Biography
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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.
Filmography
all 76
Movies 76
Oklahoma Annie (1952)
Journey Into Light (1951)
Dakota Lil (1950)
Oh, You Beautiful Doll (1949)
Come to the Stable (1949)
Should Husbands Marry? (1947)
Lighthouse (1947)
That Brennan Girl (1946)
Nobody Lives Forever (1946)
Angel on My Shoulder (1946)
Black Angel (1946)
Queen of Burlesque (1946)
Deadline for Murder (1946)
Suspense (1946)
Cinderella Jones (1946)
On Stage Everybody (1945)
Penthouse Rhythm (1945)
The Phantom Speaks (1945)
Eadie Was a Lady (1945)
The Great Mike (1944)
Mystery of the Riverboat (1944)
The Merry Monahans (1944)
Gildersleeve's Ghost (1944)
It Happened Tomorrow (1944)
Sweethearts of the U.S.A. (1944)
The Woman of the Town (1943)
Lady of Burlesque (1943)
Mexican Spitfire's Elephant (1942)
The Big Street (1942)
Tales of Manhattan (1942)
Wedded Blitz (1942)
Mexican Spitfire at Sea (1942)
Fly-By-Night (1942)
Weekend for Three (1941)
Lady Scarface (1941)
New Wine (1941)
Half Shot at Sunrise (1941)
Cracked Nuts (1941)
Love at First Fright (1941)
The Big Store (1941)
Blondes and Blunders (1940)
Boom Town (1940)
Untamed (1940)
His Girl Friday (1940)
Invisible Stripes (1939)
The Man in the Iron Mask (1939)
Invitation to Happiness (1939)
Sergeant Madden (1939)
His Exciting Night (1938)
Youth Takes a Fling (1938)
Sinners in Paradise (1938)
Cupid Takes a Holiday (1938)
Air Parade (1938)
She's My Lilly, I'm Her Willie (1934)
Crime Without Passion (1934)
Mr. W's Little Game (1934)
Gallery
Information
Known ForActing
GenderFemale
Birthday1909-06-07
Deathday1985-08-13 (76 years old)
Birth PlacePhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
CitizenshipsUnited States of America
Also Known AsMarion Suplee, Marian Martin
Awardsstar on Hollywood Walk of Fame
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