
Marion Martin
Personal Info
Known for
Acting
Gender
Female
Birthday
1908-06-07
Day of Death
1985-08-13 (77 years old)
Place of Birth
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Marion Martin
Biography
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.
Known For
Acting
(1952)
Oklahoma Annie
as LaBelle La Tour
(1951)
Merry Mavericks
as Gladys
(1951)
Journey Into Light
as Diana (as Marian Martin)
(1950)
Dakota Lil
as Blonde Singer
(1950)
Key to the City
as Emmy
(1949)
Come to the Stable
as Rossi's Manicurist (uncredited)
(1949)
Oh, You Beautiful Doll
as Bar Blonde
(1948)
Thunder in the Pines
as Pearl (as Marian Martin)
(1947)
Lighthouse
as JoJo, the Blonde
(1947)
Should Husbands Marry?
as Loud Friend's Girlfriend
(1946)
Angel on My Shoulder
as Mrs. Bentley
(1946)
Black Angel
as Millie
(1946)
Suspense
as Shooting Gallery Blond (uncredited)
(1946)
That Brennan Girl
as Marion, Natalie's Girl Friend (as Marian Martin)
(1946)
Deadline for Murder
as Laura Gibson
(1946)
Cinderella Jones
as Burlesque Queen
(1946)
Nobody Lives Forever
as Lou, Blonde (uncredited)
(1946)
Queen of Burlesque
as Lola Cassell
(1945)
Gangs of the Waterfront
as Rita (as Marian Martin)
(1945)
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in Hollywood
as Miss Milbane
(1945)
Girls of the Big House
as Dixie
(1945)
The Phantom Speaks
as Betty Hanzel
(1945)
Penthouse Rhythm
as Irma King
(1945)
On Stage Everybody
as Bubbles (uncredited)
(1945)
Eadie Was a Lady
as Rose Allure
(1944)
It Happened Tomorrow
as Nurse (uncredited)
(1944)
The Merry Monahans
as Soubrette
(1944)
Mystery of the Riverboat
as Celeste Eltree [Chs. 1-4, 7]
(1944)
Sweethearts of the U.S.A.
as Ghost of Josephine
(1944)
The Great Mike
as Kitty Tremaine
(1944)
Gildersleeve's Ghost
as Terry Vance
(1943)
Lady of Burlesque
as Alice Angel
(1943)
They Got Me Covered
as Gloria
(1943)
The Woman of the Town
as Daisy Davenport
(1942)
Tales of Manhattan
as 'Squirrel' Grey
(1942)
Mexican Spitfire's Elephant
as Diana De Corro
(1942)
The McGuerins from Brooklyn
as Myrtle
(1942)
The Big Street
as Mimi Venus
(1942)
Fly By Night
as Nurse
(1942)
Mexican Spitfire at Sea
as Fifi Russell
(1942)
Powder Town
as Sue, Blonde Piano Player
(1942)
Wedded Blitz
as Mrs. Errol
(1941)
Weekend for Three
as Mrs. Gloria Weatherby
(1941)
The Big Store
as Peggy Arden
(1941)
The Lady from Cheyenne
as Gertie
(1941)
Tall, Dark and Handsome
as Dawn
(1941)
Lady Scarface
as Ruby / Mary Jordan
(1941)
The Mexican Spitfire's Baby
as Fifi
(1941)
New Wine
as Mitzi
(1941)
Cracked Nuts
as Flashy Blonde in Corridor
(1941)
Blonde Inspiration
as Wanda
(1941)
Love at First Fright
as Liza Hatrack
(1940)
His Girl Friday
as Evangeline (uncredited)
(1940)
Boom Town
as Whitey
(1940)
Ellery Queen, Master Detective
as Cornelia
(1940)
Untamed
as 2nd Girl in Limousine (uncredited)
(1940)
Blondes and Blunders
as Blondie, Jewel Thief
(1939)
The Man in the Iron Mask
as Mlle. de la Valliere
(1939)
Invisible Stripes
as Blonde (uncredited)
(1939)
Sergeant Madden
as Charlotte LePage
(1939)
Invitation to Happiness
as Lola Snow
(1939)
(1938)
Sinners in Paradise
as Iris Compton
(1938)
Youth Takes a Fling
as Girl on Beach
(1938)
Cupid Takes a Holiday
as Annabelle Postal -1st Prospective Bride
(1938)
His Exciting Night
as Gypsy McCoy
(1938)
The Storm
as Jane
(1938)
(1936)
Boy, Oh Boy
as Miss Glory Hutchinson
(1935)
Richard Himber and His Orchestra
as Singer
(1935)
(1935)
The Magic of Music
as Blonde guest
(1934)
Crime Without Passion
as Theatre Cashier (uncredited)
(1934)
Mr. W's Little Game
as The Blonde
(1934)
She's My Lilly, I'm Her Willie
as Miss Brooks