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Alan Marshal (actor)

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For the cricketer, see Alan Marshal (cricketer). For people named Alan Marshall, see Alan Marshall (disambiguation).

Alan Marshal
Marshal in House on Haunted Hill (1959)
Born(1909-01-29)29 January 1909
Woollahra, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Died9 July 1961(1961-07-09) (aged 52)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Resting placeForest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)
OccupationActor
Years active1923–1961
SpouseMary Grace Borel (1938–1948) (divorced)
Children1

Alan Marshal (born Alan M Willey 29 January 1909 – 9 July 1961) was an Australian-born actor who performed on stage in the United States and in Hollywood films. He was sometimes billed as Alan Marshall or Alan Willey.

Biography

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Early life

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Born Alan M Willey in Sydney, Australia, he was the son of popular Queensland stage actress Irby (Agnes) Marshal and English actor-producer Leonard Willey. The family left Australia in mid-1914, when he was five years old.[1][2]

Willey and Marshal appeared in several Australian films made in 1912 – including The Strangler's Grip (1912) and The Mystery of the Black Pearl (1912), both directed by Franklyn Barrett.[3]

Irby and Leonard continued their successful careers on the stage in the United States, first in San Francisco then in New York.[4]

Early acting career

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Alan reportedly first appeared on Broadway in The Swan (1924), at age 15 as "Alan Willey".[5][6]

He went on to appear on Broadway as Stephano in The Merchant of Venice (1928), a production that also featured his father Leonard Willey as Antonio.[7] Other Broadway stage productions he performed in include The Game of Love and Death (1929–30), Michael and Mary (1930), and Death Takes a Holiday (1931).

As "Alan Marshal", he had roles on Broadway in Foolscap (1933), Going Gay (1934), While Parents Sleep (1934), Lady Jane (1934), The Bishop Misbehaves (1935) and On Stage (1935).

Film career

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Publicity photo of Marshal and Luise Rainer in Dramatic School (1938)

According to his son, Kit, Marshal was spotted by a studio scout while performing in a play in New York and was asked to do a screen test for Selznick International Studios.[8]

Selznick cast him in a supporting role in The Garden of Allah (1936) with Charles Boyer and Marlene Dietrich.

Marshal was loaned to MGM where he was in After the Thin Man (1936). That studio liked him and gave him a good part in Night Must Fall (1937).

Marshal was used by MGM for key roles in prestige pictures: Parnell (1937), playing William O'Shea who was cuckolded by Clark Gable and Myrna Loy; and Conquest (1937) with Greta Garbo and Boyer, playing Philippe Antoine d'Ornano.[9]

Walter Wanger borrowed him for I Met My Love Again (1938), billed fourth.

Marshal's first lead role was in a B picture at Republic Films, Invisible Enemy (1938). He went back to support parts for The Road to Reno (1938) at Universal, then was the romantic male lead in Dramatic School (1938) with Luise Rainer at MGM, a big flop.[10]

He played a similar sort of part in Four Girls in White (1939) then was Anna Sten's co star in Exile Express (1939) made at Grand National Pictures.

Marshal had a strong role in 20th Century Fox's The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939) supporting Basil Rathbone and Ida Lupino.

At RKO Marshal had a support part in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939) and the lead in a B picture, Married and in Love (1940), directed by John Farrow.[11] He supported Anna Neagle in Irene (1940) at RKO and Loretta Young in He Stayed for Breakfast (1940) at Columbia.[12]

Marshal stayed at Columbia for The Howards of Virginia (1940) with Cary Grant then went back to RKO to play one of Ginger Rogers's suitors in Tom, Dick and Harry (1940), a big hit. He was second billed to Merle Oberon in Lydia (1941). In 1942 Selznick sold many of his contracts to 20th Century Fox including Marshal's.[13]

Marshal was second billed to Irene Dunne in The White Cliffs of Dover (1944) at MGM, a huge hit.[14][15] He was top billed in Bride by Mistake (1944) with Laraine Day, another box office success.[16] "It's the third time I've been discovered", said Marshall, who was set to star in Claudia (1945).[17]

Marshal had a nervous breakdown and did not act for a number of years.[18]

Television

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Marshall was announced for Three Came Home (1950) but did not appear in the final film.[19] It was reported he withdrew due to illness.[20]

Marshal concentrated on television in the 1950s, appearing in episodes of Lights Out (1950) ("The Dark Corner"), The Clock (1951) ("Last Adventure"), Robert Montgomery Presents (1952) ("Claire Ambler"), and Climax! (1956) ("The Hanging Judge", directed by John Frankenheimer).

Marshal returned to movies with a small role in The Opposite Sex (1956). He was more commonly found on TV, such as in Playhouse 90 (1957, "The Greer Case"), Perry Mason (1958, "The Case of the Terrified Typist"), Buckskin (1958, "The Ghost of Balaclava"), General Electric Theatre (1958, "Battle for a Soul", directed by Ray Milland), Wagon Train (1958, "The Doctor Willoughby Story", with Jane Wyman), The Ann Sothern Show (1958, "The Countess of Bartley"), Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1958, "Murder Me Twice"), Rawhide (1959, "Incident on the Edge of Madness", with Lon Chaney Jr), 77 Sunset Strip (1959)("In Memoriam"), M Squad (1959) ("Ghost Town"), Sugarfoot (1959, "The Vultures"), Bourbon Street Beat (1959, "Invitation to a Murder") and Surfside 6 (1960, "Spinout at Sebrin").

