Don Marion Davis (October 9, 1917 – December 10, 2020), professionally known as John Henry Jr. and Don Marion, was an American child actor of the

silent film era A silent film is a film without synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) ...

, who, during a brief career in show business, appeared in several feature roles and comedy shorts in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

screened between 1919 and 1925. He also had uncredited parts on the radio. He was one of the last surviving actors who worked in the silent film era.

Biography

Entertainment career

He was born in

Hollywood, California Hollywood, sometimes informally called Tinseltown, is a List of districts and neighborhoods in Los Angeles, neighborhood and district in the Central Los Angeles, central region of Los Angeles County, California, within the city of Los Angeles. ...

, on October 9, 1917, to Henry G. Davis and Helen Davis. He was discovered by studio entrepreneur and director

Mack Sennett Mack Sennett (born Michael Sinnott; January 17, 1880 – November 5, 1960) was a Canadian-American producer, director, actor, and studio head who was known as the "King of Comedy" during his career. Born in Danville, Quebec, he started acting i ...

while he and his mother were visiting his uncle, British-born American actor and comedian

Billy Armstrong William Armstrong and its variations may refer to: Politicians * William Armstrong (corn merchant) (1778–1857), local politician and corn merchant * Bill Armstrong (Australian politician) (1909–1982), member of the Parliament of Australia * ...

around 1919. He was visiting the set of a film when the baby, who was originally cast, was not performing well. Davis then replaced him successfully. In a 1920 newspaper article, he was described as one of the most famous child actors in the world. His feature-length films included '' Down on the Farm'' (1920) and ''

A Small Town Idol ''A Small Town Idol'' is a 1921 American silent feature comedy film produced by Mack Sennett and released through Associated First National. The film stars Ben Turpin and was made and acted by many of the same Sennett personnel from his previou ...

'' (1921). He was often cast alongside the

dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the gray wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it was selectively bred from a population of wolves during the Late Pleistocene by hunter-gatherers. ...

Teddy, who was one of the most well-known film animals of the era. By 1921, his films reportedly had to adjust to the fact that he was continuously growing. Don Marion aka John Henry JR

Post-entertainment career

After leaving the entertainment industry in 1925, he attended the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

and joined the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

in 1940, shortly prior to the United States entering

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He was stationed in Europe during this time as an

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

officer. After the war, he remained with the American military and held various positions in different countries, such as

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

and

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

. He graduated from the University of Arizona with a degree in

Master of Public Administration A Master of Public Administration (MPA) is a specialized professional graduate degree in public administration that prepares students for leadership roles, similar or equivalent to a Master of Business Administration but with an emphasis on the ...

. He resided in

Tucson, Arizona Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

. At the age of 99, he was said to take daily bike rides for 40 minutes. He was falsely reported as having died on March 2, 2012, in the 2013 book ''Obituaries in the Performing Arts'', published by

McFarland & Company McFarland & Company, Inc., is an American independent book publisher based in Jefferson, North Carolina, that specializes in academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tert ...

and authored by Harris M. Lentz. Marion died of a brief illness at the Tucson Medical Center in Tucson, Arizona, on December 10, 2020, at the age of 103.

Filmography (selected)

References

Bibliography

* John Holmstrom, ''The Moving Picture Boy: An International Encyclopaedia from 1895 to 1995'', Norwich, Michael Russell, 1996, p. 81.

External links

*
Don Marion
at the

American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the History of cinema in the United States, motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private fu ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marion, Don 1917 births 2020 deaths 20th-century American male actors United States Army personnel of World War II American male film actors American male silent film actors Male actors from Hollywood, Los Angeles Military personnel from California Male actors from Tucson, Arizona American men centenarians United States Army soldiers University of Arizona alumni University of Oregon alumni