Acting · Chicago, Illinois, USA · Born October 17, 1917
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.
MovieJourney to Royal: A WWII Rescue Mission
2021
as Self
MovieMarsha Hunt's Sweet Adversity
2015
as Self
TVMoguls & Movie Stars: A History of Hollywood
2010
as Self
Empire State Building Murders
2008
as Norah Strinberg
MovieThe Grand Inquisitor
2008
as Hazel Reedy
MovieChloe's Prayer
2006
Dalton Trumbo: Rebel in Hollywood
2006
as Herself
MovieBlacklist: Hollywood on Trial
1996
as Herself
MovieThe Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind
1988
as Self (archive footage)
TVThe Play on One
1988
as Elvi Rogers
TVStar Trek: The Next Generation
1987
as Anne Jameson
TVMatlock
1986
as Harriet
TVMurder, She Wrote
1984
as Elvira Tree
MovieTerror Among Us
1981
as Marge
TVMedical Story
1975
as Sylvia Brent
TVHarry O
1974
TVPolice Story
1973
MovieJigsaw
1972
as Dr. Gehlen
MovieJohnny Got His Gun
1971
as Joe's Mother
TVMarcus Welby, M.D.
1969
as Mrs. Bellows
MovieFear No Evil
1969
as Mrs. Varney
TVThe Name of the Game
1968
as Claudia Loring
TVThe Outsider
1968
TVAccidental Family
1967
TVIronside
1967
TVRun for Your Life
1965
as Mrs. Southworth
Profiles in Courage
1964
as Mrs. Ely
TVBreaking Point
1963
TVThe Outer Limits
1963
as Francesca Fields
TVSam Benedict
1962
as Cora Wilcox
TVBen Casey
1961
TVCain's Hundred
1961
as Gloria Bonner
TVThe Defenders
1961
as Della Martin
MovieThe Plunderers
1960
as Kate Miller
TVMy Three Sons
1960
as Aunt Cecile Blackman
TVThe Detectives
1959
TVThe Twilight Zone
1959
as Mrs. Henderson
TVLaramie
1959
MovieBlue Denim
1959
as Jessie Bartley
Peck's Bad Girl
1959
as Jennifer Peck
MovieBombers B-52
1957
as Edith Brennan
MovieBack from the Dead
1957
as Kate Hazelton
TVPanic!
1957
TVDick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
1956
as Claire Andrews
No Place to Hide
1956
as Anne Dobson
TVThe 20th Century Fox Hour
1955
as Mary
TVAlfred Hitchcock Presents
1955
as Blanche Herbert
TVGunsmoke
1955
as Sarah
MovieA Word to the Wives...
1955
as Alice
TVClimax!
1954
as Ann Williams
MovieDiplomatic Passport
1954
as Judy Anderson
MovieWith This Ring
1954
as Elise Miller John
MovieThe Happy Time
1952
as Susan Bonnard
MovieActors and Sin
1952
as Marcia Tillayou (segment Actor's Blood)
TVYour Show of Shows
1950
MovieShe Loves Me Not
1949
as Midge Mercer
MovieMary Ryan, Detective
1949
as Mary Ryan
MovieTake One False Step
1949
as Martha Wier
MovieJigsaw
1949
as Mrs. Hartley's Secretary (uncredited)
TVStudio One
1948
as Janet Willson
TVThe Philco Television Playhouse
1948
as Viola
MovieRaw Deal
1948
as Ann Martin
MovieThe Inside Story
1948
as Francine Taylor
MovieSmash-Up: The Story of a Woman
1947
as Martha Gray
MovieCarnegie Hall
1947
as Nora Ryan
MovieA Letter for Evie
1946
as Evie O'Connor
MovieThe Valley of Decision
1945
as Constance Scott
MovieMusic for Millions
1944
as Rosalind
MovieBride by Mistake
1944
as Sylvia Lockwood
MovieNone Shall Escape
1944
as Marja Pacierkowski
MovieTwenty Years After
1944
as (archive footage)
MovieLost Angel
1943
as Katie Mallory
MovieCry 'Havoc'
1943
as Flo Norris
MovieThousands Cheer
1943
as Marsha Hunt
MoviePilot #5
1943
as Freddie Andrews
MovieThe Human Comedy
1943
as Diana Steed
MovieSeven Sweethearts
1942
as Regina 'Reggie' Van Maaster
MoviePanama Hattie
1942
as Leila Tree
MovieThe Affairs of Martha
1942
as Martha Lindstrom
MovieKid Glove Killer
1942
as Jane Mitchell
MovieJoe Smith, American
1942
as Mary Smith
MovieUnholy Partners
1941
as Gail Fenton
MovieBlossoms in the Dust
1941
as Charlotte
MovieI'll Wait for You
1941
as Pauline Miller
MovieThe Penalty
1941
as Katherine Logan
MovieCheers for Miss Bishop
1941
as Hope Thompson
MovieThe Trial of Mary Dugan
1941
as Agatha Hall
MovieFlight Command
1940
as Claire
MovieEllery Queen, Master Detective
1940
as Barbara Braun
MoviePride and Prejudice
1940
as Mary Bennet
MovieWomen in Hiding
1940
as Jane Taylor
MovieHollywood: Style Center of the World
1940
as Self
MovieIrene
1940
as Miss Eleanor Worth
MovieJoe and Ethel Turp Call on the President
1939
as Kitty Crusper
MovieRhumba Rhythm at the Hollywood La Conga
1939
as Herself (uncredited)
MovieThese Glamour Girls
1939
as Betty Ainsbridge
MovieWinter Carnival
1939
as Lucy Morgan
MovieThe Hardys Ride High
1939
as Susan Bowen
MovieStar Reporter
1939
as Barbara Burnette
MovieThe Long Shot
1939
as Martha Sharon
MovieCome On, Leathernecks!
1938
as Valerie Taylor
MovieBorn to the West
1937
as Judy Worstall
MovieHell Town
1937
as Judy Rustoe
MovieThunder Trail
1937
as Amy Morgan
MovieAnnapolis Salute
1937
as Julia Clemens
MovieEasy Living
1937
as Girl Getting Coat Dropped on Her at Finale (uncredited)
MovieMurder Goes to College
1937
as Nora Barry
MovieCollege Holiday
1936
as Sylvia Smith
MovieThe Accusing Finger
1936
as Claire Patterson
MovieEasy to Take
1936
as Donna Westlake
MovieHollywood Boulevard
1936
as Patricia Blakeford
MovieThe Arizona Raiders
1936
as Harriett Lindsay
MovieGentle Julia
1936
as Julia Atwater
MovieDesert Gold
1936
as Judith 'Judy' Belding
MovieThe Virginia Judge
1935
as Mary Lee Calvert
