Marcella Martin (June 5, 1916 – October 31, 1986) was an American actress, remembered for her role as Cathleen Calvert in '' Gone with the Wind'' (1939). Born in Illinois, Marcella Martin lived with her first husband John Martin in

Shreveport Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the third most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Baton Rouge, respectively. The Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area, with a population o ...

( Louisiana) in the late 1930s. She appeared in a local amateur theatre, where she was found by Hollywood agents who were Searching for Scarlett. Martin was screen-tested for playing Scarlett O'Hara in

David O. Selznick David O. Selznick (May 10, 1902June 22, 1965) was an American film producer, screenwriter and film studio executive who produced ''Gone with the Wind'' (1939) and ''Rebecca'' (1940), both of which earned him an Academy Award for Best Picture. E ...

's ''Gone with the Wind'' and was for some weeks a leading candidate for the role. Selznick's agent Maxwell Arnow described Martin as "quite good looking" with a "nice figure". Arnow also called her a "grand actress" and "without doubt (...) the best of the hundreds of people that I interviewed during my trip". Scarlett O'Hara was later played by

Vivien Leigh Vivien Leigh ( ; 5 November 1913 – 8 July 1967; born Vivian Mary Hartley), styled as Lady Olivier after 1947, was a British actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress twice, for her definitive performances as Scarlett O'Hara in ''Gon ...

in the film, but Martin also received a credited supporting part as Southern belle Cathleen Calvert, who tells Scarlett O'Hara at the Twelve Oaks staircase about Rhett Butler. She also served as Leigh's coach in Southern dialect through the movie and was reportedly her roommate on location. Marcella Martin later played love interests to the leading role in the Columbia Pictures movies ''

West of Tombstone ''West of Tombstone'' is an American Western B-movie film directed by Howard Bretherton and starring Charles Starrett. Plot Marshal Steve Langdon hears a rumor that the legendary criminal Billy the Kid is maybe still alive. Langdon finds Bi ...

'' (1942) and '' The Man Who Returned to Life'' (1942). In the 1960s she appeared in a supporting role in the film ''Voyage to the End of the Universe'' (1964) and played Ruth Collier in the episode ''Boomerang'' of the television series '' The F.B.I.''. Marcella Martin was married three times and died in 1986 at the age of 70 years. She is buried at Saint Marys Cemetery in Champaign, Illinois.

Filmography

* '' Gone with the Wind'' (1939) - Cathleen Calvert * ''

'' (1942) - Carol Barnet * '' The Man Who Returned to Life'' (1942) - Daphne Turner * '' Voyage to the End of the Universe'' (1964) * '' Another World'' (1966–67; TV Series) -Flo Murray * '' The F.B.I.'' (1969, TV Series) - Ruth Collier

External links

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Marcella 1916 births 1986 deaths 20th-century American actresses American film actresses