Marilyn Erskine
Encyclopedia
Marilyn Erskine is an American actor who started performing at the age of three on radio, and has since appeared in radio, theater, film and television roles from the 1920s through the 1970s.
She also appeared on the nationwide CBS radio show Let's Pretend
sometime between 1929 and 1937, where children played all the roles in adaptions of fairy tales and other children's stories.
As an adult, she appeared in at least one Broadway production in New York City:
She played herself in a 1951 MGM documentary Challenge the Wilderness, on the production problems faced while filming Westward the Women. She was also one of the narrators for the 1953 documentary The Hoaxters, a short history of Communism.
, from General Electric Theater
to Westinghouse Studio One to Science Fiction Theater to Lux Video Theater, appearing in over fifty different productions on thirty different series from 1949 to 1962. In her later career, after 1962, she primarily played roles on westerns and crime dramas.
She was a co-star in the television series The Tom Ewell Show
, playing Tom's wife, Fran Potter. This situation comedy ran from September 1960 through May 1961 on the CBS television network.
She was a co-presenter for the Short Subject Awards category of the 26th Annual Academy Awards in 1954, and appeared as herself in the last episode of the The NBC Comedy Hour
June 10, 1956.
Her last role on television was in 1972, in the Ironside
TV series.
in May 1945. The marriage was annulled two months later.
She married insurance executive Charles Curland in 1955, and had two children. Their home in Brentwood, California, was featured in an article in the 1958 ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST.
Radio career
She started her performing career at the age of three years, appearing on a local radio show in Buffalo, New York.She also appeared on the nationwide CBS radio show Let's Pretend
Let's Pretend
This article is on the US radio series. For the UK TV series see Let's Pretend .Let's Pretend, created and directed by Nila Mack , was a long-run CBS radio series for children....
sometime between 1929 and 1937, where children played all the roles in adaptions of fairy tales and other children's stories.
Theatre career
As a teenager, she appeared in at least nine Broadway productions in New York City:- Excursion (playing Eileen Loschavio) April 9, 1937 - July ?, 1937
- The Ghost of Yankee Doodle (playing Patience Garrison) November 22, 1937 - January ?, 1938
- Our Town (playing Rebecca Gibbs) February 4, 1938 - November 19, 1938
- The Primrose Path (playing Eva Wallace) January 4, 1939 - May ?, 1939
- Goodbye in the Night (playing Gertie) March 18–23, 1940
- Ring Around Elizabeth (playing Mercedes) November 17–25, 1941
- What Big Ears! (playing Betty Leeds) April 20–25, 1942
- Nine Girls (playing Shirley) January 13–16, 1943
- Pretty Little Parlor (playing Anastasia) April 17–22, 1944
As an adult, she appeared in at least one Broadway production in New York City:
- The Linden Tree (playing Dinah Linden) March 2–6, 1948
Film career
She appeared in several Hollywood movies in the early 1950s:- Westward the WomenWestward the WomenWestward the Women is a 1951 western film directed by William A. Wellman and starring Robert Taylor, Denise Darcel and John McIntire.-Plot:...
(1951) playing Jean Johnson - Above and BeyondAbove and Beyond (film)Above and Beyond is a 1952 film about Paul Tibbets, the pilot of the first aircraft to drop an atomic bomb. It starred Robert Taylor as Tibbets and Eleanor Parker as his wife. James Whitmore played security officer Major Bill Uanna.-Cast:...
(1952) playing Marge Bratton - The Girl in WhiteThe Girl in WhiteThe Girl in White is a 1952 anthology film directed by John Sturges....
(1952) playing Nurse Jane Doe - Just This Once (1952) playing Gertrude Crome
- The Eddie Cantor Story (1953) playing Ida Tobias Cantor
- A Slight Case of Larceny (1953) playing Mrs. Emily Clopp
- Confidentially ConnieConfidentially ConnieConfidentially Connie is a 1953 film directed by Edward Buzzell. It stars Van Johnson and Janet Leigh.-Cast:*Van Johnson as Joe Bedloe*Janet Leigh as Connie Bedloe*Louis Calhern as Opie Bedloe*Walter Slezak as Emil Spangenberg, Butcher...
(1953) playing Phyllis Archibald
She played herself in a 1951 MGM documentary Challenge the Wilderness, on the production problems faced while filming Westward the Women. She was also one of the narrators for the 1953 documentary The Hoaxters, a short history of Communism.
Television career
She appeared in almost every anthology drama series of the Golden Age of TelevisionGolden Age of Television
The Golden Age of Television in the United States began sometime in the late 1940s and extended to the late 1950s or early 1960s.-Evolutions of drama on television:...
, from General Electric Theater
General Electric Theater
General Electric Theater is an American anthology series hosted by Ronald W. Reagan that was broadcast on CBS radio and television. The series was sponsored by General Electric's Department of Public Relations.-Radio:...
to Westinghouse Studio One to Science Fiction Theater to Lux Video Theater, appearing in over fifty different productions on thirty different series from 1949 to 1962. In her later career, after 1962, she primarily played roles on westerns and crime dramas.
She was a co-star in the television series The Tom Ewell Show
The Tom Ewell Show
The Tom Ewell Show was a television situation comedy broadcast in the United States in the 1960-61 television season.-Summary:The Tom Ewell Show was created by Madelyn Martin and Bob Carroll, Jr. , and produced by Tom Ewell's own production company...
, playing Tom's wife, Fran Potter. This situation comedy ran from September 1960 through May 1961 on the CBS television network.
She was a co-presenter for the Short Subject Awards category of the 26th Annual Academy Awards in 1954, and appeared as herself in the last episode of the The NBC Comedy Hour
The NBC Comedy Hour
The NBC Comedy Hour was a comedy show that ran on NBC in the first half of 1956, intended to be a replacement for The Colgate Comedy Hour....
June 10, 1956.
Her last role on television was in 1972, in the Ironside
Ironside (TV series)
Ironside is a Universal television series which ran on NBC from September 14, 1967 to January 16, 1975. The show starred Raymond Burr as the wheelchair-using Chief of Detectives, Robert T. Ironside. The character's debut was in a TV-movie on March 28, 1967. The original title of the show in the...
TV series.
Personal life
She married Hollywood producer/director Stanley KramerStanley Kramer
Stanley Earl Kramer was an American film director and producer. Kramer was responsible for some of Hollywood's most famous "message" movies...
in May 1945. The marriage was annulled two months later.
She married insurance executive Charles Curland in 1955, and had two children. Their home in Brentwood, California, was featured in an article in the 1958 ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST.
External links
- Marilyn Erskine webpage at the Internet Broadway Database website