John Agar’s net worth is estimated at around 69 million dollars by online celebrity wealth trackers, though that figure comes from unverified aggregator sites and should be treated as a rough estimate rather than a confirmed number. Agar was an American actor best known for his Westerns alongside John Wayne and his brief marriage to Shirley Temple. He died in 2002 at age 81, and interest in his life still centers on his early Hollywood fame, his military service, and the two marriages that shaped his personal story.
Quick Facts
| Detail | Information |
| Full Name | John George Agar Jr. |
| Born | January 31, 1921, Chicago, Illinois |
| Died | April 7, 2002, Burbank, California (age 81) |
| Occupation | Film and television actor |
| Years Active | 1948 to 2001 |
| Spouses | Shirley Temple (1945 to 1950), Loretta Combs (1951 to 2000) |
| Children | Three |
| Known For | Fort Apache, Sands of Iwo Jima, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon |
| Nationality | American |
| Estimated Net Worth | Around 69 million dollars (unverified estimate) |
Who Was John Agar
John Agar was born in Chicago on January 31, 1921, the oldest of four children in a family led by his father, a meat packer. The family later moved to Los Angeles in 1942 after his father’s death. Agar attended Harvard School for Boys and Lake Forest Academy before finishing his education at Trinity-Pawling Preparatory School in New York, though he never attended college.
During World War II, Agar served as a sergeant in the United States Army Air Forces, working mainly as a physical fitness instructor at March Field in Riverside, California. He had no acting background before the war ended, and his path into Hollywood came through an unexpected personal connection rather than formal training.
Marriage to Shirley Temple Launched His Career
In 1945, Agar married Shirley Temple, already one of the most famous performers in America, at Wilshire Memorial Church. The marriage put him in front of the public for the first time. Producer David O. Selznick signed him to a five-year acting contract starting at 150 dollars a week, which included formal acting lessons.
Agar made his film debut in 1948 opposite Temple, John Wayne, and Henry Fonda in John Ford’s Fort Apache, the first film in Ford’s Cavalry Trilogy. The role introduced him to a major studio audience and set the tone for the Western genre roles that followed. He and Temple divorced in 1950, and the split coincided with a rockier stretch in his career, since much of his early opportunity had come through her industry connections.
Career With John Wayne and the B-Movie Years
Jima in 1949 and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, also released in 1949. These roles established him as a reliable supporting actor in war dramas and Westerns during a period when both genres dominated American box offices.
By the mid-1950s, Agar shifted toward B-movie science fiction and horror, a genre pivot that came after he grew frustrated competing with Universal contract stars like Tony Curtis, Rock Hudson, and Jeff Chandler for leading roles. He starred in Tarantula, The Mole People, The Brain from Planet Arous, and Revenge of the Creature. These films earned him a lasting following among genre fans, and he remained a regular presence at film conventions and autograph shows for decades afterward.
His later career moved into television guest roles, and he continued acting in smaller film and TV parts through the 1980s and into the early 2000s. In 1981, the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films gave him a Life Career Award, recognizing his decades-long contribution to genre filmmaking rather than a single standout role.
Second Marriage and Family Life
Agar married Loretta Combs in 1951, a year after his divorce from Temple. The marriage lasted until Combs died in 2000, giving the couple nearly fifty years together. Agar had one daughter from his marriage to Temple and two sons with Combs, bringing his total to three children.
Unlike his first marriage, which unfolded under intense public scrutiny because of Temple’s fame, his second marriage stayed largely out of the spotlight. Agar settled into a steadier home life during this period, even as his acting career moved between genres and studio contracts.
John Agar Net Worth Explained
Figures placing Agar’s net worth at 69 million dollars appear across several celebrity net worth aggregator sites, but none of them cite an original, verifiable financial source such as an estate filing or a named financial record. Agar’s income through most of his career came from studio contract work, starting at 150 dollars a week under his original Selznick deal, plus later film and television appearance fees during his B-movie and guest-starring years.
Given that his career spanned mid-tier studio roles rather than headline leading-man parts for most of his working life, a net worth in the tens of millions is not supported by any documented earnings record found in public reporting. Readers should treat widely circulated figures for classic-era actors like Agar with caution, since many net worth sites recycle the same unverified numbers without disclosing where they originated.
Height and Physical Description
Agar stood 6 feet 1 inch tall, a build that suited the military and Western roles that defined much of his early filmography. His height and physical presence were often noted in casting for war films and Westerns during the late 1940s and 1950s, genres that favored taller leading and supporting men.
Death and Legacy
John Agar died on April 7, 2002, in Burbank, California, at age 81. He is buried at Riverside National Cemetery, reflecting his earlier military service. His acting career, which ran from 1948 to 2001, spanned more than five decades and moved across Westerns, war films, science fiction, horror, and television.
He remains best remembered for two things that rarely overlap in classic Hollywood history: a marriage to one of the era’s most famous child stars, and a second act as a beloved figure among science fiction and horror film fans. Genre conventions and classic film retrospectives still reference his B-movie work regularly, keeping his name active among collectors and fans of 1950s cinema decades after his death.