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Marian Marsh, also known as Marilyn Morgan and Marian Henderson (b. Violet Ethelred Krauth, 17 October 1913, Trinidad, British West Indies - 9 November 2006, Palm Desert, California) was a Hollywood actress, and later, environmentalist.

She was best-known for films in the 1930s such as Svengali (1931), Five Star Final (1931), and the Howard Hughes film, Hell's Angels (1930).

Biography

Early life

Violet Ethelred Krauth was born on 17 October 1913 in Trinidad, British West Indies (now Trinidad and Tobago), the youngest of four children (including her older sister, actress Jean Fenwick) of a German chocolate manufacturer and his British wife.

When World War I ruined his business, Krauth's father moved the family to Massachusetts. By the time Krauth was ten, the family had relocated to California where her older sister Jean eventually landed a job as a contract player with FBO Studios.

Krauth attended La Conte Junior High School and Hollywood High School. With Jean's help, Krauth landed a short pact with Samuel Goldwyn. With that over, and known as Marilyn Morgan, she decided to attend acting and voice lessons with silent-era actress, Nance O'Neil. In 1929, she was signed by Warner Bros. and changed her name to Marian Marsh.

Hollywood success

At Warner Bros, Marsh appeared in 30 short films leading up to a small part in the 1931 Howard Hughes film, Hell's Angels. Then, aged 17, she landed her most important role in Svengali opposite John Barrymore. This film was based on an 1895 play, which was in turn based on a gothic horror novel by George du Maurier published in 1894 entitled Trilby. In the film, Marsh plays a milkmaid who is transformed into a great singer with the help of an evil magician, Svengali. (The word svengali has since entered the English language, mean a person who, with evil intent, tries to persuade another to do what is desired.)

She was selected as one of the WAMPAS Baby Stars of 1931. Svengali led to a string of successful film including, Five Star Final (1931) with Edward G. Robinson, The Mad Genius (1931), again with John Barrymore, The Road to Singapore (1931) with William Powell and Beauty and the Boss (1932) with Warren William.

A fall from grace & a second try

With the failure of 1932's Under Eighteen, Marsh fell out of favor with Warners and left, subsequently appearing in several low budget failures in Europe between 1932 and 1934. In 1935, Marsh signed a two-year pact with Columbia Pictures. During this time, she starred in films such as, Crime and Punishment (1935) with Peter Lorre, The Black Room (1935) with Boris Karloff, and Counterfeit (1936). When her contract expired in 1936, Marsh once again made poor decisions, appearing in several B-movies in 1937 and 1938. She never regained her fame. Her last film was House of Errors (1942).

In the late 1950s, she appeared in a television pilot with John Forsythe and an episode of Schlitz Playhouse of Stars before retiring in 1959

Personal life

On 29 March 1938, Marsh married a stock broker named Albert Scott and had two children with him. After Scott's death, Marsh married Cliff Henderson, an aviation pioneer and entrepreneur and moved to Palm Desert, California, a town Henderson founded in the 1940s.

In the 1960s Marian founded Desert Beautiful, a non-profit, all volunteer conservation organization to promote environmental and beautification programs. Cliff Henderson died in 1984 and Marian Henderson remained in Palm Desert until her death, aged 93.

External links

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