Marion Martin
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.
Known for
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in Hollywood
Miss Milbane
The Man in the Iron Mask
Mlle. de la Valliere
Youth Takes a Fling
Girl on Beach
Penthouse Rhythm
Irma King
Should Husbands Marry?
Loud Friend's Girlfriend
Black Angel
Millie
Invisible Stripes
Blonde (uncredited)
Weekend for Three
Mrs. Gloria Weatherby
Suspense
Shooting Gallery Blond (uncredited)
Nobody Lives Forever
Lou, Blonde (uncredited)
New Wine
Mitzi
Tales of Manhattan
Squirrel
The McGuerins from Brooklyn
Myrtle
Cinderella Jones
Burlesque Queen
His Girl Friday
Evangeline (uncredited)
The Big Store
Peggy Arden
Oklahoma Annie
LaBelle La Tour
Sweethearts of the U.S.A.
Ghost of Josephine
Blonde Inspiration
Wanda
Cracked Nuts
Flashy Blonde in Corridor
Angel on My Shoulder
Rosie Morgan Bentley
The Big Street
Mimi Venus
Mexican Spitfire at Sea
Fifi Russell
Lady of Burlesque
Alice Angel
The Lady from Cheyenne
Gertie
Key to the City
Emmy
The Miss They Missed
Come to the Stable
Rossi's Manicurist (uncredited)
The Woman of the Town
Daisy Davenport
Crime Without Passion
Theatre Cashier (uncredited)
The Great Mike
Kitty Tremaine
The Storm
Jane
It Happened Tomorrow
Nurse (uncredited)
They Got Me Covered
Gloria
Boy, Oh Boy
Miss Glory Hutchinson
On Stage Everybody
Bubbles (uncredited)
Mexican Spitfire's Elephant
Diana De Corro
Mystery of the Riverboat
Celeste Eltree [Chs. 1-4, 7]
Queen of Burlesque
Lola Cassell
The Mexican Spitfire's Baby
Fifi
Gildersleeve's Ghost
Terry Vance
Invitation to Happiness
Lola Snow
Sinners in Paradise
Iris Compton
His Exciting Night
Gypsy McCoy
That Brennan Girl
Marion, Natalie's Girl Friend (as Marian Martin)
The Phantom Speaks
Betty Hanzel
Tall, Dark and Handsome
Dawn
Girls of the Big House
Dixie
The Magic of Music
Blonde guest
Fly By Night
Nurse
Boom Town
Whitey
Thunder in the Pines
Pearl (as Marian Martin)
Pirates of the Skies
Merry Mavericks
Gladys
Blondes and Blunders
Blondie, Jewel Thief
The Merry Monahans
Soubrette
Gangs of the Waterfront
Rita (as Marian Martin)
Oh, You Beautiful Doll
Bar Blonde
Richard Himber and His Orchestra
Singer
Lady Scarface
Ruby / Mary Jordan
Powder Town
Sue, Blonde Piano Player
Sergeant Madden
Charlotte LePage
Ellery Queen, Master Detective
Cornelia
Mr. W's Little Game
The Blonde
Dakota Lil
Blonde Singer
Lighthouse
JoJo, the Blonde
Deadline for Murder
Laura Gibson
Love at First Fright
Liza Hatrack
Eadie Was a Lady
Rose Allure
Journey Into Light
Diana (as Marian Martin)
Untamed
2nd Girl in Limousine (uncredited)
Cupid Takes a Holiday
Annabelle Postal -1st Prospective Bride
Wedded Blitz
Mrs. Errol
Moon Over Manhattan
She's My Lilly, I'm Her Willie
Miss Brooks