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Marion Martin

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.

Oklahoma Annie

1952

as LaBelle La Tour

Journey Into Light

1951

as Diana (as Marian Martin)

Merry Mavericks

1951

as Gladys

Dakota Lil

1950

as Blonde Singer

Key to the City

1950

as Emmy

Oh, You Beautiful Doll

1949

as Bar Blonde

Come to the Stable

1949

as Rossi's Manicurist (uncredited)

Thunder in the Pines

1948

as Pearl (as Marian Martin)

Should Husbands Marry?

1947

as Loud Friend's Girlfriend

Lighthouse

1947

as JoJo, the Blonde

That Brennan Girl

1946

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

Nobody Lives Forever

1946

as Lou, Blonde (uncredited)

Angel on My Shoulder

1946

as Mrs. Bentley

Black Angel

1946

as Millie

Queen of Burlesque

1946

as Lola Cassell

Deadline for Murder

1946

as Laura Gibson

Suspense

1946

as Shooting Gallery Blond (uncredited)

Cinderella Jones

1946

as Burlesque Queen

Girls of the Big House

1945

as Dixie

Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in Hollywood

1945

as Miss Milbane

On Stage Everybody

1945

as Bubbles (uncredited)

Gangs of the Waterfront

1945

as Rita (as Marian Martin)

Penthouse Rhythm

1945

as Irma King

The Phantom Speaks

1945

as Betty Hanzel

Eadie Was a Lady

1945

as Rose Allure

The Great Mike

1944

as Kitty Tremaine

Mystery of the Riverboat

1944

as Celeste Eltree [Chs. 1-4, 7]

The Merry Monahans

1944

as Soubrette

Gildersleeve's Ghost

1944

as Terry Vance

It Happened Tomorrow

1944

as Nurse (uncredited)

Sweethearts of the U.S.A.

1944

as Ghost of Josephine

The Woman of the Town

1943

as Daisy Davenport

Lady of Burlesque

1943

as Alice Angel

They Got Me Covered

1943

as Gloria

The McGuerins from Brooklyn

1942

as Myrtle

Mexican Spitfire's Elephant

1942

as Diana De Corro

The Big Street

1942

as Mimi Venus

Tales of Manhattan

1942

as 'Squirrel' Grey

Powder Town

1942

as Sue, Blonde Piano Player

Mexican Spitfire at Sea

1942

as Fifi Russell

Wedded Blitz

1942

as Mrs. Errol

Fly-By-Night

1942

as Nurse

Weekend for Three

1941

as Mrs. Gloria Weatherby

The Mexican Spitfire's Baby

1941

as Fifi

Lady Scarface

1941

as Ruby / Mary Jordan

New Wine

1941

as Mitzi

Cracked Nuts

1941

as Flashy Blonde in Corridor

Love at First Fright

1941

as Liza Hatrack

The Big Store

1941

as Peggy Arden

The Lady from Cheyenne

1941

as Gertie

Blonde Inspiration

1941

as Wanda

Tall, Dark and Handsome

1941

as Dawn

Ellery Queen, Master Detective

1940

as Cornelia

Blondes and Blunders

1940

as Blondie, Jewel Thief

Boom Town

1940

as Whitey

Untamed

1940

as 2nd Girl in Limousine (uncredited)

His Girl Friday

1940

as Evangeline (uncredited)

Invisible Stripes

1939

as Blonde (uncredited)

The Man in the Iron Mask

1939

as Mlle. de la Valliere

Invitation to Happiness

1939

as Lola Snow

Sergeant Madden

1939

as Charlotte LePage

Pirates of the Skies

1939

His Exciting Night

1938

as Gypsy McCoy

The Storm

1938

as Jane

Youth Takes a Fling

1938

as Girl on Beach

Sinners in Paradise

1938

as Iris Compton

Cupid Takes a Holiday

1938

as Annabelle Postal -1st Prospective Bride

The Miss They Missed

1938

Richard Himber and His Orchestra

1935

as Singer

Moon Over Manhattan

1935

She's My Lilly, I'm Her Willie

1934

as Miss Brooks

Crime Without Passion

1934

as Theatre Cashier (uncredited)

Mr. W's Little Game

1934

as The Blonde