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

Run for Your Life

Murder, She Wrote

Ironside

Ironside

My Three Sons

The Philco Television Playhouse

The Philco Television Playhouse
All Movies (80)
- Journey to Royal: A WWII Rescue Mission2021 · as Self
- Marsha Hunt's Sweet Adversity2015 · as Self
- Empire State Building Murders2008 · as Norah Strinberg
- The Grand Inquisitor2008 · as Hazel Reedy
- Chloe's Prayer2006
- Dalton Trumbo: Rebel in Hollywood2006 · as Herself
- Blacklist: Hollywood on Trial1996 · as Herself
- The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind1988 · as Self (archive footage)
- Terror Among Us1981 · as Marge
- Jigsaw1972 · as Dr. Gehlen
- Johnny Got His Gun1971 · as Joe's Mother
- Fear No Evil1969 · as Mrs. Varney
- The Plunderers1960 · as Kate Miller
- Blue Denim1959 · as Jessie Bartley
- Bombers B-521957 · as Edith Brennan
- Back from the Dead1957 · as Kate Hazelton
- No Place to Hide1956 · as Anne Dobson
- A Word to the Wives...1955 · as Alice
- Diplomatic Passport1954 · as Judy Anderson
- With This Ring1954 · as Elise Miller John
- The Happy Time1952 · as Susan Bonnard
- Actors and Sin1952 · as Marcia Tillayou (segment Actor's Blood)
- She Loves Me Not1949 · as Midge Mercer
- Mary Ryan, Detective1949 · as Mary Ryan
- Take One False Step1949 · as Martha Wier
- Jigsaw1949 · as Mrs. Hartley's Secretary (uncredited)
- Raw Deal1948 · as Ann Martin
- The Inside Story1948 · as Francine Taylor
- Smash-Up: The Story of a Woman1947 · as Martha Gray
- Carnegie Hall1947 · as Nora Ryan
- A Letter for Evie1946 · as Evie O'Connor
- The Valley of Decision1945 · as Constance Scott
- Music for Millions1944 · as Rosalind
- Bride by Mistake1944 · as Sylvia Lockwood
- None Shall Escape1944 · as Marja Pacierkowski
- Twenty Years After1944 · as (archive footage)
- Lost Angel1943 · as Katie Mallory
- Cry 'Havoc'1943 · as Flo Norris
- Thousands Cheer1943 · as Marsha Hunt
- Pilot #51943 · as Freddie Andrews
- The Human Comedy1943 · as Diana Steed
- Seven Sweethearts1942 · as Regina 'Reggie' Van Maaster
- Panama Hattie1942 · as Leila Tree
- The Affairs of Martha1942 · as Martha Lindstrom
- Kid Glove Killer1942 · as Jane Mitchell
- Joe Smith, American1942 · as Mary Smith
- Unholy Partners1941 · as Gail Fenton
- Blossoms in the Dust1941 · as Charlotte
- I'll Wait for You1941 · as Pauline Miller
- The Penalty1941 · as Katherine Logan
- Cheers for Miss Bishop1941 · as Hope Thompson
- The Trial of Mary Dugan1941 · as Agatha Hall
- Flight Command1940 · as Claire
- Ellery Queen, Master Detective1940 · as Barbara Braun
- Pride and Prejudice1940 · as Mary Bennet
- Women in Hiding1940 · as Jane Taylor
- Hollywood: Style Center of the World1940 · as Self
- Irene1940 · as Miss Eleanor Worth
- Joe and Ethel Turp Call on the President1939 · as Kitty Crusper
- Rhumba Rhythm at the Hollywood La Conga1939 · as Herself (uncredited)
- These Glamour Girls1939 · as Betty Ainsbridge
- Winter Carnival1939 · as Lucy Morgan
- The Hardys Ride High1939 · as Susan Bowen
- Star Reporter1939 · as Barbara Burnette
- The Long Shot1939 · as Martha Sharon
- Come On, Leathernecks!1938 · as Valerie Taylor
- Born to the West1937 · as Judy Worstall
- Hell Town1937 · as Judy Rustoe
- Thunder Trail1937 · as Amy Morgan
- Annapolis Salute1937 · as Julia Clemens
- Easy Living1937 · as Girl Getting Coat Dropped on Her at Finale (uncredited)
- Murder Goes to College1937 · as Nora Barry
- College Holiday1936 · as Sylvia Smith
- The Accusing Finger1936 · as Claire Patterson
- Easy to Take1936 · as Donna Westlake
- Hollywood Boulevard1936 · as Patricia Blakeford
- The Arizona Raiders1936 · as Harriett Lindsay
- Gentle Julia1936 · as Julia Atwater
- Desert Gold1936 · as Judith 'Judy' Belding
- The Virginia Judge1935 · as Mary Lee Calvert
All TV Shows (43)
- Moguls & Movie Stars: A History of Hollywood2010 · as Self
- The Play on One1988 · as Elvi Rogers
- Star Trek: The Next Generation1987 · as Anne Jameson
- Matlock1986 · as Harriet
- Murder, She Wrote1984 · as Elvira Tree
- Medical Story1975 · as Sylvia Brent
- Harry O1974
- Police Story1973
- Police Story1973 · as Mrs. Hines
- Marcus Welby, M.D.1969 · as Mrs. Bellows
- The Name of the Game1968 · as Claudia Loring
- The Outsider1968
- Accidental Family1967
- Ironside1967
- Ironside1967 · as Sissy Cardwell
- Run for Your Life1965 · as Mrs. Southworth
- Profiles in Courage1964 · as Mrs. Ely
- Breaking Point1963
- The Outer Limits1963 · as Francesca Fields
- Sam Benedict1962 · as Cora Wilcox
- Ben Casey1961
- Cain's Hundred1961 · as Gloria Bonner
- The Defenders1961 · as Della Martin
- My Three Sons1960 · as Aunt Cecile Blackman
- The Detectives1959
- The Twilight Zone1959 · as Mrs. Henderson
- Laramie1959
- Peck's Bad Girl1959 · as Jennifer Peck
- Panic!1957
- Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre1956 · as Claire Andrews
- Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre1956 · as Dr. Sarah Martin
- Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre1956 · as Julie Reynolds
- Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre1956 · as Catha Duncan
- The 20th Century Fox Hour1955 · as Mary
- Alfred Hitchcock Presents1955 · as Blanche Herbert
- Gunsmoke1955 · as Sarah
- Climax!1954 · as Ann Williams
- Climax!1954 · as Julie Brennan
- Your Show of Shows1950
- Studio One1948 · as Janet Willson
- Studio One1948 · as Kate Brookfield (uncredited)
- The Philco Television Playhouse1948 · as Viola
- The Philco Television Playhouse1948 · as Phoebe Throssel