Barbara Lee Payton (born Barbara Lee Redfield; November 16, 1927 – May 8, 1967) was an American film actress best known for her stormy social life and battles with alcoholism and drug addiction. Her life has been the subject of several books, including her autobiography, I am Not Ashamed (1963). Also, Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye: The Barbara Payton Story (2007) by John O'Dowd, L.A. Despair: A Landscape of Crimes and Bad Times (2005) by John Gilmore and B Movie: A Play in Two Acts (2014) by Michael B. Druxman. She married five times. Early life Born in Cloquet, Minnesota, Payton was the daughter of Erwin Lee ("Flip") and Mabel Irene (nee Todahl) Redfield, the daughter of Norwegian immigrants and one of 6 siblings. They opened a combination ice cream store and restaurant in Little Falls, Minnesota. In 1938, the family moved to Odessa, Texas. With financial assistance from his sister, Payton's father started his own business, a court of tourist cabins named Antlers Court, hoping for a profitable enterprise in a city like Odessa, whose population was booming because of the oil business. By various accounts, Payton's father was a hard-working but difficult man, emotionally closed off, slow-talking but quick-tempered. His interaction with his children was minimal, and childcare responsibilities were left to his wife, who occupied herself with homemaking and managing family difficulties. Both of Payton's parents had long-standing problems with alcohol. Payton's first cousin, Richard Kuitu, remembers visits to the home of his uncle and aunt. The Redfields often started drinking at midmorning and continued long after midnight. Kuitu recalls the violent temper Lee Redfield had when fueled by alcohol, which sometimes resulted in the physical abuse of his wife, Mabel. As early as 11, she gained attention in the community for her appearance, even among middle-aged men. Her mother encouraged this type of attention due to her pride in Barbara's looks. In school, Barbara excelled in History and English, tumbling, and many years of ceramics, purportedly having a talent for "creating beautiful objects from scratch." In November 1943, the then 16-year-old eloped with high-school boyfriend William Hodge. The marriage seemingly amounted to nothing more than an act of impulsive teenage rebellion, and Payton did not fight her parents' insistence that the marriage be annulled. A few months later, she quit high school in the 11th grade. Her parents, who did not believe that formal education was needed for