Marsha Hunt (actress, born 1917)

Marsha Hunt (born Marcia Virginia Hunt;<ref name="auto" /> October 17, 1917 – September 7, 2022) was an American actress with a career spanning nearly 80 years. She was blacklisted by Hollywood film studio executives in the 1950s during McCarthyism.<ref name=bbc2020>Template:Cite news</ref>

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.<ref name=memos/>

Early life

Hunt was born on October 17, 1917, in Chicago, Illinois,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="auto">Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref name="Indianapolis22">Template:Cite news Template:Open access</ref> Her elder sister, Marjorie, a teacher, died in 2002.<ref name="auto"/> Marcia later changed the spelling of her first name to Marsha.<ref name=slidepp47-49/>

Marsha Hunt in the 1930s

Hunt and her family were active in the Methodist church.<ref name=slidepp47-49/> Interviewed for a 1999 book, she said about her family: Template:Blockquote

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.<ref name=slidepp47-49/>

Career

Modeling

Hunt's parents wanted her to pursue a college degree, but Hunt, unable to "locate a single college or university in the land where you could major in drama before your third year", found work modeling for the John Powers Agency and began taking stage acting classes at the Theodora Irvine Studio.<ref name="auto"/><ref>Slide, pp. 49–50</ref> She was one of the highest-earning models by 1935.<ref name="StarTribune35">Template:Cite web Template:Open access</ref> In May 1935, she planned on studying stage acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in the United Kingdom.<ref name="Ogden35">Template:Cite web Template:Open access</ref>

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.<ref name=slidepp47-49 /><ref name="Courier35">Template:Cite web Template:Open access</ref> 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.<ref name="DesMoines36">Template:Cite web Template:Open access</ref> She was then offered a screen test for The Virginia Judge.<ref name=bbc2020/><ref name="Evening35">Template:Cite web Template:Open access</ref> At Paramount, Hunt mainly played ingenue parts.<ref name=slidepp47-49/> Between 1935 and 1938, she made 12 pictures at Paramount, including starring roles in Easy to Take (1936), Gentle Julia (1936), The Accusing Finger (1936), Murder Goes to College (1937), and two on "loan-out" to RKO and 20th Century Fox.<ref name=slidepp47-49/> In 1937, she starred opposite John Wayne, a couple of years before his breakthrough in Hollywood, in the Western film Born to the West.<ref name="MorningHerald38">Template:Cite web Template:Open access</ref>

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.<ref name=slidepp47-49/> 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 (1939) opposite Lana Turner and Lew Ayres.<ref>Slide, pp. 47–49 and 55–56</ref> The role of Betty was said to have been written especially with Hunt in mind.<ref name="PressDem">Template:Cite web Template:Open access</ref> 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,<ref name=bbc2020/> and as Martha Scott's surrogate child Hope Thompson in Cheers for Miss Bishop (1941).<ref name=slidepp47-49/>

Years at MGM

In 1941, Hunt signed a contract with MGM, where she remained for the next six years.<ref name=slidepp47-49/> While filming Blossoms in the Dust, film director Mervyn LeRoy lauded Hunt for her heartfelt and genuine acting ability.<ref name="Lansing41">Template:Cite web Template:Open access</ref> 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".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref name="CJN">Template:Cite web</ref>

Hollywood blacklist

In 1945, Hunt was invited to join the board of the Screen Actors Guild.<ref name=bbc2020/>

Disturbed by the actions of the House Committee on Unamerican Activities (HCUA), Hunt and her husband, screenwriter Robert Presnell Jr., became members of the Committee for the First Amendment in 1947.<ref name="auto1">Krutnik, Frank. "Un-American" Hollywood: Politics and Film in the Blacklist Era p 70 Rutgers University Press, 2007</ref><ref name="auto2">Leider, Emily W. Myrna Loy: The Only Good Girl in Hollywood (p. 261), University of California Press, 2011Template:ISBN?</ref> According to NPR, she was – at the time of her 100th birthday – the last surviving member of the group.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

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.<ref>Ross, Stephen J. Hollywood Left and Right: How Movie Stars Shaped American Politics Oxford University Press, 2011Template:ISBN?</ref><ref name="auto3">Franscella, Lawrence and Weisel, Al. Live Fast, Die Young: The Wild Ride of Making Rebel Without a Cause Simon and Schuster, 2005</ref><ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Cbignore</ref> In 2020, Hunt recalled: Template:Blockquote

The next day, Hunt flew with a group of about 30 actors, directors, writers, and filmmakers (including John Huston, Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, and Danny Kaye) to Washington to protest the actions of HCUA.<ref name="auto1"/><ref name="auto2"/> When she returned to Hollywood just three days later, things had changed. She was asked to denounce her activities if she wanted to find more work; she refused.<ref name="auto"/>

In 1950, Hunt was named as a potential Communist or Communist sympathizer (along with 151 other actors, writers, and directors) in the anti-Communist publication Red Channels.<ref name=bbc2020/><ref name=slidepp47-49/><ref name="auto3"/> The publication claimed that her leanings were made evident by her supposedly subversive actions, including asking the Supreme Court to review the convictions of John Howard Lawson and Dalton Trumbo, recording a message in support of a rally organized by the Stop Censorship Committee in 1948, signing a statement in 1946 issued by the Hollywood Independent Citizens Committee of the Arts, Sciences and Professions (HICCASP), and speaking at a rally organized by the Progressive Citizens of America in 1946.<ref name=slidepp47-49/><ref> Template:Cite book</ref>

