Marion Caroline Dougherty (February 9, 1923 – December 4, 2011) was an American casting director. She is known for casting films such as ''

The World of Henry Orient ''The World of Henry Orient'' is a 1964 American comedy film directed by George Roy Hill and starring Peter Sellers, Paula Prentiss, Angela Lansbury, Tippy Walker, Merrie Spaeth, Phyllis Thaxter, Bibi Osterwald and Tom Bosley. It is based o ...

'', ''

Midnight Cowboy ''Midnight Cowboy'' is a 1969 American drama film, based on the 1965 novel of the same name by James Leo Herlihy. The film was written by Waldo Salt, directed by John Schlesinger, and stars Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight, with notable smaller ...

'', ''

Me, Natalie ''Me, Natalie'' is a 1969 American comedy-drama film directed by Fred Coe about a homely young woman from Brooklyn who moves to Greenwich Village and finds romance with an aspiring painter. The screenplay by A. Martin Zweiback is based on an orig ...

'', ''Panic in Needle Park'', '' Grease'', ''

Urban Cowboy ''Urban Cowboy'' is a 1980 American romantic Western film directed by James Bridges. The plot concerns the love-hate relationship between Buford Uan "Bud" Davis (John Travolta) and Sissy (Debra Winger). The film's success was credited for spur ...

'', ''

The World According to Garp ''The World According to Garp'' is John Irving's fourth novel, about a man, born out of wedlock to a feminist leader, who grows up to be a writer. Published in 1978, the book was a bestseller for several years. It was a finalist for the Natio ...

'', and '' Batman''. Marion Dougherty is also the primary subject of ''

Casting By ''Casting By'' is a 2012 American documentary film directed by Tom Donahue. It combines over 230 interviews, extensive archival footage, animated stills and documents to tell the untold tale of the Hollywood casting director, Marion Dougherty. D ...

'', a 2012 documentary, combining over 230 interviews, extensive archival footage, animated stills and documents to tell her untold tale. Dedicated to her memory, Dougherty died before the film's release.

Biography

Dougherty attended Penn State University, where she was a member of

Kappa Alpha Theta Kappa Alpha Theta (), also known simply as Theta, is an international women’s fraternity founded on January 27, 1870, at DePauw University, formerly Indiana Asbury. It was the first Greek-letter fraternity established for women. The main arc ...

. Dougherty's career in the performing arts began when, after graduating from Penn State in 1943, she had a brief stint working at the

Cleveland Playhouse Cleveland Play House (CPH) is a professional regional theater company located in Cleveland, Ohio. It was founded in 1915 and built its own noted theater complex in 1927. Currently the company performs at the Allen Theatre in Playhouse Square whe ...

as an actress. She then moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, just as live television was becoming mainstream. She was making window displays at

Bergdorf Goodman Bergdorf Goodman Inc. is a luxury department store based on Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York. The company was founded in 1899 by Herman Bergdorf and was later owned and managed by Edwin Goodman, and later his son, Andrew Goodman. ...

when a fellow Penn State alum, who had been recently hired into the casting department at '' Kraft Television Theatre'', hired her as an assistant. In 1991, many prominent filmmakers and actors, including Clint Eastwood,

Woody Allen Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing ...

and Al Pacino, attempted to convince the

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization with the stated goal of advancing the arts and sciences of motio ...

to grant an honorary award to Dougherty. Unfortunately this dream of recognizing her was never accomplished, before her death in 2011.

Career

After working at the Kraft Television Theatre, Dougherty moved on to another television series, '' Naked City'', where she gave

Jon Voight Jonathan Vincent Voight (; born December 29, 1938) is an American actor. He came to prominence in the late 1960s with his Academy Award–nominated performance as Joe Buck, a would-be gigolo, in ''Midnight Cowboy'' (1969). During the 1970s, h ...

and

Dustin Hoffman Dustin Lee Hoffman (born August 8, 1937) is an American actor and filmmaker. As one of the key actors in the formation of New Hollywood, Hoffman is known for his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and emotionally vulnerable characters. He is ...

their first acting credits. While working on this show and another, '' Route 66'', Marion was able to feature many notable guest stars such as

Tina Louise Tina Louise ( Blacker; born February 11, 1934) is an American actress widely known for her role as movie star Ginger Grant in the CBS television situation comedy ''Gilligan's Island''. With the death of Dawn Wells in 2020, Louise became the las ...

Michael Parks Michael Parks (born Harry Samuel Parks; April 24, 1940 – May 9, 2017) was an American singer and actor. He appeared in many films and made frequent television appearances, notably starring in the 1969–1970 series '' Then Came Bronson'', but ...

Jean Stapleton Jean Stapleton (born Jeanne Murray; January 19, 1923 – May 31, 2013) was an American character actress of stage, television and film. Stapleton was best known for playing Edith Bunker, the perpetually optimistic and devoted wife of Arc ...

Jessica Walter Jessica Walter (January 31, 1941 – March 24, 2021) was an American actress who appeared in over 170 film, stage and television productions. In film, she was best known for her role as a psychotic and obsessed fan of a local disc jockey in t ...

William Shatner William Shatner (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor. In a career spanning seven decades, he is best known for his portrayal of James T. Kirk in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, from his 1965 debut as the captain of the starship ''Enterpris ...

Joan Crawford Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, ncertain year from 1904 to 1908was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway theatre, Broadway. Crawford was si ...

, Christopher Walken, Gene Hackman,

Martin Sheen Ramón Antonio Gerardo Estévez (born August 3, 1940), known professionally as Martin Sheen, is an American actor. He first became known for his roles in the films ''The Subject Was Roses'' (1968) and ''Badlands'' (1973), and later achieved wid ...

, and

Robert Duvall Robert Selden Duvall (; born January 5, 1931) is an American actor and filmmaker. His career spans more than seven decades and he is considered one of the greatest American actors of all time. He is the recipient of an Academy Award, four Gold ...

. In 1963 Dougherty established her own casting company in New York, where she began casting local talent out of the theaters. Dougherty became notable for her casting decisions, choosing to cast based on their acting abilities, as opposed to type casting based on appearance. Out of her brownstone, Dougherty worked on many Hollywood films, including ''The World of Henry Orient'', ''

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

'', and ''Midnight Cowboy''. In 1972 with the release of ''

Slaughterhouse-Five ''Slaughterhouse-Five, or, The Children's Crusade: A Duty-Dance with Death'' is a 1969 semi-autobiographic science fiction-infused anti-war novel by Kurt Vonnegut. It follows the life and experiences of Billy Pilgrim, from his early years, to h ...

'', Dougherty made history as being one of the first casting directors to receive an entire title card to list their credit. From 1979 to 1999, Dougherty worked at

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

as the Vice President of casting. Other notable actors that Dougherty gave their first film credit to include

Glenn Close Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress. Throughout her career spanning over four decades, Close has garnered numerous accolades, including two Screen Actors Guild Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards ...

in ''The World According to Garp'', Bette Midler in ''Hawaii'', and Al Pacino in ''Me, Natalie''.

Filmography

Television

Notable films

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dougherty, Marion 1923 births 2011 deaths American casting directors Women casting directors Pennsylvania State University alumni