Harold Robert Allen, Jr.: Who is Margaret O’Brien’s ex-husband?

Harold Robert Allen, Jr. is the ex-husband of Margaret O’Brien. Harold Robert Allen, Jr.’s ex-husband is an American film and stage actress. Although her film career as a leading character was brief, she was one of the most popular child actors in cinema history. She began her prolific career as a child actress in feature films for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer at age four. In her later career, she appeared on stage and in supporting film roles.

Harold Robert Allen, Jr.: Bio Summary

Harold Robert Allen, Jr. was Margaret O’Brien’s first husband

Harold Robert Allen, Jr. was the first man to take the famous actress to the altar. The couple tied the knot in a beautiful wedding ceremony in 1959 in the presence of their friends, families, and loved ones. At the time of their marriage, Margaret was 21 years while her husband was 24. Harold who was a Commercial art student at the time of the wedding is also the son of a design specialist for Douglas Specialist.

Though they promised each other that very day, the couple’s marriage didn’t go as planned. Margaret O’Brien’s first husband Harold Robert Allen, Jr. called their marriage a quit in 1969. The reason behind their divorce was not made public. The couple didn’t have any children.

Where is Harold Robert Allen, Jr. now?

After their marriage came to an end, Harold went totally out of the picture. It is unclear if he ever got married again. Margaret on the other hand moved on and married Scandinavian steel executive Roy Thorvald Thorsen in 1974. The couple became the parents of a daughter Mara Tolene Thorsen.

ALSO, READ; Mara Tolene Thorsen: Who is Margaret O’Brien’s daughter?

Margaret made her first film appearance in Babes on Broadway at the age of four, but it was the following year that her first major role brought her widespread attention. As a five-year-old in Journey for Margaret, O’Brien won wide praise for her convincing acting style. By 1943, she was considered a big enough star to have a cameo appearance in the all-star military show finale of Thousands Cheer.

She sang and spoke with a French accent during her entire Jane Eyre performance as a young French girl. Perhaps her most enduring performance was as “Tootie” opposite Judy Garland in Meet Me in St. Louis.

ALSO, READ; Roy Thorsen: Who is Margaret O’Brien’s husband?

By this point, O’Brien had added singing and dancing to her list of accomplishments, and the following year, she was honored with an Academy Juvenile Award for being the “outstanding child actress of 1944.” The Canterville Ghost, Our Vines Have Tender Grapes, and the first audiobook adaptation of The Secret Garden were among her other accomplishments, but she was unable to move to adult roles.

In 1990, O’Brien was honored by the Young Artist Foundation with its Former Child Star “Lifetime Achievement” Award recognizing her outstanding achievements within the film industry as a child actress. In 2006, she was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the SunDeis Film Festival at Brandeis University. She is 86 years old as of 2023.