Marshal had a supporting role in House on Haunted Hill (1959) starring Vincent Price and directed by William Castle, and the western Day of the Outlaw (1959).[21]

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes
1936 The Garden of Allah Captain De Trevignac
After the Thin Man Robert Landis
1937 Night Must Fall Justin
Parnell Willie
Conquest Captain d'Ornano
1938 I Met My Love Again Michael Shaw
Invisible Enemy Jeffrey Clavering
The Road to Reno Walter Crawford
Dramatic School Marquis Andre D'Abbencourt
1939 Four Girls in White Dr. Stephen Melford
Exile Express Steve Reynolds
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Jerrold Hunter
The Hunchback of Notre Dame Captain Phoebus
1940 Married and in Love Dr. Leslie Yates
Irene Bob Vincent
He Stayed for Breakfast Andre Dorlay
The Howards of Virginia Roger Peyton
1941 Tom, Dick and Harry Dick
Lydia Richard Mason
1944 The White Cliffs of Dover Sir John Ashwood
Bride by Mistake Captain Anthony Travis
1956 The Opposite Sex Ted
1958 Alfred Hitchcock Presents William Pryor Season 4 Episode 9: "Murder Me Twice"
1959 House on Haunted Hill Dr. David Trent
Day of the Outlaw Hal Crane (final film)

Family

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Alan and Mary Marshal at home, 1940s

Marshal eloped with socialite Mary Grace Borel in November 1938.[22] The couple had one son, Christopher ("Kit"), who also became an actor.[23] Borel sued for divorce in August 1947.[24] Marshal did not remarry.[23]

Death

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Marshal died after suffering a heart attack while appearing in Chicago with Mae West in a production of her play Sextette at the Edgewater Beach Playhouse on 9 July 1961. He was 52. He finished the performance but was later found dead in his bed at the Edgewater Beach Hotel. His son Kit was also performing in the show.[25][26]

His interment was at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.[citation needed]

References

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  1. ^ Truth (Brisbane, Qld. : 1900–1954), 27 September 1914 Page 2 "In and Out of Society" Accessed 12 January 2017
  2. ^ "Another Discovery". The Telegraph. Brisbane. 15 August 1936. p. 15. Retrieved 4 January 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. ^ Andrew Pike & Ross Cooper (1980) Australian Film 1900–1977 pp. .43-45. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0 19 554213 4
  4. ^ "Australian Conquests in Hollywood". The Advertiser. Adelaide. 28 November 1936. p. 13. Retrieved 4 January 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ^ News (Adelaide, SA), 9 March 1939 Page 14 "Actor From Australia" Accessed 12 January 2017.
  6. ^ "Actor From Australia". The News. Vol. XXXII, no. 4, 875. Adelaide. 9 March 1939. p. 14. Retrieved 4 January 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. ^ Atkinson, J. Brooks (17 January 1928). "The Play". The New York Times. New York, New York. p. 22 – via NYTimes.com.
  8. ^ Alan Marshal Biography. Kit Marshal Archived 13 June 2017 at the Wayback Machine Accessed 12 January 2017
  9. ^ "Film Notes". The West Australian. Vol. 61, no. 18, 373 (Second ed.). Western Australia. 1 June 1945. p. 9. Retrieved 4 January 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. ^ "Hollywood Parade". The Advertiser. Adelaide. 12 November 1938. p. 13. Retrieved 4 January 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  11. ^ ""I'll Be Back Someday"... Says Australian Alan Marshal from Hollywood". The Australian Women's Weekly. Vol. 7, no. 35. 3 February 1940. p. 2 (The Movie World). Retrieved 4 January 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  12. ^ "The life story of Alan Marshal". Picture Show. 44 (1133). London: 16. 11 January 1941. ProQuest 1880299562.
  13. ^ "20th in Deal With Selznick: Independent Producer's Story Properties and Players Taken Over". Los Angeles Times. 16 November 1942. p. A1. ProQuest 165380047.
  14. ^ Glancy, H. Mark "When Hollywood Loved Britain: The Hollywood 'British' Film 1939–1945" (Manchester University Press, 1999)
  15. ^ The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study
  16. ^ Richard B. Jewell, Slow Fade to Black: The Decline of RKO Radio Pictures, Uni of California, 2016
  17. ^ "Australians Win Film Fame". Sunday Times (Perth). No. 2426. Western Australia. 13 August 1944. p. 4 (Supplement to the Sunday Times). Retrieved 4 January 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  18. ^ "Biography". Alan Marshall. Archived from the original on 22 October 2017. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  19. ^ Schallert, Edwin (31 March 1949). "Alan Marshal to Star With Claudette Colbert; Kazan Takes Over 'Pinky'". Los Angeles Times. p. B13. ProQuest 165916155.
  20. ^ Schallert, Edwin (13 May 1949). "Wilding Deal Settled; Lundigan 'Doctor' Lead; Hope, Ball Duo Favored". Los Angeles Times. p. 23. ProQuest 165968489.
  21. ^ Scheuer, Philip K (6 November 1958). "Nick of All Parts---That's Persoff!: Films' Only Nehemiah Joins Unusual 'Day of Outlaw' Cast". Los Angeles Times. p. B11. ProQuest 167419383.
  22. ^ "Actor and Bride on Honeymoon". Los Angeles Times. 20 November 1938. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  23. ^ a b Moffat, Frances (11 July 1961). "Inside Society". San Francisco Examiner. p. 20 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  24. ^ "Mary Borel Sues For Divorce Second Time". San Mateo County Times. 16 August 1947. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  25. ^ "ALAN MARSHAL, ACTOR, 52, DEAD; Stage and Film Performer Appeared in 'Wagon Train'". The New York Times. 10 July 1961. ProQuest 115422123.
  26. ^ West, John C (16 October 1966). "An Understudy Is Always On Stage: How to succeed in show business without really acting". Chicago Tribune. p. i32. ProQuest 179094840.

Further reading

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