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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.
1952
as LaBelle La Tour
1951
as Diana (as Marian Martin)
1951
as Gladys
1950
as Blonde Singer
1950
as Emmy
1949
as Bar Blonde
1949
as Rossi's Manicurist (uncredited)
1948
as Pearl (as Marian Martin)
1947
as Loud Friend's Girlfriend
1947
as JoJo, the Blonde
1946
as Marion, Natalie's Girl Friend (as Marian Martin)
1946
as Lou, Blonde (uncredited)
1946
as Mrs. Bentley
1946
as Millie
1946
as Lola Cassell
1946
as Laura Gibson
1946
as Shooting Gallery Blond (uncredited)
1946
as Burlesque Queen
1945
as Dixie
1945
as Miss Milbane
1945
as Bubbles (uncredited)
1945
as Rita (as Marian Martin)
1945
as Irma King
1945
as Betty Hanzel
1945
as Rose Allure
1944
as Kitty Tremaine
1944
as Celeste Eltree [Chs. 1-4, 7]
1944
as Soubrette
1944
as Terry Vance
1944
as Nurse (uncredited)
1944
as Ghost of Josephine
1943
as Daisy Davenport
1943
as Alice Angel
1943
as Gloria
1942
as Myrtle
1942
as Diana De Corro
1942
as Mimi Venus
1942
as 'Squirrel' Grey
1942
as Sue, Blonde Piano Player
1942
as Fifi Russell
1942
as Mrs. Errol
1942
as Nurse
1941
as Mrs. Gloria Weatherby
1941
as Fifi
1941
as Ruby / Mary Jordan
1941
as Mitzi
1941
as Flashy Blonde in Corridor
1941
as Liza Hatrack
1941
as Peggy Arden
1941
as Gertie
1941
as Wanda
1941
as Dawn
1940
as Cornelia
1940
as Blondie, Jewel Thief
1940
as Whitey
1940
as 2nd Girl in Limousine (uncredited)
1940
as Evangeline (uncredited)
1939
as Blonde (uncredited)
1939
as Mlle. de la Valliere
1939
as Lola Snow
1939
as Charlotte LePage
1939
1938
as Gypsy McCoy
1938
as Jane
1938
as Girl on Beach
1938
as Iris Compton
1938
as Annabelle Postal -1st Prospective Bride
1938
1935
as Singer
1935
1934
as Miss Brooks
1934
as Theatre Cashier (uncredited)
1934
as The Blonde