Marcia Mae Jones
Marcia Mae Jones was born on August 1, 1924, to an acting family. Her mother, Freda Jones, was an actress, and all three of her siblings - Margaret Jones, Macon Jones, and Marvin Jones - were child actors. But Marcia Mae had the most successful career, and she was the only one of her siblings to become a child star.
She made her acting debut when just six months old, when director James Cruze saw her in her baby carriage and immediately cast her as the baby in his film Mannequin (1926). Her first major role was in Night Nurse (1931), in which she played a sick child that a sinister hospital staff was trying to murder. By age 10, Marcia Mae had appeared in several dramatic films.
In 1936, she played a terrified victim of school bullying in These Three (1936), a role that brought her much attention. In 1937, she played the crippled Klara in Heidi (1937). The film starred two other child actors, Delmar Watson and Shirley Temple. Despite a four-year age difference, Marcia Mae and Shirley acted well with each other, and they appeared together again in The Little Princess (1939).
Besides Shirley Temple and Delmar Watson, Marcia Mae worked with several other child stars of the 1930s, including Jane Withers, Bonita Granville, Jackie Moran, Sybil Jason, and her favorite, Jackie Cooper.
Marcia Mae's film career began to slow down in the early 1950s, after which she largely appeared in television roles. Her adult life was marred by the suicide of her second husband, Bill Davenport, and problems with alcohol. She eventually conquered her alcohol dependency and became a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Marcia Mae Jones died on 2 September 2007 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California.
Known for
My Three Sons
Simon & Simon
Cannon
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
Waitress
Family Affair
Mister Ed
The Streets of San Francisco
The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok
The Life of Emile Zola
Helen Richards
Racket Squad
The Way We Were
Peggy Vanderbilt
The Little Princess
Lavinia
Chicago Calling
Peggy (as Marsha Jones)
Trouble Preferred
Virginia Evans
The Bishop Murder Case
Hungry Child in Park (uncredited)
Lady in the Death House
Suzy Kirk Logan
Barefoot Boy
Pige Blaine
Tomboy
Pat Kelly
Heidi
Klara Sesemann
Haunted House
Millie Henshaw
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Mary Sawyer
Arson, Inc.
Betty - Fender's Secretary
Top Man
Erna Lane
A Great American Tragedy
Claire
King of Jazz
Child ('Bridal Veil') (uncredited)
Mush and Milk
Mountain Justice
Bethie Harkins
First Love
Marcia Parker
Nobody's Darling
Lois
The Old Swimmin' Hole
Betty Elliott
The Youngest Profession
Vera Bailey
Birthday Blues
Girl with Whistle
What Price Hollywood?
Flower Girl at Wedding (uncredited)
Live a Little, Love a Little
Woman #1 (uncredited)
Imitation of Life
Peola's Frontrow Classmate (uncredited)
Two Wise Maids
Geraldine 'Jerry ' Karns
Mad About Music
Olga
Employees' Entrance
Flower Girl at Wedding (uncredited)
Snafu
Martha
Shirley Temple: America's Little Darling
Self
These Three
Rosalie Wells
The Daughter of Rosie O'Grady
Katie O'Grady
The Champ
Mary Lou Carleton
The Star
Waitress (uncredited)
Doctor Bull
Ruth
Night Nurse
Nanny Ritchey (uncredited)
Mannequin
Joan Herrick as a baby (uncredited)
Nine Girls
Shirley Berke
Meet Dr. Christian
Marilee
Anne of Windy Poplars
Jen Pringle
Street Scene
Nice Girl?
Jane's Friend at Benefit
Life with Buster Keaton
Tucson
Polly Johnson
The Yellow Haired Kid
Amy
The Spectre of Edgar Allan Poe
Sarah
Secrets of a Co-Ed
Blonde Co-Ed in Black Outfit [Script Name: Laura Wright]
A Dog of Flanders
Little Girl at Party (uncredited)
Meet the Family
Candy
Hi-Jacked
Jean Harper (as Marsha Jones)
Let's Go Collegiate
Bess Martin
The Flying Irishman
Teenager
The Gang's All Here
Patsy Wallace
Street Corner
Lois Marsh
This Is the Life
Child
Lady Behave!
Patricia Cormack
Shirley Temple: The Biggest Little Star
Self
The Fabulous Fraud
Blind Girl