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1-13 of 13
- Actress
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Stardom somehow eluded this vastly gifted actress. Had it not perhaps been for her low-level profile compounded by her McCarthy-era blacklisting in the early 1950s, there is no telling what higher tier Marsha Hunt might have attained. Perhaps her work was not flashy enough, or too subdued, or perhaps her intelligence too often disguised a genuine sex appeal to stand out among the other lovelies. Two studios, Paramount in the late 1930s and MGM in the early 1940s, failed to complete her star. Nevertheless, her talent and versatility cannot be denied. This glamorous, slimly handsome leading lady offered herself to well over 50 pictures during the 1930s and 1940s alone.
Christened Marcia Virginia Hunt, the Chicago-born actress was the younger of two girls born to an attorney and voice teacher/accompanist. The family relocated to New York when she was quite young and she attended such schools as PS #9 and Horace Mann School for Girls. She developed an interest in acting at an early age (3), performing around and about in school plays and at church functions. Following her high school graduation the young beauty found work as a John Powers model and as a singer on radio, a gift obviously inherited from her mother. Marcia (she later changed the spelling of her first name to Marsha) studied drama at the Theodora Irvine Drama School (one of her fellow students was Cornel Wilde).
Encouraged to try Hollywood by various New York people in the business, the young photogenic hopeful moved there in 1934. She was only 17 but was accompanied by her older sister. It didn't take long for the studios to take an interest in her and she was signed up by Paramount not long after. Marsha's very first movie was in a featured role opposite Robert Cummings and Johnny Downs in the old-fashioned The Virginia Judge (1935). Displaying an innate, fresh-faced sensitivity, she moved directly into her second film, playing the title role in Gentle Julia (1936), this time with Tom Brown as her romantic interest.
Marsha continued to show promise but these well-acted roles were, more often than not, overlooked in mild "B"-level offerings. Appearing in co-starring roles in everything from westerns (Desert Gold (1936) and Thunder Trail (1937)) to folksy or flyweight comedy (Easy to Take (1936) and Murder Goes to College (1937)), she could not find decent enough scripts at Paramount. Though she was once deemed one of the studio's promising starlets, one of her last films there was another prairie flower role--[error]--with cowboys John Wayne and Johnny Mack Brown vying for her attention. At about this time (1938) she married Jerry Hopper, a Paramount film editor who turned to directing in the 1950s. This marriage lasted but a few years.
Freelancing for a time for many studios, Marsha's more noticeable war-era work in sentimental comedy and staunch war dramas came from MGM, and she finally signed with the studio in 1939. The roles offered, which included a featured part as one of the sisters in Pride and Prejudice (1940) starring Greer Garson, and again as a sister to Garson in Blossoms in the Dust (1941), which showed much more promise. Some of her better war-era roles came in the films Cheers for Miss Bishop (1941), Kid Glove Killer (1942) and The Affairs of Martha (1942). During this time she also sang on extended USO tours and stayed busy on radio. Her best known film is arguably The Human Comedy (1943) but she wasn't the star. Other film roles had her in support of others, such as Margaret Sullavan in Cry 'Havoc' (1943), little Margaret O'Brien in Lost Angel (1943) and Garson again in The Valley of Decision (1945). Leading roles did not come in "A" pictures.
Her MGM contract was allowed to lapse in 1945 and a second marriage in 1946, to screenwriter Robert Presnell Jr., became a higher priority. The marriage was long and happy (exactly 40 years) and lasted until his passing in June of 1986. The few pictures she made were, again, uneventful or in support of the star, although she did have a catchy, unsympathetic role in the Susan Hayward starrer Smash-Up: The Story of a Woman (1947) as a scheming secretary. In Raw Deal (1948), starring Dennis O'Keefe, she got the "raw deal" being overshadowed as a "good girl" by the "bad girl" posturings of Claire Trevor. At this point of her career she decided to try the stage and made her Broadway debut in "Joy to the World" (1948). Other plays down the road would include "The Devil's Disciple" with Maurice Evans, "The Lady's Not for Burning" with Vincent Price and "The Little Hut" with Leon Ames. She even had a chance to return to her beloved singing as Anna in a production of "The King and I" and (much later) in productions of "State Fair" and "Meet Me in St. Louis". TV also yielded some new work opportunities, including a presentation of "Twelfth Night" in which she portrayed Viola.
