Marsha Hunt

Marsha Hunt (born Marcia Virginia Hunt;

She appeared in many films, including Born to the West (1937) with John Wayne, Pride and Prejudice (1940) with Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier, Kid Glove Killer (1942) with Van Heflin, Cry 'Havoc' (1943) with Margaret Sullavan and Joan Blondell, The Human Comedy (1943) with Mickey Rooney, Raw Deal (1948) with Claire Trevor, The Happy Time (1952) with Charles Boyer, and Dalton Trumbo's Johnny Got His Gun (1971).

In the midst of the blacklist era, she became active in the humanitarian cause of world hunger and in her later years aided homeless shelters, supported same-sex marriage, raised awareness of climate change, and promoted peace in Third World countries. the youngest of two daughters. Her parents were Earl Hunt, a lawyer and later a Social Security Administrator, and Minabel Hunt, a vocal teacher, and organist. Her elder sister, Marjorie, a teacher,

Hunt's family moved to New York City when she was young, and she began performing in school plays and church functions. She graduated from the Horace Mann High School for Girls in 1934 at age 16. She was one of the highest-earning models by 1935. In May 1935, she planned on studying stage acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in the United Kingdom.

Years at Paramount

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 (of the Marx Brothers fame) 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.

The studio terminated Hunt's contract in 1938, and she spent a few years starring in B-films such as Star Reporter (1939) produced by poverty row studios such as Republic Pictures and Monogram Pictures. The role of Betty was said to have been written especially 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 (1940) with Laurence Olivier, During this period she had starring roles in 21 films, including The Penalty (1941) opposite Lionel Barrymore, Panama Hattie (1942) opposite Ann Sothern and Red Skelton, and the war drama Pilot No. 5 (1943) in which she was cast as the love interest of Franchot Tone, and The Valley of Decision (1945). In 1944 she polled seventh in a list by exhibitors of "Stars of Tomorrow". She previously did a screen test to play Melanie Hamilton in Gone with the Wind (1939) and was told by David O. Selznick she would play the role, but to "keep it a secret for now." Three days later, it was announced that Olivia de Havilland was cast. In 1944, she appeared in None Shall Escape, a film that is now regarded as the first about the Holocaust. She played Marja Pacierkowski, the Polish fiancée of a German Nazi officer named Wilhelm Grimm.

Hollywood blacklist In 1945, Hunt was invited to join the board of the Screen Actors Guild. According to NPR, she was – at the time of her 100th birthday – the last surviving member of the group.

On October 26 that same year, aged 30, Hunt took part in Hollywood Fights Back, a star-studded radio program co-written by her husband protesting the activities of HCUA. In 2020, Hunt recalled:

During an interview in 1995, Hunt stated that she believed producer Richard J. Collins was among those responsible for her inclusion on the blacklist. She later said: I never met Richard Collins, but when he was in some executive post on Bonanza, a friend of mine knew him slightly. At one point, when I was recommended for a script, she was astonished to hear him say, "Don't bother bringing up Marsha Hunt to me. As long as I am connected with this show, she will never work on it." In 1967, she had a leading role as Katie's Aunt Cecile in an episode of My Three Sons entitled "The Aunt Who Came To Dinner".

In 1971, she appeared in the film Johnny Got His Gun, written by fellow blacklist member Dalton Trumbo, playing the mother of the title character, portrayed by Timothy Bottoms. It won the Grand Prix at the 1971 Cannes Film Festival. On February 8, 1988, she appeared in Star Trek: The Next Generation in the episode "Too Short a Season" as Anne Jameson, wife of an admiral who took an age-reversing drug.

In 1993, her book The Way We Wore: Styles of the 1930s and '40s and Our World Since Then was published by Fallbrook Publishing.

She produced the CD Tony London: Songs From the Heart with the Page Cavanaugh Trio which includes two of the 50 songs Hunt has composed.

Hunt played Elizabeth Lyons in Chloe's Prayer, a 2006 film. In 2008, Hunt appeared in a short film noir, The Grand Inquisitor, Sung by Glee guest actor Bill A. Jones, the clip immediately went viral. The documentary debuted at the Palm Springs and Santa Barbara International Film Festivals in January 2015.

When she was 99 in April 2017, Hunt made a public appearance at the 2017 Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival to honor the achievements of actor and activist Ed Asner.

Humanitarian work In 1955, after a trip opened her eyes to the issue of hunger in the Third World, Hunt gave speeches throughout the United States, encouraging Americans to join the fight against starvation in the Third World by joining the United Nations Association.

Personal life and death Hunt married director Jerry Hopper, assistant head of the editing department at Paramount and later a director, on November 23, 1938. They divorced in 1943.

Hunt married her second husband, screenwriter and radio director Robert Presnell Jr. on February 10, 1946.

Hunt was pregnant and very sick while filming Carnegie Hall. They remained together until his death on June 14, 1986, at age 71.

Hunt resided in the Sherman Oaks neighborhood of Los Angeles, in a home she had owned since 1946. She died there from natural causes on September 7, 2022, at the age of 104. In 1999, she was one of the 250 actresses nominated for the American Film Institute's selection of the 25 greatest female screen legends who debuted before 1950. In 2002, she received a Golden Boot Award for her contributions to Western television shows and films. In March 2015, it was announced that Hunt would be honored with the inaugural "Marsha Hunt for Humanity Award" at a Hollywood screening series founded by Kat Kramer, daughter of the late film director Stanley Kramer and actress Karen Sharpe. In 2016, Hunt received the Cinecon Legacy Award at the 52nd annual Cinecon Classic Film Festival in Hollywood. It was presented by Stan Taffel who interviewed her after a screening of None Shall Escape. Three of the films in which Hunt has appeared have won the Academy Award. Both Pride and Prejudice and Blossoms in the Dust received an Oscar in the category Academy Award for Best Production Design in 1941 and 1942 respectively.

Filmography