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.
Acted in
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
Boy, Oh Boy
1936
as Miss Glory Hutchinson
Richard Himber and His Orchestra
1935
as Singer
The Magic of Music
1935
as Blonde guest
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