The seams of her film career fell apart in the early 1950s. During the late 1930s and into the 1940s she signed a number of petitions promoting liberal ideals, and was a member of the Committee for the First Amendment. A strong supporter of freedom of speech, these associations led to her name appearing in the pamphlet "Red Channels", a McCarthy-era publication that "exposed" alleged Communists and "subversives". Although she and her husband were never called before the House Un-American Activities Commission, their names were nevertheless smeared all over Hollywood as "Reds". While she still found film work on occasion, it was rare. Although she had worked steadily from 1935 until 1949, appearing in over 50 films, she made only three films in the next eight years. Her screenwriter husband would be credited for only one film from 1948 to 1955.
Semi-retired by the early 1960s, stage and TV became Marsha's focal points. She also devoted herself to civil rights causes and such humanitarian efforts as UNICEF, The March of Dimes and The Red Cross. She became actively involved with the United Nations. On the acting front she appeared only in smaller roles in five films but in numerous TV programs and made-for-TV movies, playing everything from judges to grandmas. She became the Honorary Mayor of Sherman Oaks, California, in 1983, and published a book on fashion entitled "The Way We Wore" in 1993. Widowed in 1986, the ever-vibrant Marsha, in her 90s, continues to serve on the Advisory Board of Directors for the San Fernando Valley Community Mental Health Center, a large non-profit that advocates for adults and children affected by homelessness and mental illness. As recently as 2006, she appeared to good advantage in the movie Chloe's Prayer (2006) and, at age 91, was seen in Empire State Building Murders (2008).- CNN's main anchor in Washington, D.C., Shaw, who co-anchored "The International Hour" and The World Today (1992), made a name for himself in the 1988 U.S. presidential debates when he shocked candidate Michael Dukakis with his opening question asking if Dukakis would drop his opposition to the death penalty if his wife were raped and killed. It is thought that Dukakis, being caught off-guard and responding meekly, lost a lot of momentum and support. Shaw, in an interview later that year, angered vice presidential candidate Dan Quayle by asking him if he had joined the National Guard out of fear of being drafted and killed in Vietnam. Before joining CNN, Shaw worked at ABC news for three years, during which time he was a senior Capitol Hill correspondent and bureau chief. He was one of the first reporters on scene at the Jonestown, Guyana, mass suicide, as well as being on the scene early during the 1979 Tehran hostage crisis. He began his career at WNUS in Chicago, Illinois, one of the country's first all-news radio stations.
- Writer
- Producer
- Actor
David A Arnold has been making you laugh for years and you probably never knew it! Known for his TV writing, Arnold is now stepping out of the shadows and into the spotlight with the development of his own stand up special, "Fat Ballerina" due for release in 2019. David has had numerous TV appearances on everything from "The Ruckus" on Comedy Central to "Def Comedy Jam" on HBO, "Shaq's All Star Comedy Tour" and is now on his own tour "He Said She Said Comedy Tour" with funny lady Kym Whitley.
Arnold has also made his mark as a TV writer and recently served as a producer on the Emmy nominated Netflix reboot series of "Fuller House" and he's also written on other shows like, Zoe Ever After and Real Husbands Of Hollywood on BET. Kelsey Grammer/Martin Lawrence's sitcom, "Partners" on FX. OWNS' "Raising Whitley", Tyler Perry's House of Payne and Meet the Browns.
David has appeared at the Montreal Comedy Festival (2), on Comedy Central's Laffapalooza, HBO's Entourage and Def Comedy Jam.
Based out of Los Angeles, Arnold can be seen working out his stand up at clubs like, The Laugh Factory, The Comedy Store and the Ha-Ha Cafe. David has a strong social media presence and you can follow him for his hilarious day-to-day antics on his IG page @thedavidaarnold or Face Book/DavidAArnold/Comedian- Anne Garrels was born on 2 July 1951 in Springfield, Massachusetts, USA. She was married to Vint Lawrence. She died on 7 September 2022 in Norfolk, Connecticut, USA.
