Marsha Hunt
Acting
Born: October 17, 1917 · Chicago, Illinois, USA
Died: September 7, 2022 (aged 104)
Highest Rated
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
The Twilight Zone
1959
Murder, She Wrote
1984
Johnny Got His Gun
1971
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
1955
The Outer Limits
1963
Pride and Prejudice
1940
Matlock
1986
Gunsmoke
1955
Raw Deal
1948
Ironside
1967
Easy Living
1937
Photos (10)
Movies (71)
Panama Hattie
Leila Tree
Pride and Prejudice
Mary Bennet
Jigsaw
Dr. Gehlen
Johnny Got His Gun
Joe's Mother
The Valley of Decision
Constance Scott
Raw Deal
Ann Martin
Thunder Trail
Amy Morgan
The Penalty
Katherine Logan
Fear No Evil
Mrs. Varney
Kid Glove Killer
Jane Mitchell
Flight Command
Claire
The Human Comedy
Diana Steed
Twenty Years After
(archive footage)
Bombers B-52
Edith Brennan
Easy Living
Girl Getting Coat Dropped on Her at Finale (uncredited)
Star Reporter
Barbara Burnette
Born to the West
Judy Worstall
Thousands Cheer
Marsha Hunt
Cry 'Havoc'
Flo Norris
Seven Sweethearts
Regina 'Reggie' Van Maaster
Blossoms in the Dust
Charlotte
Smash-Up: The Story of a Woman
Martha Gray
Annapolis Salute
Julia Clemens
The Affairs of Martha
Martha Lindstrom
These Glamour Girls
Betty Ainsbridge
Unholy Partners
Gail Fenton
Terror Among Us
Marge
Hell Town
Judy Rustoe
Come On, Leathernecks!
Valerie Taylor
The Accusing Finger
Claire Patterson
Take One False Step
Martha Wier
Easy to Take
Donna Westlake
Cheers for Miss Bishop
Hope Thompson
Hollywood Boulevard
Patricia Blakeford
Blue Denim
Jessie Bartley
Music for Millions
Rosalind
With This Ring
Elise Miller John
Lost Angel
Katie Mallory
The Happy Time
Susan Bonnard
Mary Ryan, Detective
Mary Ryan
I'll Wait for You
Pauline Miller
Joe Smith, American
Mary Smith
Jigsaw
Mrs. Hartley's Secretary (uncredited)
Irene
Miss Eleanor Worth
The Plunderers
Kate Miller
The Inside Story
Francine Taylor
Pilot #5
Freddie Andrews
The Hardys Ride High
Susan Bowen
Carnegie Hall
Nora Ryan
None Shall Escape
Marja Pacierkowski
College Holiday
Sylvia Smith
Winter Carnival
Lucy Morgan
A Letter for Evie
Evie O'Connor
Bride by Mistake
Sylvia Lockwood
Back from the Dead
Kate Hazelton
Murder Goes to College
Nora Barry
Ellery Queen, Master Detective
Barbara Braun
Actors and Sin
Marcia Tillayou (segment Actor's Blood)
Women in Hiding
Jane Taylor
She Loves Me Not
Midge Mercer
Desert Gold
Judith 'Judy' Belding
The Arizona Raiders
Harriett Lindsay
The Virginia Judge
Mary Lee Calvert
Joe and Ethel Turp Call on the President
Kitty Crusper
The Trial of Mary Dugan
Agatha Hall
The Grand Inquisitor
Hazel Reedy
Gentle Julia
Julia Atwater
The Long Shot
Martha Sharon
A Word to the Wives...
Alice
Diplomatic Passport
Judy Anderson
Chloe's Prayer
2006
TV Shows (40)
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Anne Jameson · 1 eps
Ironside
1 eps
Ironside
Sissy Cardwell · 1 eps
Murder, She Wrote
Elvira Tree · 1 eps
The Twilight Zone
Mrs. Henderson · 1 eps
Matlock
Harriet · 1 eps
The Philco Television Playhouse
Viola · 1 eps
The Philco Television Playhouse
Phoebe Throssel · 1 eps
My Three Sons
Aunt Cecile Blackman · 1 eps
Climax!
Ann Williams · 1 eps
Climax!
Julie Brennan · 1 eps
The Name of the Game
Claudia Loring · 1 eps
Studio One
Janet Willson · 1 eps
Studio One
Kate Brookfield (uncredited) · 1 eps
Gunsmoke
Sarah · 1 eps
Run for Your Life
Mrs. Southworth · 1 eps
Marcus Welby, M.D.
Mrs. Bellows · 1 eps
The Outer Limits
Francesca Fields · 1 eps
Ben Casey
1 eps
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Blanche Herbert · 1 eps
The Defenders
Della Martin · 1 eps
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
Claire Andrews · 1 eps
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
Dr. Sarah Martin · 1 eps
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
Julie Reynolds · 1 eps
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
Catha Duncan · 1 eps
Police Story
2 eps
Police Story
Mrs. Hines · 1 eps
The 20th Century Fox Hour
Mary · 1 eps
Harry O
1 eps
Laramie
1 eps
The Detectives
1 eps
Your Show of Shows
2 eps
Sam Benedict
Cora Wilcox · 1 eps
The Play on One
Elvi Rogers · 1 eps
The Outsider
1 eps
Panic!
1 eps
Cain's Hundred
Gloria Bonner · 1 eps
Medical Story
Sylvia Brent · 1 eps
Breaking Point
1 eps
Accidental Family
1 eps
Self / Appearances (7)
Moguls & Movie Stars: A History of Hollywood
Self · 7 eps
The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind
Self (archive footage)
Hollywood: Style Center of the World
Self
Marsha Hunt's Sweet Adversity
Self
Blacklist: Hollywood on Trial
Herself
Rhumba Rhythm at the Hollywood La Conga
Herself (uncredited)
Journey to Royal: A WWII Rescue Mission
Self