Alexander Crichlow Barker Jr. (May 8, 1919 – May 11, 1973), known as Lex Barker, was an American actor. He was known for playing Tarzan for RKO Pictures between 1949 and 1953, and portraying leading characters from Karl May's novels, notably as Old Shatterhand in a film series by the West German studio Constantin Film. At the height of his fame, he was one of the most popular actors in German-speaking cinema, and received Bambi Award and Bravo Otto nominations for the honor. After his death, Cheryl Crane the daughter of his ex-wife Lana Turner revealed in her memoirs that he had raped and molested her repeatedly when she was between the ages of 10 and 13. Early life Barker was born in Rye, New York, the second child of Alexander Crichlow Barker Sr., a wealthy Canadian-born building contractor and stockbroker, and his American wife, the former Marion Thornton Beals. He had an elder sister, Frederica Amelia "Freddie" Barlow (1917–1980). Raised in New York City and Port Chester, New York, he attended the Fessenden School and graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy. He played American football and the oboe. He attended Princeton University, but dropped out to join a theatrical stock company, much to his family's chagrin. Career Theatre Barker made it to Broadway once, in a small role in a short run of Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor in 1938. He also had a small role in Orson Welles's disastrous Five Kings, which met with so many problems in Boston and Philadelphia that it never made it into New York City. World War II In February 1941, 10 months before the attack on Pearl Harbor, Barker left his fledgling acting career and enlisted in the United States Army. He rose to the rank of major during the war. He was wounded in action (in the head and leg) fighting in Sicily. He was awarded the Purple Heart twice. Early film roles Back in the US, he recuperated at a military hospital in Arkansas, then upon his discharge from service, traveled to Los Angeles. Within a short time, he landed a small role in Doll Face (1945), his first film. A string of small roles followed, in films such as Two Guys from Milwaukee (1945) and Cloak and Dagger (1946). RKO Barker signed a contract at RKO. He had small roles in The Farmer's Daughter (1947), Crossfire (1947), and Under