E.G. Marshall

E. G. Marshall (born Everett Eugene Grunz;Everett Eugene Grunz in Minnesota, U.S., Birth Index, 1900-1934, Ancestry.comEverett Eugene Grunz in the U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007, accessed via Ancestry.com June 18, 1914 – August 24, 1998) was an American actor. One of the first group selected for the new Actors Studio, by 1948, Marshall had performed in major plays on Broadway.

Among his film roles Marshall is perhaps best known as the unflappable and analytical Juror 4 in Sidney Lumet's courtroom drama '' 12 Angry Men'' (1957). He starred in the CBS legal drama '' The Defenders'', played the President of the United States in ''Superman II'' (1980), and Nazi collaborator Henri Denault on the CBS prime-time drama '' Falcon Crest'' in 1982. Marshall was also known as the host of the radio drama series '' CBS Radio Mystery Theater'' (1974–1982).

Early life

Marshall was born Everett Eugene Grunz in Owatonna, Minnesota, the son of Hazel Irene (née Cobb) and Charles G. Grunz. During his life, he chose not to reveal what "E. G." stood for, saying that it stood for "Everybody's Guess." The U.S. Social Security Claims Index states that he was listed with the Social Security Administration in June 1937 as Everett Eugene Grunz, and in December 1975 as E.G. Marshall.

Marshall claimed in interviews in later life to have attended both Carleton College and the University of Minnesota, but there is no evidence that he ever attended either institution, or had attended college at all.

Career

He took the surname "Marshall" for his acting career. Although most familiar for his later television and movie roles, which gained wide audiences, Marshall also had a distinguished Broadway career. In 1948, having already performed in the original New York productions of '' The Skin of Our Teeth'' and '' The Iceman Cometh'', Marshall joined Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift, Julie Harris, Kim Stanley, and 45 others to make up the first group of actors granted membership in the newly formed Actors Studio. In subsequent years, he landed the leading roles in ''The Crucible'' and '' Waiting for Godot''.

Marshall achieved perhaps his highest profile as top-billed star of the CBS-TV legal drama '' The Defenders'' (1961-5). Marshall portrayed Manhattan defense attorney Lawrence Preston, for which he won two Emmys. He later played Dr. David Craig in the television series '' The Bold Ones: The New Doctors'' (1969–73), and Nazi collaborator Henri Denault on the CBS prime-time drama '' Falcon Crest'' in 1982.

In 1973, Marshall returned to the live stage to play the title role in a well-received production of ''Macbeth'' at the Virginia Museum Theatre in Richmond, Virginia, under the direction of Keith Fowler. The production was highly praised by the ''New York Times''. From January 1974 until February 1982, Marshall was an occasional participant and the original host of the popular nightly radio drama, ''The CBS Radio Mystery Theater''.

In film, Marshall was known for playing Juror 4 in '' 12 Angry Men'' (1957), District Attorney Harold Horn in '' Compulsion'' (1959), Colonel Jerome Pakenham in '' Town Without Pity'' (1961), Colonel Rufus S. Bratton in '' Tora! Tora! Tora!'' (1970), Arthur in '' Interiors'' (1978), the President of the United States in ''Superman II'' (1980), Arthur "Art" Smith (Ellen's father) in '' National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation'' (1989), John N. Mitchell in '' Nixon'' (1995), and Walter Sullivan in '' Absolute Power'' (1997). His final performance was a reprisal of his role as Lawrence Preston in two TV Movies based on ''The Defenders''.

Marshall was selected as a Fellow of the American Bar Association and an officer of the American Judicature Society, a national organization of judges, lawyers, and lay persons devoted to promoting the effective administration of justice.

Personal life

Marshall was married twice. He married Helen Wolf in 1931. They had two daughters—Jill and Degen. Their marriage ended in divorce in 1953. He married Judith Coy in 1958. They had two sons and a daughter — Sam, Jud, and Sarah. They remained married until his death.

As a member of the Committee for National Health Insurance, Marshall was a long-time advocate of government-provided health care in the United States. During the 1968 United States presidential campaign, he filmed and narrated a political advertisement endorsing Democratic candidate Hubert Humphrey.

