young Huston benefited greatly from seeing his father act on stage, as he was later drawn to the world of acting. Some critics, such as Lawrence Groble, surmise that his relationship with his mother may have been the cause for why he married five times, and why few of his relationships lasted. Groble writes, "When I interviewed some of the women who had loved him, they inevitably referred to his mother as the key to unlocking Huston's psyche." According to actress Olivia de Havilland, "she was the central character. I always felt that John was ridden by witches. He seemed pursued by something destructive. If it wasn't his mother, it was his idea of his mother."

As a child, he was often ill, and was treated for an enlarged heart and kidney ailments. He recovered after an extended bedridden stay in Arizona, and moved with his mother to Los Angeles, where he went to Lincoln Heights High School. He dropped out of high school after two years in order to become a professional boxer, and by the age of 15 was already a top-ranking amateur lightweight boxer in California. He soon ended his brief boxing career after suffering a broken nose. He also "plunged" himself into a multitude of interests, including abstract painting, ballet, English and French literature, opera, and horseback riding. Living in Los Angeles, he became "infatuated" with the new film industry and motion pictures, but as a spectator only. To Huston, "Charlie Chaplin was a god."

He moved back to New York to live with his father, who was then acting in off-Broadway productions, and he obtained a few small roles. From watching his father rehearse, he remembers being fascinated with the mechanics of acting:

What I learned there, during those weeks of rehearsal, would serve me for the rest of my life.

After a short period acting on stage, and having undergone surgery, he traveled on his own to Mexico. During his two years there, among his other adventures, he got a position riding as an honorary member of the Mexican cavalry. He returned to Los Angeles and married a girlfriend from high school, Dorothy Harvey. But their marriage only lasted a year.