Robert Porterfield

Like many immigrants of Scots, Irish, Scots-Irish, or German descent, he traveled from Pennsylvania down the Wilderness Road into the lush and fertile Shenandoah Valley.

Born December 21, 1905, near Austinville, Virginia, Robert was the third of six sons of Daisy (Huffard) and William Breckenridge Porterfield.

In 1909, Robert's father accepted a position as overseer of some 20,000 acres (81 km2) of land and moved the family to Saltville, Virginia.

His mother taught Robert to read before he started school, but his formal education began in a one-room schoolhouse with a pot-bellied wood stove; about four grades were gathered together.

As a youngster Robert learned to fish for trout, rock bass and gig giant bullfrogs from the North Fork of the Holston River.

The brokenhearted Porterfield ran away for a while; when he returned home, he found his mother waiting up for him with hot milk toast.

He almost married a girl named Helen, who was a few years older than Robert and lived in nearby Marion.

He stayed for two years, performed with the college acting company, the Jongleurs, and became a member of the Kappa Alpha Order.

Not hearing from the academy, he decided to give up on schooling and go on to New York City, the center of national theatre culture.

Porterfield continued to work as a soda jerk until he became ill and was advised by a Petersburg doctor to return home to convalesce.

Upon arrival, he was taken to the president's office, where he was asked to give a two-minute audition in front of a committee of faculty members.

"[2] Living in a small apartment above a speakeasy on 85th Street and Riverside Drive, Porterfield studied for two years at the academy, immersing himself in what he described as "a necessary stage in my development as an actor.

"[2] After his father's death, Porterfield inherited "Twin Oaks", and he returned to Glade Spring in western Virginia.

During the Great Depression, in 1933 he created the Barter Theatre as a repertory company in nearby Abingdon, Virginia.

He allowed residents to barter food for theatre admission during the lean years, which gave rise to what became the formal name.

In establishing and running the repertory company, Porterfield gave opportunities to many young actors early in their careers, including Gregory Peck, Ernest Borgnine, Patricia Neal, Ned Beatty, Hume Cronyn, Gary Collins, and Larry Linville.