E. G. Marshall (June 18, 1914 – August 24, 1998) was an American actor, best known for his TV roles as the lawyer Lawrence Preston on
The DefendersThe Defenders is an Emmy-winning American courtroom drama series which ran on CBS from 1961–1965. It starred E. G. Marshall and Robert Reed as father-and-son defense attorneys who specialized in legally complex cases, with defendants such as neo-Nazis, conscientious objectors, civil rights...
in the 1960s, and as neurosurgeon Dr. David Craig on
The Bold Ones: The New DoctorsThe Bold Ones: The New Doctors is a medical drama that lasted for four seasons on NBC, from 1969 to 1973.The series was about the life of Dr. David Craig The Bold Ones: The New Doctors (also known as The New Doctors) is a medical drama that lasted for four seasons on NBC, from 1969 to 1973.The...
in the 1970s. Among his film roles, he is perhaps best known as the unflappable Juror #4 in
Sidney LumetSidney Lumet is an American film director, with over 50 films to his name, including 12 Angry Men , Serpico , Dog Day Afternoon , Network and The Verdict , all of which, except for Serpico , earned him Academy Award nominations for Best Director.According to The Encyclopedia of Hollywood,...
's courtroom drama
12 Angry Men.
Marshall was born
Everett Eugene Grunz in
Owatonna, MinnesotaOwatonna is a city in Steele County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 22,434 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Steele County. Owatonna is home to the Steele County Fairgrounds, which hosts the Steele County Free Fair in August....
, the son of Hazel Irene (
néeA married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage, and in speaking of the many cultures where the practice is traditional for women, the maiden name is the family name that the married name replaces....
Cobb) and Charles G.
E. G. Marshall (June 18, 1914 – August 24, 1998) was an American actor, best known for his TV roles as the lawyer Lawrence Preston on
The DefendersThe Defenders is an Emmy-winning American courtroom drama series which ran on CBS from 1961–1965. It starred E. G. Marshall and Robert Reed as father-and-son defense attorneys who specialized in legally complex cases, with defendants such as neo-Nazis, conscientious objectors, civil rights...
in the 1960s, and as neurosurgeon Dr. David Craig on
The Bold Ones: The New DoctorsThe Bold Ones: The New Doctors is a medical drama that lasted for four seasons on NBC, from 1969 to 1973.The series was about the life of Dr. David Craig The Bold Ones: The New Doctors (also known as The New Doctors) is a medical drama that lasted for four seasons on NBC, from 1969 to 1973.The...
in the 1970s. Among his film roles, he is perhaps best known as the unflappable Juror #4 in
Sidney LumetSidney Lumet is an American film director, with over 50 films to his name, including 12 Angry Men , Serpico , Dog Day Afternoon , Network and The Verdict , all of which, except for Serpico , earned him Academy Award nominations for Best Director.According to The Encyclopedia of Hollywood,...
's courtroom drama
12 Angry Men.
Early life
Marshall was born
Everett Eugene Grunz in
Owatonna, MinnesotaOwatonna is a city in Steele County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 22,434 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Steele County. Owatonna is home to the Steele County Fairgrounds, which hosts the Steele County Free Fair in August....
, the son of Hazel Irene (
néeA married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage, and in speaking of the many cultures where the practice is traditional for women, the maiden name is the family name that the married name replaces....
Cobb) and Charles G. Grunz. During his life, he never divulged fully what 'E.G' stood for, telling most people it stood for "Everybody's Guess". It was thought to mean "Everett Grunz" or "Edda Gunnar Marshall". In actual fact, it meant Everett Gillespie Marshall. His legal name.
Career
Although most familiar from his television and movie roles, E. G. Marshall came from a distinguished Broadway background, appearing in the original New York productions of
The Skin of Our Teeth,
The Iceman Cometh, and lead roles in
The Crucible and
Waiting for Godot.
Marshall was the original host of the popular nightly radio drama
The CBS Radio Mystery TheaterCBS Radio Mystery Theater was an ambitious and sustained attempt during the 1970s to revive the type of audio drama familiar to listeners of old-time radio...
(or
CBSRMT), which ran on CBS radio affiliate stations across the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
between 1974 and 1982.
CBSRMT was an ambitious and sustained attempt to revive the great drama of
old-time radioOld-Time Radio and the Golden Age of Radio refer to a period of radio programming in the United States lasting from the proliferation of radio broadcasting in the early 1920s until television's replacement of radio as the dominant home entertainment medium in the 1950s...
. Each episode began with the ominous sound of a creaking door, slowly opening to invite listeners in for the evening's adventure. At the end of each show, the door would swing shut, with Marshall signing off, "Until next time,
pleasant... dre-e-eams?" Marshall hosted the program for the first seven years. Failing health forced his departure in 1981, and he was replaced by actress
Tammy Grimes-Early life:Grimes was born in Lynn, Massachusetts, the daughter of Eola Willard , a naturalist and spiritualist, and Nicholas Luther Grimes, an innkeeper, country-club manager, and farmer. She attended high school at the then-all girls school, Beaver Country Day School, in Chestnut Hill,...
for the final season.