After the publication of Red Channels in 1950, work became scarce for Hunt and Presnell.<ref name=bbc2020/><ref name="auto3"/> Hunt said in 2012, "The town turned against us. Just about-face...I was appalled, hurt, shocked that journalism could be so far out in prejudice."<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

After her 1950 blacklisting, Hunt found most work in television, not film.<ref name=bbc2020/> She appeared in only a handful of films during the next eight years.<ref name="auto3"/> She later recalled: Template:Blockquote

During an interview in 1995, Hunt stated that she believed producer Richard J. Collins was among those responsible for her inclusion on the blacklist.<ref name="auto4">Freedland, Michael. Witch Hunt in Hollywood: McCarthyism's War On Tinseltown Aurum Press, 2014Template:ISBN?</ref> She later said: Template:Blockquote

In 1957, her career began to pick up. She appeared in six films during the next three years before announcing her semi-retirement in 1960.<ref name=slidepp47-49/>

Later work

Following her semi-retirement in 1960, Hunt appeared in small roles in five films and numerous television shows, including an episode of the medical drama Breaking Point. In 1962, she appeared in the season-nine episode of Gunsmoke titled "The Glory and the Mud".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Hunt in 2013

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.<ref name=NYTobit>Template:Cite web</ref> 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"<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> as Anne Jameson, wife of an admiral who took an age-reversing drug.<ref name=NYTobit/> In 1997, she appeared as Ethel Thayer in the Santa Susana Repertory Company's production of On Golden Pond.<ref name="GPMH">Template:Cite news</ref>

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

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Hunt played Elizabeth Lyons in Chloe's Prayer, a 2006 film.<ref name="SCMH">Template:Cite web</ref> In 2008, Hunt appeared in a short film noir, The Grand Inquisitor,<ref name="SCMH" /> as Hazel Reedy, the could-be widow of one of America's most infamous unapprehended serial killers.<ref name=THR/>

In 2013, Hunt debuted a clip of a song she wrote 40 years earlier titled "Here's to All Who Love" about love and same-sex marriage.<ref name="auto5">Template:Cite web</ref> Sung by Glee guest actor Bill A. Jones, the clip immediately went viral.<ref name="auto5"/> It was featured in Marsha Hunt's Sweet Adversity, a documentary about her life.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The documentary debuted at the Palm Springs and Santa Barbara International Film Festivals in January 2015.<ref name=memos>Template:Cite news</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref name="auto"/><ref name=memos/> Hunt was a founder of the San Fernando Valley Mayor's Fund for the Homeless and helped to open one of the first homeless shelters in the San Fernando Valley.<ref name="auto"/><ref name=memos/> In 1960, she produced an hour-long telecast about refugee problems that featured stars such as Paul Newman, Jean Simmons, and Bing Crosby.<ref name=memos/> She raised funds for the creation of Rose Cottage, a daycare shelter for homeless children;<ref name=memos/> and served for many years on the advisory board of directors for the San Fernando Valley Community Mental Health Center, a large non-profit, where she advocated for adults and children affected by homelessness and mental illness.<ref name=memos/> She was named honorary mayor of Sherman Oaks, California, in 1983.<ref name=memos/>

Hunt still identified as a political liberal and was very concerned with such issues as global pollution, worldwide poverty,<ref name="memos" /> peace in Third World nations, and population growth.<ref name="Politics">Template:Cite web</ref>

Personal life

Hunt married director Jerry Hopper, assistant head of the editing department at Paramount and later a director, on November 23, 1938.<ref>Slide, pp. 56–57.</ref><ref name="Argus38">Template:Cite news Template:Open access</ref> They divorced in 1943.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=SightSound>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Hunt married her second husband, screenwriter and radio director Robert Presnell Jr. on February 10, 1946.<ref name="Presnell"/><ref name="TownTalk46">Template:Cite web Template:Open access</ref>

Hunt was pregnant and very sick while filming Carnegie Hall.<ref name="Foster"/> Her only biological child, a premature daughter, was born on July 1, 1947, and died the next day.<ref name="Presnell"/> She and her second husband later became foster parents.<ref name="Foster">Slide, p. 60</ref> They remained together until his death on June 14, 1986, at age 71.<ref name="Presnell">Template:Cite web</ref>

Hunt resided in the Sherman Oaks neighborhood of Los Angeles, in a home she had owned since 1946.<ref name="Cent">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> She died there from natural causes on September 7, 2022, at the age of 104.<ref name=THR>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=NYTobit/>

Awards and honors

• On February 8, 1960, Hunt received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6658 Hollywood Boulevard.<ref name="WalkofFame">Template:Cite web</ref>
• 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.<ref name="Legends">Template:Cite web</ref>
• In 2002, she received a Golden Boot Award for her contributions to Western television shows and films.<ref name="GoldenBoot">Template:Cite web</ref>
• 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• 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.<ref>Template:Vimeo</ref>
• 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.<ref name="Oscars"/> The Human Comedy received an Oscar in the now-defunct category Academy Award for Best Story in 1944.<ref name="Oscars">Template:Cite web</ref>

Further reading

• Template:Cite book

External links

• Template:IMDb name
• Template:IBDB name
• Attitude Toward Aging with Marsha Hunt, WebMD Live Events Transcript Template:Webarchive, medicinenet.com
• Interview October 2014, indystar.com
• Template:Usurped, hollywoodandart.com
• Template:Rotten Tomatoes person
• Marsha Hunt at Find a Grave
• Template:Discogs artist