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Marion Martin

Marion Martin

Acting

June 7, 1908 – August 13, 1985 (died at 77)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Female
75 Movies

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Marion Martin (born Marion Suplee, June 7, 1909 – August 13, 1985) was an American movie and stage actress. Martin was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the daughter of a Bethlehem Steel executive. She became an actress after her family fortune was lost in the Wall Street Crash of 1929, and appeared in the Broadway productions Lombardi Ltd. and Sweet Adeline. She made her film debut in She's My Lillie, I'm Her Willie and subsequently played minor roles, often as showgirls. Several of her early roles were in musicals and she achieved some success as a singer. By the end of the decade she had played leading female roles in several "B" pictures, playing one of her most notable roles in James Whale's Sinners in Paradise (1938). Despite her success she was often cast in minor roles in more widely seen films such as His Girl Friday (1940). The majority of her roles were in comedies but she also appeared in dramas such as Boom Town (1940) in which she played a dance hall singer who is briefly romanced by Clark Gable. She played secondary roles in three Lupe Vélez "Mexican Spitfire" films in the early 1940s, and was a comic foil for the Marx Brothers in The Big Store, where the back of her skirt is cut away by Harpo. She played a ghost in Gildersleeve's Ghost, and was the subject of a legendary fistfight between Gildersleeve star Harold Peary and Warner Bros studio mogul Bud Stevens at the Mocambo nightclub in 1943. Her more substantial roles included Alice Angel, a dizzy showgirl, in the murder mystery Lady of Burlesque with Barbara Stanwyck and Angel on My Shoulder. She also appeared in The Big Street with Lucille Ball, in the western The Woman of the Town with Claire Trevor and in The Great Mike at PRC in 1944. By the late 1940s, her roles were often minor. Three Stooges fans will remember her as western cowgirl Gladys in Merry Mavericks. She played "Belle Farnol" in a 1950 episode of The Lone Ranger entitled "Pardon for Curley". Shortly afterward, she made her final film appearance in 1952. Married to a physicist, Martin retired, and although she expressed the desire to return to show business, suitable roles were not offered to her. She was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her contributions to motion pictures, at 6925 Hollywood Boulevard. She died in 1985 in Santa Monica, California, and was buried in Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.

Boom Town
Boom Town

Boom Town

1940 6.9

as Whitey

Age 32 (now 77)
Angel on My Shoulder
Angel on My Shoulder

Angel on My Shoulder

1946 6.5

as Rosie Morgan Bentley

Age 38 (now 77)
The Big Store
The Big Store

The Big Store

1941 6.2

as Peggy Arden

Age 33 (now 77)
The Man in the Iron Mask
The Man in the Iron Mask

The Man in the Iron Mask

1939 7.1

as Mlle. de la Valliere

Age 31 (now 77)
Black Angel
Black Angel

Black Angel

1946 6.1

as Millie

Age 38 (now 77)
Lady of Burlesque
Lady of Burlesque

Lady of Burlesque

1943 5.4

as Alice Angel

Age 34 (now 77)
Sinners in Paradise
Sinners in Paradise

Sinners in Paradise

1938 5.4

as Iris Compton

Age 29 (now 77)
His Girl Friday
His Girl Friday

His Girl Friday

1940 7.4

as Evangeline (uncredited)

Age 31 (now 77)
It Happened Tomorrow
It Happened Tomorrow

It Happened Tomorrow

1944 6.8

as Nurse (uncredited)

Age 35 (now 77)
The Big Street
The Big Street

The Big Street

1942 5.8

as Mimi Venus

Age 34 (now 77)
Gildersleeve's Ghost
Gildersleeve's Ghost

Gildersleeve's Ghost

1944 5.5

as Terry Vance

Age 35 (now 77)
They Got Me Covered
They Got Me Covered

They Got Me Covered

1943 6.2

as Gloria

Age 34 (now 77)
Tales of Manhattan
Tales of Manhattan

Tales of Manhattan

1942 6.5

as Squirrel

Age 34 (now 77)
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in Hollywood
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in Hollywood

Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in Hollywood

1945 5.8

as Miss Milbane

Age 37 (now 77)
Suspense
Suspense

Suspense

1946 6.2

as Shooting Gallery Blond (uncredited)

Age 38 (now 77)
Lighthouse
Lighthouse

Lighthouse

1947 4.6

as JoJo, the Blonde

Age 38 (now 77)