- Actor
- Casting Department
Karel Polisenský was born on 9 December 1943 in Prerov, Protektorát Cechy a Morava [now Czech Republic]. He was an actor, known for A Royal Affair (2012), Jménem krále (2009) and Plunkett & Macleane (1999). He died on 7 September 2022 in Prague, Czech Republic.- Producer
- Writer
- Executive
Lee Chavis is a screenwriter and novelist, born and raised in Suffolk, Virginia. He moved to Washington, D.C. in the early 1980s and spent nearly thirty years there as a management consultant. In 2003, he returned to the Suffolk area and became a freelance writer and public school teacher. During his formative years, Chavis was an accomplished concert violinist and was awarded the William S. Newman Violin Scholarship to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he majored in music but later went on to graduate with degrees in political science and honors in philosophy.
After a brief stint at the Campbell University School of Law, Chavis worked as a legal researcher in Washington, D.C. and in 1983 published a manual titled "The Consumer and the Credit Transaction." Later, Chavis decided to try his hand at writing fiction and by chance came across Sherry Gottlieb, a bestselling novelist whose credits include "Love Bite" that was turned into the 1995 TV movie Deadly Love (1995) starring Susan Dey. Gottlieb took Chavis under her wing almost immediately, and after several years of editing, instruction, and guidance on the art of fiction writing and three-act structure, Chavis completed his first novel in 2009 titled "A Dance in Paradise," a tragicomedy about a first-year law student who grapples with the untimely death of his grandfather. A few months later, Chavis wrote, directed and produced the book's movie trailer while living in New Jersey and which is now featured on YouTube. After this rewarding experience, it soon became apparent to Chavis that his passion for storytelling had led him not only to writing a novel but also to branching out into the study of filmmaking and screenwriting.
In 2013, he wrote The Last Immortal with Karim Lounes, a science fiction thriller about a warlock who seeks revenge against a scientist for a ritual that goes awry. Soon afterward, they wrote and produced an actors' video titled "The Last Immortal: An Inside Look" now featured on YouTube. In 2016, Chavis partnered with Latin American Studies scholar Conchita Franco Serri to write The War Necklace, a 19th-century period drama about a Venezuelan tycoon who sets sail for Spain to seek a favorable business deal only to discover that the king has conned him into returning valuable pearls while plotting to take over his empire. In 2018, Chavis completed Endless Passion, a crime thriller about a movie mogul whose past comes back to haunt him by those threatening to expose him as a drug lord.
His latest project, The Stillness of Dark, set in circa 1918, revolves around an Amish woman and her fiancé who returns home from the war emotionally shattered and with actions that will lead to disastrous consequences.- Transportation Department
Andrzej Zygmuntowicz was born on 18 February 1964. Andrzej is known for The Coldest Game (2019), Corpus Christi (2019) and Lipstick on the Glass (2023). Andrzej died on 7 September 2022.- Lance Mackey was born on 2 June 1970 in Anchorage, Alaska, USA. He was married to Tonya. He died on 7 September 2022 in Anchorage, Alaska, USA.
- Børge Krogh was born on 18 April 1942 in Aalborg, Denmark. He was an actor, known for Lille mand, pas på (1968) and Kalule (1979). He died on 7 September 2022 in Aalborg, Denmark.
- Emanoel Araújo died on 7 September 2022 in Brazil.
- Director
- Actor
- Writer
Nilson Primitivo was born on 6 January 1967 in Santos, São Paulo, Brasil. He was a director and actor, known for SP Zero 15 (2016), Babadaboca (2017) and Pé de Veludo - Deus e o Diabo na ponta do Pé (2018). He died on 7 September 2022.- Dagmar Schipanski was born on 3 September 1943 in Sättelstädt, Thuringia, Germany. She died on 7 September 2022 in Ilmenau, Thuringia, Germany.
- Matabee Watabe was born on 10 April 1950 in Otaru City, Hokkaido, Japan. He was an actor, known for The Monster X Strikes Back: Attack the G8 Summit (2008), Tetsuko no heya (1976) and Ikiru o tsutaeru (2009). He died on 7 September 2022 in Tokyo, Japan.