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