Marion Martin
Marion Suplee, known professionally as Marion Martin, was an American film and stage actress.
Biography
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. Despite her success she was often cast in minor roles in more widely seen films such as His Girl Friday. The majority of her roles were in comedies but she also appeared in dramas such as Boom Town 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.
Personal
She was awarded a star at 6915 Hollywood Boulevard on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her contributions to motion pictures. She died of cardiac arrest in 1985 in Los Angeles, California, and was buried in Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.
Partial filmography
Crime Without Passion as Theatre Cashier Sinners in Paradise as Iris ComptonPersonal Secretary as Girl in Office Youth Takes a Fling as Girl on BeachThe Storm as Jane, Bar GirlHis Exciting Night as Gypsy McCoyPirates of the Skies as KittySergeant Madden as Charlotte LePageInvitation to Happiness as Lola SnowThe Man in the Iron Mask as Mlle. de la ValliereInvisible Stripes as Blonde His Girl Friday as Evangeline Women in War as Starr's Date Untamed as 2nd Girl in Limousine Scatterbrain Boom Town as WhiteyEllery Queen, Master Detective as CorneliaTall, Dark and Handsome as DawnBlonde Inspiration as WandaThe Lady from Cheyenne as Gertie The Big Store as Peggy ArdenCracked Nuts as Flashy Blonde in Corridor Lady Scarface as Ruby, aka Mary JordanNew Wine as MitziWeekend for Three as Mrs. WeatherbyThe Mexican Spitfire's Baby as FifiHarvard, Here I Come! as Oomphie Fly-by-Night as Blond NurseCall Out the Marines as Pretty Blonde on Tour Mexican Spitfire at Sea as Fifi RussellPowder Town as Sue, Blonde Piano PlayerTales of Manhattan as 'Squirrel'The Big Street as Mimi VenusMexican Spitfire's Elephant as Diana De CorroStar Spangled Rhythm as Wife, Bob Hope Skit The McGuerins from Brooklyn as Myrtle, Marcia's friendThey Got Me Covered as GloriaLady of Burlesque as Alice AngelSwingtime Johnny as Flashy BlondeThe Woman of the Town as Daisy DavenportSweethearts of the U.S.A. as Ghost of JosephineIt Happened Tomorrow as Nurse Gildersleeve's Ghost as Terry VanceThe Merry Monahans as SoubretteIrish Eyes Are Smiling as Prima Donna Mystery of the River Boat as Celeste EltreeThe Great Mike as Kitty TremaineEadie Was a Lady as Rose AllureThe Phantom Speaks as Betty HanzelPenthouse Rhythm as Irma KingGangs of the Waterfront as RitaOn Stage Everybody as Bubbles Abbott and Costello in Hollywood as Miss MilbaneGirls of the Big House as DixieCinderella Jones as Burlesque QueenSuspense as Shooting Gallery Blond Deadline for Murder as Laura GibsonQueen of Burlesque as Lola CassellBlack Angel as MillieAngel on My Shoulder as Mrs. BentleyNobody Lives Forever as Lou, Blonde That Brennan Girl as Marion, Natalie's Girl FriendLighthouse as JoJo, The BlondeNew Orleans as Blonde Cashier That's My Gal as PepperState of the Union as Blonde Girl Thunder in the Pines as PearlMy Dream Is Yours as Blonde at Club Babita Come to the Stable as Rossi's Manicurist Oh, You Beautiful Doll as Big Blonde Key to the City as EmmyDakota Lil as Blonde SingerJourney into Light as DianaOklahoma Annie as La Belle La Tour