Marian Shockley (also Marian Shockley Collyer) (October 10, 1908 – December 14, 1981) was an American

film actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lite ...

of the 1930s.

Early years

Born in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

, Marian Shockley (sometimes known as Marion Shockley) attended the University of Missouri with plans to teach history. However, her experiences with the

Theatre Guild The Theatre Guild is a theatrical society founded in New York City in 1918 by Lawrence Langner, Philip Moeller, Helen Westley and Theresa Helburn. Langner's wife, Armina Marshall, then served as a co-director. It evolved out of the work of the W ...

and in stock theater turned her attention to acting.

Career

Shockley was selected as a " WAMPAS Baby Star" in 1932, alongside

Ginger Rogers Ginger Rogers (born Virginia Katherine McMath; July 16, 1911 – April 25, 1995) was an American actress, dancer and singer during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her starri ...

and

Gloria Stuart Gloria Frances Stuart (born Gloria Stewart; July 4, 1910 September 26, 2010) was an American actress, visual artist, and activist. She was known for her roles in Pre-Code films, and garnered renewed fame late in life for her portrayal of Rose ...

, among others. From 1930 to 1934 she starred in nineteen films, all

B-movies A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double featur ...

, including the 1931

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

''Near the Trails End'' opposite Bob Steele, and, that same year, ''Heroes of the Flames'' starring opposite

Tim McCoy Timothy John Fitzgerald McCoy (April 10, 1891 – January 29, 1978) was an American actor, military officer, and expert on American Indian life. McCoy is most noted for his roles in B-grade Western films. As a popular cowboy film star, he ap ...

. Fourteen young women were selected as "WAMPAS Baby Stars" in 1932. Of those, several saw continued success in acting, whereas others would see short lived success, then watch their acting career end with little notoriety. Shockley would be in the latter group. She continued auditioning for parts, receiving only one between 1934 and 1943. She played a small role in ''

Stage Door Canteen The Stage Door Canteen was an entertainment venue for American and Allied servicemen that operated in the Broadway theatre district of New York City throughout World War II. Founded by the American Theatre Wing (ATW) in 1942, the entertainers we ...

'' (1943). She would have a couple of television roles following that. Shockley's

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

credits include ''Abie's Irish Rose'' (1936) and ''Dear Old Darling'' (1935). On radio, Shockley was the first person to play Nikki Porter, Ellery Queen's secretary, in ''

The Adventures of Ellery Queen ''The Adventures of Ellery Queen'' is the title of a The Adventures of Ellery Queen (radio program), radio series and four separate television series made from the 1950s through the 1970s. They were based on the fictional character, fictional dete ...

'', filling that role from 1939 to 1944. In 1939, she married the program's producer-director, George Zachary.

Personal life

Marian retired from acting in 1955. She was a

sister-in-law A sibling-in-law is the spouse of one's sibling, or the sibling of one's spouse, or the person who is married to the sibling of one's spouse.Cambridge Dictionaries Online.Family: non-blood relations. More commonly, a sibling-in-law is referred ...

Stuart Erwin Stuart Erwin (February 14, 1903 – December 21, 1967) was an American actor of stage, film, and television. Early years Erwin was born in Squaw Valley, Fresno County, California. He attended Porterville High School and the University of ...

and actress

June Collyer June Collyer (born Dorothea Heermance, August 19, 1906 – March 16, 1968) was an American film actress of the 1920s and 1930s. Early life Born in New York City, Collyer chose to use her mother's maiden name when she decided to pursue acti ...

. She was married to Gordon Barry Thomson from 1934 to 1938, George Zachary from 1939 to ca.1945, and actor

Bud Collyer Bud Collyer (born Clayton Johnson Heermance Jr., June 18, 1908 – September 8, 1969) was an American radio actor and announcer and game show host who became one of the nation's first major television game show stars. He is best remembered for ...

from 1946 until his death in 1969, Collyer already had three children from a previous marriage. She died on December 14, 1981, aged 73.

References

External links

*
Actor profile at Ellery Queen, a website on deduction
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shockley, Marian 1911 births 1981 deaths Actresses from Kansas City, Missouri American film actresses American television actresses 20th-century American actresses WAMPAS Baby Stars