Marion Martin

Biography

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

Millie

Black Angel

Rosie Morgan Bentley

Angel on My Shoulder

Shooting Gallery Blond (uncredited)

Suspense

Squirrel

Tales of Manhattan

Annabelle Postal -1st Prospective Bride

Cupid Takes a Holiday

Mlle. de la Valliere

The Man in the Iron Mask

Cornelia

Ellery Queen, Master Detective

Alice Angel

Lady of Burlesque

Lola Snow

Invitation to Happiness

Dawn

Tall, Dark and Handsome

Ruby / Mary Jordan

Lady Scarface

Mimi Venus

The Big Street

Loud Friend's Girlfriend

Should Husbands Marry?

JoJo, the Blonde

Lighthouse

Laura Gibson

Deadline for Murder

Rita (as Marian Martin)

Gangs of the Waterfront

Gladys

Merry Mavericks

Iris Compton

Sinners in Paradise

Myrtle

The McGuerins from Brooklyn

Charlotte LePage

Sergeant Madden

Terry Vance

Gildersleeve's Ghost

Lola Cassell

Queen of Burlesque

Fifi Russell

Mexican Spitfire at Sea

Soubrette

The Merry Monahans

Mrs. Gloria Weatherby

Weekend for Three

The Miss They Missed

Fifi

The Mexican Spitfire's Baby

LaBelle La Tour

Oklahoma Annie

Celeste Eltree [Chs. 1-4, 7]

Mystery of the Riverboat

Emmy

Key to the City

Kitty Tremaine

The Great Mike

Whitey

Boom Town

The Blonde

Mr. W's Little Game

Miss Brooks

She's My Lilly, I'm Her Willie

Diana De Corro

Mexican Spitfire's Elephant

Gloria

They Got Me Covered

Betty Hanzel

The Phantom Speaks

Girl on Beach

Youth Takes a Fling

Peggy Arden

The Big Store

Pirates of the Skies

Burlesque Queen

Cinderella Jones

Rossi's Manicurist (uncredited)

Come to the Stable

Dixie

Girls of the Big House

Evangeline (uncredited)

His Girl Friday

Blonde Singer

Dakota Lil

Nurse (uncredited)

It Happened Tomorrow

Gypsy McCoy

His Exciting Night

Gertie

The Lady from Cheyenne

Marion, Natalie's Girl Friend (as Marian Martin)

That Brennan Girl

Daisy Davenport

The Woman of the Town

2nd Girl in Limousine (uncredited)

Untamed

Pearl (as Marian Martin)

Thunder in the Pines

Flashy Blonde in Corridor

Cracked Nuts

Liza Hatrack

Love at First Fright

Rose Allure

Eadie Was a Lady

Wanda

Blonde Inspiration

Sue, Blonde Piano Player

Powder Town

Mitzi

New Wine

Jane

The Storm

Ghost of Josephine

Sweethearts of the U.S.A.

Nurse

Fly By Night

Irma King

Penthouse Rhythm

Theatre Cashier (uncredited)

Crime Without Passion

Bar Blonde

Oh, You Beautiful Doll

Miss Milbane

Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in Hollywood

Moon Over Manhattan

Lou, Blonde (uncredited)

Nobody Lives Forever

Bubbles (uncredited)

On Stage Everybody

Blonde (uncredited)

Invisible Stripes

Mrs. Errol

Wedded Blitz

Blondie, Jewel Thief

Blondes and Blunders

Diana (as Marian Martin)

Journey Into Light

Singer

Richard Himber and His Orchestra

Blonde guest

The Magic of Music

Miss Glory Hutchinson

Boy, Oh Boy