Marsha Hunt
- Teen actor
Marsha Hunt (born Marcia Virginia Hunt; October 17, 1917 – September 7, 2022) was an American actress, model and activist, with a career spanning nearly 80 years. She was blacklisted by Hollywood film studio executives in the 1950s during McCarthyism.
Although initially reluctant to pursue a film career, in June 1935, at age 17, Hunt signed a seven-year contract with Paramount Pictures. Paramount discovered her when she was visiting her uncle in Los Angeles and the comedian Zeppo Marx saw a picture of her in the newspaper. She was then offered a screen test for The Virginia Judge. At Paramount, Hunt mainly played ingenue parts. Between 1935 and 1938, she made 12 pictures at Paramount, including a starring roles in Easy to Take, Gentle Julia, The Accusing Finger, Murder Goes to College, and two on "loan-out" to RKO and 20th Century Fox. In 1937, she starred opposite John Wayne, a couple of years prior to his breakthrough in Hollywood, in the Western film Born to the West.
The studio terminated Hunt's contract in 1938, and she spent a few years starring in B-films produced by poverty row studios such as Republic Pictures and Monogram Pictures. She also headed to New York City for work in summer stock theatre shortly before winning a supporting role in MGM's These Glamour Girls opposite Lana Turner and Lew Ayres. The role of Betty was said to have been written specially with Hunt in mind. Other roles in major studio productions soon followed, including supporting roles as Mary Bennet in MGM's version of Pride and Prejudice with Laurence Olivier and as Martha Scott's surrogate child Hope Thompson in Cheers for Miss Bishop.
In 1941, Hunt signed a contract with MGM, where she remained for the next six years. While filming Blossoms in the Dust, film director Mervyn LeRoy lauded Hunt for her heartfelt and genuine acting ability. In 1944, she polled seventh in a list by exhibitors of "Stars of Tomorrow". She also appeared in None Shall Escape, a film that is now regarded as the first about the Holocaust. She played Marja Pacierkowski, the Polish fiancé of a German Nazi officer named Wilhelm Grimm.
Acted in
Journey to Royal: A WWII Rescue Mission
2021
Marsha Hunt's Sweet Adversity
2015
as Self
Moguls & Movie Stars: A History of Hollywood
2010
as Self
Empire State Building Murders
2008
as Norah Strinberg
The Grand Inquisitor
2008
as Hazel Reedy
Chloe's Prayer
2006
Dalton Trumbo: Rebel in Hollywood
2006
as Herself
Blacklist: Hollywood on Trial
1996
as Herself
The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind
1988
as Self (archive footage)
The Play on One
1988
as Elvi Rogers
Star Trek: The Next Generation
1987
as Anne Jameson
Matlock
1986
as Harriet
Murder, She Wrote
1984
as Elvira Tree
Terror Among Us
1981
as Marge
Harry O
1974
Police Story
1973
Jigsaw
1972
as Dr. Gehlen
Johnny Got His Gun
1971
as Joe's Mother
Marcus Welby, M.D.
1969
as Mrs. Bellows
Fear No Evil
1969
as Mrs. Varney
The Name of the Game
1968
as Claudia Loring
The Outsider
1968
Accidental Family
1967
Ironside
1967
Ironside
1967
as Sissy Cardwell
Run for Your Life
1965
as Mrs. Southworth
Profiles in Courage
1964
as Mrs. Ely
Breaking Point
1963
The Outer Limits
1963
as Francesca Fields
Sam Benedict
1962
as Cora Wilcox
Ben Casey
1961
Cain's Hundred
1961
as Gloria Bonner
The Defenders
1961
as Della Martin
The Plunderers
1960
as Kate Miller
My Three Sons
1960
as Aunt Cecile Blackman
The Detectives
1959
The Twilight Zone
1959
as Mrs. Henderson
Laramie
1959
Blue Denim
1959
as Jessie Bartley
Peck's Bad Girl
1959
as Jennifer Peck
Bombers B-52
1957
as Edith Brennan
Back from the Dead
1957
as Kate Hazelton
Panic!
