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Marsha Hunt

Marsha Hunt

Birthday: 1917-10-17 | Place of Birth: Chicago, Illinois, USA

Marsha Hunt (born Marcia Virginia Hunt; October 17, 1917) is an American retired actress, model, and activist, with a career spanning over 70 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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Known For

Acting

Year
Title

Role

2008
Empire State Building Murders

as    Norah Strinberg

1971
Johnny Got His Gun

as    Joe's Mother

1969
Fear No Evil

as    Mrs. Varney

1960
The Plunderers

as    Kate Miller

1959
Peck's Bad Girl

as    Jennifer Peck

1957
Bombers B-52

as    Edith Brennan

1957
Back from the Dead

as    Kate Hazelton

1949
Take One False Step

as    Martha Wier

1949
Mary Ryan, Detective

as    Mary Ryan

1948
Raw Deal

as    Ann Martin

1947
Carnegie Hall

as    Nora Ryan

1946
A Letter for Evie

as    Evie O'Connor

1945
The Valley of Decision

as    Constance Scott

1944
None Shall Escape

as    Marja Pacierkowski

1944
Music for Millions

as    Rosalind

1943
Cry 'Havoc'

as    Flo Norris

1943
Pilot #5

as    Freddie Andrews

1942
The Affairs of Martha

as    Martha Lindstrom

1942
Joe Smith, American

as    Mary Smith

1942
Seven Sweethearts

as    Regina 'Reggie' Van Maaster

1941
Unholy Partners

as    Gail Fenton

1941
The Penalty

as    Katherine Logan

1941
I'll Wait for You

as    Pauline Miller

1940
Ellery Queen, Master Detective

as    Barbara Braun

1940
Irene

as    Miss Eleanor Worth

1939
Star Reporter

as    Barbara Burnette

1938
Come On, Leathernecks!

as    Valerie Taylor

1937
Born to the West

as    Judy Worstall