Death

Marshall died of lung cancer at his home in Bedford, New York, on August 24, 1998, at age 84.

Filmography

Film

* 1945 '' The House on 92nd Street'' as Attendant At Morgue (uncredited)
* 1946 '' 13 Rue Madeleine'' as Emile (uncredited)
* 1947 '' Untamed Fury'' as Pompano, the dance caller
* 1948 '' Call Northside 777'' as Rayska (uncredited)
* 1952 '' Anything Can Happen'' as Immigration Officer (scenes deleted)
* 1954 '' The Caine Mutiny'' as Lieutenant Commander Challee
* 1954 ''Broken Lance'' as Governor Horace
* 1954 '' Pushover'' as Police Lieutenant Carl Eckstrom
* 1954 '' The Bamboo Prison'' as Father Francis Dolan
* 1954 '' The Silver Chalice'' as Ignatius
* 1955 '' The Left Hand of God'' as Dr. David Sigman
* 1956 '' The Scarlet Hour'' as Lieutenant Jennings
* 1956 '' The Mountain'' as Solange
* 1957 '' The Bachelor Party'' as Walter
* 1957 '' 12 Angry Men'' as Juror #4
* 1957 '' Man on Fire'' as Sam Dunstock
* 1958 '' The Buccaneer'' as Governor William C. C. Claiborne
* 1959 '' The Journey'' as Harold Rhinelander
* 1959 '' Compulsion'' as District Attorney Harold Horn
* 1960 '' Cash McCall'' as Winston Conway
* 1961 '' Town Without Pity'' as Colonel Jerome Pakenham
* 1966 '' The Chase'' as Val Rogers
* 1966 '' Is Paris Burning?'' as Intelligence Officer Powell (uncredited)
* 1969 '' The Bridge at Remagen'' as Brigadier General Shinner
* 1969 '' The Learning Tree'' (uncredited)
* 1970 '' Tora! Tora! Tora!'' as Colonel Rufus S. Bratton
* 1971 '' The Pursuit of Happiness'' as Daniel Lawrence
* 1975 '' The Incredible Machine'' as Narrator (documentary)
* 1977 '' Billy Jack Goes to Washington'' as Senator Joseph Paine
* 1978 '' Interiors'' as Arthur
* 1980 ''Superman II'' as The President of the United States
* 1981 '' Gangster Wars'' as The Narrator (voice)
* 1982 '' Creepshow'' as Upson Pratt (segment "They're Creeping Up On You")
* 1986 '' My Chauffeur'' as Witherspoon
* 1986 '' Power'' as Senator Sam Hastings, Ohio
* 1986 '' La Gran Fiesta'' as Judge Cooper
* 1989 '' National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation'' as Art Smith
* 1990 '' Two Evil Eyes'' as Steven Pike (segment "The Facts in the Case of Mr. Valdemar")
* 1992 '' Consenting Adults'' as George Gordon
* 1992 '' Russian Holiday'' as Joe Meadows
* 1993 ''Tornadoes!! The Entity'' as The Narrator (documentary)
* 1995 '' Nixon'' as John N. Mitchell
* 1997 '' Absolute Power'' as Walter Sullivan
* 2006 '' Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut'' as The President of the United States

Television

Discography

* 1956 '' Waiting for Godot'' with Bert Lahr
* 1960 '' Ulysses: Soliloquies Of Molly And Leopold Bloom'' as read by Siobhan McKenna, E.G. Marshall.
* 1978 ''The Great Debates: Hamilton And Jefferson'' with Shepperd Strudwick
* 1981 '' Justice Holmes' Decisions'' (nominated for Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word, Documentary or Drama Recording in 1982)
* 1985 ''Runaway Jonah And Other Biblical Adventures'' by Jan Wahl

References

External links

*
*
*
*
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marshall, E. G.
1914 births
1998 deaths
American male film actors
American male radio actors
American male television actors
American people of German descent
Male actors from Minnesota
Deaths from lung cancer in New York (state)
People from Owatonna, Minnesota
Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actor in a Drama Series Primetime Emmy Award winners
American male Shakespearean actors
American male stage actors
20th-century American male actors
People from Bedford, New York
Minnesota Democrats
New York (state) Democrats