Marguerite Churchill
Marguerite Churchill | |
|---|---|
 Churchill in 1929 | |
| Born | December 26, 1910 Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. |
| Died | January 9, 2000 (aged 89) Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1922–1952[1] |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 3, including Darcy and Orin O'Brien |
Marguerite Churchill (December 26, 1910[2][3] – January 9, 2000) was an American stage and film actress whose career spanned 30 years, from 1922 to 1952. She was John Wayne's first leading lady, in The Big Trail (1930).
Career
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A child actress, Churchill made her Broadway debut on Christmas Day 1922.[a] She was later recognized as a leading lady on Broadway at age sixteen. A Fox Film official saw her acting and offered her a contract, which soon led to her screen debut in The Diplomats (1929).
Churchill appeared in more than 25 films. She played leading lady to John Wayne in Raoul Walsh's The Big Trail (1930),[4] an early widescreen epic and Wayne's first leading role. She appeared with Wayne again in Girls Demand Excitement (1931), with Spencer Tracy and George Raft in Quick Millions (1931), with Will Rogers in Ambassador Bill (1931), with Warner Oland in Charlie Chan Carries On (1931), with her future husband George O'Brien in Riders of the Purple Sage (1931), with Charles Farrell in Girl Without a Room (1933), with Ralph Bellamy in The Final Hour (1936), with Boris Karloff in The Walking Dead (1936), and with Edward Van Sloan in Dracula's Daughter (1936).
On Broadway, Churchill performed in And Now Good-bye (1937), Dinner at Eight (1932), The Inside Story (1932), Skidding (1928), The Wild Man of Borneo (1927), House of Shadows (1927), and Why Not? (1922).[1]
Personal life
Churchill married actor George O'Brien on July 15, 1933. Their first child, Brian, died 10 days after his birth. Their daughter, Orin O'Brien, became a double bassist for the New York Philharmonic, and their youngest child, Darcy O'Brien, was a successful writer and college professor.
Churchill and O'Brien divorced in 1948.[5] After their divorce, Churchill appeared in one film and a few television plays.
On June 5, 1954, Churchill married sculptor Peter Ganine.[6][7]
Churchill died on January 9, 2000, aged 89, in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, from natural causes.
Partial filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1929 | The Valiant | Mary Douglas | Co-starring Paul Muni in his film debut |
| Pleasure Crazed | Nora Westby | ||
| They Had to See Paris | Opal Peters | With Will Rogers | |
| Seven Faces | Hélène Berthelot | ||
| 1930 | Harmony at Home | Louise Haller | With Rex Bell |
| Born Reckless | Rosa Beretti | With Edmund Lowe | |
| Good Intentions | Helen Rankin | ||
| The Big Trail | Ruth Cameron | With John Wayne | |
| 1931 | Girls Demand Excitement | Miriam | With John Wayne |
| Charlie Chan Carries On | Pamela Potter | With Warner Oland | |
| Quick Millions | Dorothy Stone | With Spencer Tracy and George Raft | |
| Riders of the Purple Sage | Jane Withersteen | With future husband George O'Brien | |
| Ambassador Bill | Queen Vanya | With Will Rogers | |
| 1932 | Forgotten Commandments | Marya Ossipoff | |
| 1933 | Girl Without a Room | Kay Loring | With Charles Farrell and Charlie Ruggles |
| 1935 | Without Children | Sue Cole | |
| Speed Devils | Pat Corey | ||
| 1936 | Man Hunt | Jane Carpenter | |
| The Walking Dead | Nancy | With Boris Karloff | |
| Dracula's Daughter | Janet | With Edward Van Sloan | |
| Murder by an Aristocrat | Sally Keating | With Lyle Talbot | |
| The Final Hour | Flo Russell | With Ralph Bellamy | |
| Alibi for Murder | Lois Allen | With William Gargan | |
| Legion of Terror | Nancy Foster | ||
| 1950 | Bunco Squad | Barbara Madison |
Notes
- ^ Some sources mistakenly cited the date as her 13th birthday.
References
- ^ a b "Marguerite Churchill". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Retrieved August 2, 2022.
- ^ "New York, New York, Birth Index, 1910–1965". AncestryLibrary.com. Ancestry.com. Archived from the original on May 19, 2020. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
- ^ "Social Security Death Index". AncestryLibrary.com. Ancestry.com. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
- ^ "Marguerite Churchill, Movie Actress". The New York Times. Associated Press. January 15, 2000. p. B7. ProQuest 91762086. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
- ^ Folkart, Burt A. (September 8, 1985). "Athlete and Film Actor George O'Brien, 86, Dies". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ "California Marriage Index, 1949–1959". Ancestry.com. California Department of Health Services. Retrieved April 27, 2025.
- ^ Hopper, Hedda (June 5, 1954). "Marguerite Churchill to Be Wed – Former film star Marguerite Churchill will marry Peter Ganine at the Russian Orthodox Church here". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. p. A1.
External links
- Marguerite Churchill at IMDb
- Marguerite Churchill at the Internet Broadway Database
- Marguerite Churchill at Virtual History