Marshall also found fame playing in other television and film roles, usually as an authoritative figure. One of his best known television roles was as defense lawyer Lawrence Preston in the series
The DefendersThe Defenders is an Emmy-winning American courtroom drama series which ran on CBS from 1961–1965. It starred E. G. Marshall and Robert Reed as father-and-son defense attorneys who specialized in legally complex cases, with defendants such as neo-Nazis, conscientious objectors, civil rights...
, which lasted from 1961 to 1965. He and future
Brady BunchThe Brady Bunch is an American television sitcom. starring Robert Reed, Florence Henderson, and Ann B. Davis, which revolves around a large blended family...
star
Robert ReedRobert Reed was an American stage and television actor.-Early life:Reed was born John Robert Rietz, in Highland Park, Illinois, the son of Helen and John R. Rietz. Reed spent much of his childhood in Muskogee, Oklahoma, and later studied Shakespeare in college...
portrayed a father and son who worked in a law firm. This role garnered him two Emmy wins-one in 1962 and one in 1963. He also earned more prominence as dedicated neurosurgeon, Dr. Benjamin Craig, in
The Bold Ones: The New DoctorsThe Bold Ones: The New Doctors is a medical drama that lasted for four seasons on NBC, from 1969 to 1973.The series was about the life of Dr. David Craig The Bold Ones: The New Doctors (also known as The New Doctors) is a medical drama that lasted for four seasons on NBC, from 1969 to 1973.The...
, from 1969 to 1973, featuring unfamiliar actors
David HartmanDavid Hartman may refer to:*David Hartman , American*David Hartman , American*David Hartman , chairman of the Rockford Institute...
and
John Saxon-Early life:Saxon, an Italian American, was born Carmine Orrico in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Anna and Antonio Orrico, a dock worker. He attended New Utrecht High School and studied acting with famous acting coach Stella Adler and broke into films in the mid-1950s, playing teenage roles...
. Marshall reprised the role of Lawrence Preston for a 1997 Showtime television movie based on
The Defenders called
The Defenders: Payback. It featured the elder Preston and his descendants taking on legal cases in the 1990s. (Reed did not appear in the revival since he died in 1992. The movie acknowledged this absence by mentioning that Reed's character had died.) There was a second movie and plans for a series. The series was aborted after his death.
Personal life and death
Marshall was married three times. He had seven children in all, whose names include Sam, Jed, Sarah, Jill, and Degen.
He died of
lung cancerLung cancer is a disease of uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. This growth may lead to metastasis, which is the invasion of adjacent tissue and infiltration beyond the lungs. The vast majority of primary lung cancers are carcinomas of the lung, derived from epithelial cells...
in
Bedford, New YorkBedford is a town in Westchester County, New York, USA. The population was 18,133 at the 2000 census.The Town of Bedford, located in the northeastern part of the county, has three unincorporated hamlets: Bedford Hills, Bedford Village, and Katonah....
, on August 24, 1998. His grave is in the Middle Patent Rural Cemetery, located in the hamlet of Banksville, a part of the town of
North Castle, New YorkNorth Castle is a town in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 10,849 at the 2000 census. It has no villages.-Geography:...
. As a member of the Committee for National Health Insurance, he was a long-time advocate for government provided health care (socialized medicine) in the United States.
Filmography
- 13 Rue Madeleine
13 Rue Madeleine is a 1947 World War II spy film starring James Cagney, Annabella and Richard Conte.-Plot:Bob Sharkey is an instructor of would-be spies for the Allied Office of Strategic Services...
(1947)
- Call Northside 777
Call Northside 777 is a documentary-style film noir directed by Henry Hathaway. It is based on the true story of a Chicago reporter who proved that a man who has been in prison for murder, was wrongly convicted 11 years before. James Stewart stars as the persistent journalist...
(1948)
- The Caine Mutiny
The Caine Mutiny is a drama film set during World War II, directed by Edward Dmytryk and produced by Stanley Kramer. It stars Humphrey Bogart, Jose Ferrer, Van Johnson and Fred MacMurray, and is based on the 1951 Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Herman Wouk The Caine Mutiny. The film depicts a...
(1954)
- Broken Lance
Broken Lance is a 1954 Western film made by Twentieth Century-Fox, directed by Edward Dmytryk and produced by Sol C. Siegel. The movie stars Spencer Tracy and features Katy Jurado, Richard Widmark, Robert Wagner, Jean Peters, and Hugh O'Brian...
(1954)
- The Left Hand of God
The Left Hand of God is a 1955 drama film made by 20th Century Fox. It was directed by Edward Dmytryk and produced by Buddy Adler, from a screenplay by Alfred Hayes, based on the novel The Left Hand of God by William Edmund Barrett. It stars Humphrey Bogart and Gene Tierney, with a supporting cast...
(1955)
- The Bachelor Party
The Bachelor Party is a 1953 teleplay by Paddy Chayefsky which was adapted by Chayefsky for a film.-Television:Chayefsky's teleplay was produced by Fred Coe for The Philco Television Playhouse on October 11, 1953...