1957
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
1956
as Claire Andrews
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
1956
as Julie Reynolds
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
1956
as Dr. Sarah Martin
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
1956
as Catha Duncan
No Place to Hide
1956
as Anne Dobson
The 20th Century Fox Hour
1955
as Mary
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
1955
as Blanche Herbert
Gunsmoke
1955
as Sarah
A Word to the Wives...
1955
as Alice
Climax!
1954
as Ann Williams
Climax!
1954
as Julie Brennan
Diplomatic Passport
1954
as Judy Anderson
With This Ring
1954
as Elise Miller John
The Happy Time
1952
as Susan Bonnard
Actors and Sin
1952
as Marcia Tillayou (segment Actor's Blood)
Your Show of Shows
1950
She Loves Me Not
1949
as Midge Mercer
Mary Ryan, Detective
1949
as Mary Ryan
Take One False Step
1949
as Martha Wier
Jigsaw
1949
as Mrs. Hartley's Secretary (uncredited)
Studio One
1948
as Janet Willson
Studio One
1948
as Kate Brookfield (uncredited)
The Philco Television Playhouse
1948
as Viola
The Philco Television Playhouse
1948
as Phoebe Throssel
Raw Deal
1948
as Ann Martin
The Inside Story
1948
as Francine Taylor
Smash-Up: The Story of a Woman
1947
as Martha Gray
Carnegie Hall
1947
as Nora Ryan
A Letter for Evie
1946
as Evie O'Connor
The Valley of Decision
1945
as Constance Scott
Music for Millions
1944
as Rosalind
Bride by Mistake
1944
as Sylvia Lockwood
None Shall Escape
1944
as Marja Pacierkowski
Twenty Years After
1944
as (archive footage)
Lost Angel
1943
as Katie Mallory
Cry 'Havoc'
1943
as Flo Norris
Thousands Cheer
1943
as Marsha Hunt
Pilot #5
1943
as Freddie Andrews
The Human Comedy
1943
as Diana Steed
Seven Sweethearts
1942
as Regina 'Reggie' Van Maaster
Panama Hattie
1942
as Leila Tree
The Affairs of Martha
1942
as Martha Lindstrom
Kid Glove Killer
1942
as Jane Mitchell
Joe Smith, American
1942
as Mary Smith
Unholy Partners
1941
as Gail Fenton
Blossoms in the Dust
1941
as Charlotte
I'll Wait for You
1941
as Pauline Miller
The Penalty
1941
as Katherine Logan
Cheers for Miss Bishop
1941
as Hope Thompson
The Trial of Mary Dugan
1941
as Agatha Hall
Flight Command
1940
as Claire
Ellery Queen, Master Detective
1940
as Barbara Braun
Pride and Prejudice
1940
as Mary Bennet
Women in Hiding
1940
as Jane Taylor
Hollywood: Style Center of the World
1940
as Self
Irene
1940
as Miss Eleanor Worth
Joe and Ethel Turp Call on the President
1939
as Kitty Crusper
Rhumba Rhythm at the Hollywood La Conga
1939
as Herself (uncredited)
These Glamour Girls
1939
as Betty Ainsbridge
Winter Carnival
1939
as Lucy Morgan
The Hardys Ride High
1939
as Susan Bowen
Star Reporter
1939
as Barbara Burnette
The Long Shot
1939
as Martha Sharon
Come On, Leathernecks!
1938
as Valerie Taylor
Born to the West
1937
as Judy Worstall
Thunder Trail
1937
as Amy Morgan
Annapolis Salute
1937
as Julia Clemens
Easy Living
1937
as Girl Getting Coat Dropped on Her at Finale (uncredited)
Murder Goes to College
1937
as Nora Barry
College Holiday
1936
as Sylvia Smith
The Accusing Finger
1936
as Claire Patterson
Easy to Take
1936
as Donna Westlake
Hollywood Boulevard
1936
as Patricia Blakeford
The Arizona Raiders
1936
as Harriett Lindsay
Gentle Julia
1936
as Julia Atwater
Desert Gold
1936
as Judith 'Judy' Belding
The Virginia Judge
1935
as Mary Lee Calvert