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Marsha Hunt
Acting
Biography
Marsha Hunt (born Marcia Virginia Hunt; October 17, 1917 – September 7, 2022) was an American actress, model and activist, with a career spanning nearly 80 years. She was blacklisted by Hollywood film studio executives in the 1950s during McCarthyism.
Although initially reluctant to pursue a film career, in June 1935, at age 17, Hunt signed a seven-year contract with Paramount Pictures. Paramount discovered her when she was visiting her uncle in Los Angeles and the comedian Zeppo Marx saw a picture of her in the newspaper. She was then offered a screen test for The Virginia Judge. At Paramount, Hunt mainly played ingenue parts. Between 1935 and 1938, she made 12 pictures at Paramount, inclu…
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Marsha Hunt (born Marcia Virginia Hunt; October 17, 1917 – September 7, 2022) was an American actress, model and activist, with a career spanning nearly 80 years. She was blacklisted by Hollywood film studio executives in the 1950s during McCarthyism. Although initially reluctant to pursue a film career, in June 1935, at age 17, Hunt signed a seven-year contract with Paramount Pictures. Paramount discovered her when she was visiting her uncle in Los Angeles and the comedian Zeppo Marx saw a picture of her in the newspaper. She was then offered a screen test for The Virginia Judge. At Paramount, Hunt mainly played ingenue parts. Between 1935 and 1938, she made 12 pictures at Paramount, including a starring roles in Easy to Take, Gentle Julia, The Accusing Finger, Murder Goes to College, and two on "loan-out" to RKO and 20th Century Fox. In 1937, she starred opposite John Wayne, a couple of years prior to his breakthrough in Hollywood, in the Western film Born to the West. The studio terminated Hunt's contract in 1938, and she spent a few years starring in B-films produced by poverty row studios such as Republic Pictures and Monogram Pictures. She also headed to New York City for work in summer stock theatre shortly before winning a supporting role in MGM's These Glamour Girls opposite Lana Turner and Lew Ayres. The role of Betty was said to have been written specially with Hunt in mind. Other roles in major studio productions soon followed, including supporting roles as Mary Bennet in MGM's version of Pride and Prejudice with Laurence Olivier and as Martha Scott's surrogate child Hope Thompson in Cheers for Miss Bishop. In 1941, Hunt signed a contract with MGM, where she remained for the next six years. While filming Blossoms in the Dust, film director Mervyn LeRoy lauded Hunt for her heartfelt and genuine acting ability. In 1944, she polled seventh in a list by exhibitors of "Stars of Tomorrow". She also appeared in None Shall Escape, a film that is now regarded as the first about the Holocaust. She played Marja Pacierkowski, the Polish fiancé of a German Nazi officer named Wilhelm Grimm.
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BODY OF WORK
Marsha Hunt's Filmography
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Journey to Royal: A WWII Rescue Mission
as Self
Marsha Hunt's Sweet Adversity
as Self
No Poster
Empire State Building Murders
as Norah Strinberg
The Grand Inquisitor
as Hazel Reedy
Chloe's Prayer
No Poster
Dalton Trumbo: Rebel in Hollywood
as Herself
Blacklist: Hollywood on Trial
as Herself
The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind
as Self (archive footage)
Terror Among Us
as Marge
Jigsaw
as Dr. Gehlen
Johnny Got His Gun
as Joe's Mother
Fear No Evil
as Mrs. Varney
The Plunderers
as Kate Miller
Blue Denim
as Jessie Bartley
Bombers B-52
as Edith Brennan
Back from the Dead
as Kate Hazelton
No Poster
No Place to Hide
as Anne Dobson
A Word to the Wives...
as Alice
Diplomatic Passport
as Judy Anderson
With This Ring
as Elise Miller John
The Happy Time
as Susan Bonnard
Actors and Sin
as Marcia Tillayou (segment Actor's Blood)
She Loves Me Not
as Midge Mercer
Mary Ryan, Detective
as Mary Ryan
Take One False Step
as Martha Wier
Jigsaw
as Mrs. Hartley's Secretary (uncredited)
Raw Deal
as Ann Martin
The Inside Story
as Francine Taylor
Smash-Up: The Story of a Woman
as Martha Gray
Carnegie Hall
as Nora Ryan
A Letter for Evie
as Evie O'Connor
The Valley of Decision
as Constance Scott
Music for Millions
as Rosalind
Bride by Mistake
as Sylvia Lockwood
None Shall Escape
as Marja Pacierkowski
Twenty Years After
as (archive footage)
Lost Angel
as Katie Mallory
Cry 'Havoc'
as Flo Norris
Thousands Cheer
as Marsha Hunt
Pilot #5
as Freddie Andrews
The Human Comedy
as Diana Steed
Seven Sweethearts
as Regina 'Reggie' Van Maaster
Panama Hattie
as Leila Tree
The Affairs of Martha
as Martha Lindstrom
Kid Glove Killer
as Jane Mitchell
Joe Smith, American
as Mary Smith
Unholy Partners
as Gail Fenton
Blossoms in the Dust
as Charlotte
I'll Wait for You
as Pauline Miller
The Penalty
as Katherine Logan
Cheers for Miss Bishop
as Hope Thompson
The Trial of Mary Dugan
as Agatha Hall
Flight Command
as Claire
Ellery Queen, Master Detective
as Barbara Braun
Pride and Prejudice
as Mary Bennet
Women in Hiding
as Jane Taylor
Hollywood: Style Center of the World
as Self
Irene
as Miss Eleanor Worth
Joe and Ethel Turp Call on the President
as Kitty Crusper
Rhumba Rhythm at the Hollywood La Conga
as Herself (uncredited)
These Glamour Girls
as Betty Ainsbridge
Winter Carnival
as Lucy Morgan
The Hardys Ride High
as Susan Bowen
Star Reporter
as Barbara Burnette
The Long Shot
as Martha Sharon
Come On, Leathernecks!
as Valerie Taylor
Born to the West
as Judy Worstall
Hell Town
as Judy Rustoe
Thunder Trail
as Amy Morgan
Annapolis Salute
as Julia Clemens
Easy Living
as Girl Getting Coat Dropped on Her at Finale (uncredited)
Murder Goes to College
as Nora Barry
College Holiday
as Sylvia Smith
The Accusing Finger
as Claire Patterson
Easy to Take
as Donna Westlake
Hollywood Boulevard
as Patricia Blakeford
The Arizona Raiders
as Harriett Lindsay
Gentle Julia
as Julia Atwater
Desert Gold
as Judith 'Judy' Belding
The Virginia Judge
as Mary Lee Calvert