(1957)
- Man on Fire
Man on Fire is a 1980 thriller novel by Philip Nicholson, writing as A. J. Quinnell. The plot features his popular character Creasy, an American-born former member of the French Foreign Legion, in his first appearance.-Plot:...
(1957)
- 12 Angry Men (1957)
- The Buccaneer
The Buccaneer is a 1958 film, made by Paramount Pictures and shot in Technicolor and VistaVision. It takes place during the War of 1812, and tells a heavily fictionalized version of how the pirate Jean Lafitte helped in the Battle of New Orleans and how he had to choose between fighting for...
(1958)
- Town Without Pity
Town Without Pity is a 1961 film American and West German co-produced film starring Kirk Douglas as Major Steve Garrett.It is also the name of a song from that movie, performed by Gene Pitney and covered by many other musicians, including Ronnie Montrose.-Plot:Four American soldiers are accused of...
(1961)
- The Chase
The Chase is a 1966 American drama film directed by Arthur Penn, about a series of events set into motion by a prison break. Since one of the two escapees is Charlie "Bubber" Reeves , the escape causes a stir in a nearby town where Bubber is a well-known figure.The film deals with themes of racism...
(1966)
- The Bridge at Remagen
The Bridge at Remagen is a war film released in 1969, directed by John Guillerminand starring George Segal, Ben Gazzara and Robert Vaughn. The film is based on the book...
(1969)
- The Learning Tree
The Learning Tree is a 1969 drama film which tells the story of a young African American growing up in a rural setting in the early part of the 20th century, when racial discrimination was a social norm, legally sanctioned in parts of the United States....
(1969)
- Tora! Tora! Tora!
Tora! Tora! Tora! is a 1970 American-Japanese film that dramatizes the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, to the extent these facts were known at the time of production....
(1970)
- The Incredible Machine
The Incredible Machine is a 1975 documentary film directed by Irwin Rosten and Ed Spiegel. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature....
(1975)
- Interiors
Interiors is a 1978 drama film written and directed by Woody Allen. Featured performers are Kristin Griffith, Mary Beth Hurt, Richard Jordan, Diane Keaton, E.G. Marshall, Geraldine Page, Maureen Stapleton and Sam Waterston....
(1978)
- Superman II
Superman II is the 1980 sequel to the 1978 superhero film Superman. It was the only Superman film to be filmed by two directors. For this reason the film is surrounded with controversy since original director Richard Donner had completed, by his estimation, roughly 75% of the movie in 1977 before...
(1980)
- Creepshow
Creepshow is an American horror-comedy anthology film directed by George A. Romero , and written by Stephen King ....
(1982)
- Kennedy (1983)
- La Gran Fiesta
La Gran Fiesta is a 1985 Puerto Rican film, written and directed by Marcos Zurinaga, based on a story by Ana Lydia Vega....
(1984)
- My Chauffeur
My Chauffeur is an American comedy film starring E. G. Marshall, Deborah Foreman, and Howard Hesseman. It was written and directed by David Beaird. The original music score was composed by Paul Hertzog. The film was released on January 24, 1986, and was marketed with the tagline "Some women will,...
(1986)
- Power
Power is a 1986 American drama film directed by Sidney Lumet. The original screenplay by David Himmelstein focuses on political corruption and how power affects both those who wield it and the people they try to control....
(1986)
- National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation is a 1989 Christmas comedy film directed by Jeremiah S. Chechik. It is the third installment in National Lampoon's Vacation film series, and is considered a holiday classic...
(1989)
- Consenting Adults
Consenting Adults is a 1992 American thriller film, directed by Alan J. Pakula. It stars Kevin Kline, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Kevin Spacey and Rebecca Miller. The original music score was composed by Michael Small...
(1992)
- Chicago Hope
Chicago Hope is an American medical drama series created by David E. Kelley that ran from September 18, 1994 to May 5, 2000. It takes place in a fictional private charity hospital.-Premise:...
(1994 & 1995, 8 episodes)
- The Tommyknockers
The Tommyknockers is a 1993 television miniseries, based on the novel The Tommyknockers by Stephen King. It was directed by John Power, and starred Marg Helgenberger and Jimmy Smits in the two lead roles.-Plot:...
(1993)
- Nixon
Nixon is a 1995 American biographical film directed by Oliver Stone for Cinergi Pictures that tells the story of the political and personal life of former US President Richard Nixon, played by Anthony Hopkins. The film portrays Nixon as a complex and, in many respects, an admirable person, though...
(1995)
- Absolute Power
Absolute Power political thriller directed by and starring Clint Eastwood. The screenplay by William Goldman is based on the 1996 novel of the same name written by David Baldacci. It was screened out of competition at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival....
(1997)
- Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut
Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut is a 2006 re-edit of the 1980 superhero film, Superman II, by Richard Donner, who shot a large part of the original movie before being replaced as director by Richard Lester. It stars Gene Hackman, Christopher Reeve, Terence Stamp, Margot Kidder and Marlon Brando...
(2006)
External links