Marsha Hunt
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, 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.
Known For
Star Trek: The Next Generation
1987
Ironside
1967
Ironside
1967
Murder, She Wrote
1984
Matlock
1986
Climax!
1954
Climax!
1954
The Twilight Zone
1959
My Three Sons
1960
Studio One
1948
Studio One
1948
The Defenders
1961
Filmography
Star Trek: The Next Generation
as Anne Jameson · 1987
Ironside
· 1967
Ironside
as Sissy Cardwell · 1967
Murder, She Wrote
as Elvira Tree · 1984
Matlock
as Harriet · 1986
Climax!
as Ann Williams · 1954
Climax!
as Julie Brennan · 1954
The Twilight Zone
as Mrs. Henderson · 1959
My Three Sons
as Aunt Cecile Blackman · 1960
Studio One
as Janet Willson · 1948
Studio One
as Kate Brookfield (uncredited) · 1948
The Defenders
as Della Martin · 1961
The Philco Television Playhouse
as Viola · 1948
The Philco Television Playhouse
as Phoebe Throssel · 1948
Ben Casey
· 1961
The Name of the Game
as Claudia Loring · 1968
Marcus Welby, M.D.
as Mrs. Bellows · 1969
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
as Claire Andrews · 1956
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
as Julie Reynolds · 1956
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
as Dr. Sarah Martin · 1956
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
as Catha Duncan · 1956
Run for Your Life
as Mrs. Southworth · 1965
Gunsmoke
as Sarah · 1955
The Outer Limits
as Francesca Fields · 1963
The Detectives
· 1959
Laramie
· 1959
The 20th Century Fox Hour
as Mary · 1955
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
as Blanche Herbert · 1955
Police Story
· 1973
Police Story
as Mrs. Hines · 1973
Harry O
· 1974
Your Show of Shows
· 1950
The Play on One
as Elvi Rogers · 1988
Sam Benedict
as Cora Wilcox · 1962
Cain's Hundred
as Gloria Bonner · 1961
Profiles in Courage
as Mrs. Ely · 1964
The Outsider
· 1968
Panic!
· 1957
Medical Story
as Sylvia Brent · 1975
Breaking Point
· 1963
Accidental Family
· 1967
Moguls & Movie Stars: A History of Hollywood
as Self · 2010
Pride and Prejudice
as Mary Bennet · 1940
Johnny Got His Gun
as Joe's Mother · 1971
The Valley of Decision
as Constance Scott · 1945
Thunder Trail
as Amy Morgan · 1937
Peck's Bad Girl
as Jennifer Peck · 1959
Blossoms in the Dust
as Charlotte · 1941
Bombers B-52
as Edith Brennan · 1957
Born to the West
as Judy Worstall · 1937
Hell Town
as Judy Rustoe · 1937
Easy Living
as Girl Getting Coat Dropped on Her at Finale (uncredited) · 1937
Cheers for Miss Bishop
as Hope Thompson · 1941
Raw Deal
as Ann Martin · 1948
Take One False Step
as Martha Wier · 1949
Smash-Up: The Story of a Woman
as Martha Gray · 1947
Twenty Years After
as (archive footage) · 1944
The Human Comedy
as Diana Steed · 1943
The Affairs of Martha
as Martha Lindstrom · 1942
Star Reporter
as Barbara Burnette · 1939
Flight Command
as Claire · 1940
She Loves Me Not
as Midge Mercer · 1949
Joe and Ethel Turp Call on the President
as Kitty Crusper · 1939
Annapolis Salute
as Julia Clemens · 1937
The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind
as Self (archive footage) · 1988
The Hardys Ride High
as Susan Bowen · 1939
Blacklist: Hollywood on Trial
as Herself · 1996
Jigsaw
as Dr. Gehlen · 1972
Hollywood: Style Center of the World
as Self · 1940
Thousands Cheer
as Marsha Hunt · 1943
A Word to the Wives...
as Alice · 1955
Marsha Hunt's Sweet Adversity
as Self · 2015
I'll Wait for You
as Pauline Miller · 1941
Back from the Dead
as Kate Hazelton · 1957
Mary Ryan, Detective
as Mary Ryan · 1949
Ellery Queen, Master Detective
as Barbara Braun · 1940
Terror Among Us
as Marge · 1981
Kid Glove Killer
as Jane Mitchell · 1942
A Letter for Evie
as Evie O'Connor · 1946
The Trial of Mary Dugan
as Agatha Hall · 1941
The Accusing Finger
as Claire Patterson · 1936
Joe Smith, American
as Mary Smith · 1942
The Plunderers
as Kate Miller · 1960
Cry 'Havoc'
as Flo Norris · 1943
None Shall Escape
as Marja Pacierkowski · 1944
Seven Sweethearts
as Regina 'Reggie' Van Maaster · 1942
Blue Denim
as Jessie Bartley · 1959
Music for Millions
as Rosalind · 1944
Panama Hattie
as Leila Tree · 1942
Rhumba Rhythm at the Hollywood La Conga
as Herself (uncredited) · 1939
Fear No Evil
as Mrs. Varney · 1969
Dalton Trumbo: Rebel in Hollywood
as Herself · 2006
Murder Goes to College
as Nora Barry · 1937
Empire State Building Murders
as Norah Strinberg · 2008
The Happy Time
as Susan Bonnard · 1952
Irene
as Miss Eleanor Worth · 1940
Hollywood Boulevard
as Patricia Blakeford · 1936
Journey to Royal: A WWII Rescue Mission
as Self · 2021
Easy to Take
as Donna Westlake · 1936
Lost Angel
as Katie Mallory · 1943
With This Ring
as Elise Miller John · 1954
The Inside Story
as Francine Taylor · 1948
The Long Shot
as Martha Sharon · 1939
Come On, Leathernecks!
as Valerie Taylor · 1938
The Penalty
as Katherine Logan · 1941
Pilot #5
as Freddie Andrews · 1943
Carnegie Hall
as Nora Ryan · 1947
No Place to Hide
as Anne Dobson · 1956
Jigsaw
as Mrs. Hartley's Secretary (uncredited) · 1949
Desert Gold
as Judith 'Judy' Belding · 1936
Winter Carnival
as Lucy Morgan · 1939
Actors and Sin
as Marcia Tillayou (segment Actor's Blood) · 1952
The Virginia Judge
as Mary Lee Calvert · 1935
Bride by Mistake
as Sylvia Lockwood · 1944
College Holiday
as Sylvia Smith · 1936
Unholy Partners
as Gail Fenton · 1941
These Glamour Girls
as Betty Ainsbridge · 1939
Gentle Julia
as Julia Atwater · 1936
The Arizona Raiders
as Harriett Lindsay · 1936
Women in Hiding
as Jane Taylor · 1940
The Grand Inquisitor
as Hazel Reedy · 2008
Chloe's Prayer
· 2006
Diplomatic Passport
as Judy Anderson · 1954