Marilyn Nash (October 26, 1926 – October 6, 2011) was an American

actress An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

and

casting director In the performing arts industry such as theatre, film, or television, casting, or a casting call, is a pre-production process for selecting a certain type of actor, dancer, singer, or extra to land the role of a character in a script, screenp ...

. She was best known for starring in the 1947

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is considered o ...

film ''

Monsieur Verdoux ''Monsieur Verdoux'' is a 1947 American black comedy film directed by and starring Charlie Chaplin, who plays a bigamist wife killer inspired by serial killer Henri Désiré Landru. The supporting cast includes Martha Raye, William Frawley, and ...

''.

Early life

Nash was born in

Flint, Michigan Flint is the largest city in Genesee County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. Located along the Flint River (Michigan), Flint River northwest of Detroit, it is a principal city within the Central Michigan, Mid Michigan region. Flin ...

, and attended the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

with the intention of pursuing medicine as her chosen career. However, her professional career path changed when she traveled to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

with her mother while attending Arizona.

Career

By chance, Nash met

while playing

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

at the

Beverly Hills Hotel The Beverly Hills Hotel, also called the Beverly Hills Hotel and Bungalows, is located on Sunset Boulevard in Beverly Hills, California. One of the world's best-known hotels, it is closely associated with Hollywood film stars, rock stars, and ...

. Chaplin quickly signed Nash as an actress in his

Charlie Chaplin Studios The Jim Henson Company Lot, formerly A&M Studios, is a studio property located just south of the southeast corner of La Brea Avenue and Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood. Originally established by film star Charlie Chaplin, t ...

. He then cast her in his

black comedy Black comedy, also known as black humor, bleak comedy, dark comedy, dark humor, gallows humor or morbid humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally ...

'', which was released in 1947. Nash appeared in just one other film during her career, the 1951

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

adventure ''

Unknown World ''Unknown World'' (a.k.a. ''Night Without Stars'') is a 1951 independently made American black-and-white science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imagin ...

'', in which she portrayed a doctor. She then switched to television and stage roles during the 1950s. Her television credits include ''

Hopalong Cassidy Hopalong Cassidy is a fictional cowboy hero created in 1904 by the author Clarence E. Mulford, who wrote a series of short stories and novels based on the character. Mulford portrayed the character as rude, dangerous, and rough-talking. He wa ...

'' in 1952 and ''

Medic A medic is a person trained to provide medical care, encompassing a wide range of individuals involved in the diagnosis, treatment, and management of health conditions. The term can refer to fully qualified medical practitioners, such as physic ...

'' in 1955. She moved to

Oroville Oroville may refer to: * Oroville, California, United States * Oroville, Washington, United States ;Other uses * Lake Oroville, in Butte County, California, USA * Oroville Dam, in Butte County, California, USA * Oroville Municipal Airport, in Butt ...

, located in

northern California Northern California (commonly shortened to NorCal) is a geocultural region that comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California, spanning the northernmost 48 of the state's List of counties in California, 58 counties. Northern Ca ...

, with her second husband, Dr. Donald P. Franks. There Nash worked as a

, specializing specifically in films shot in the region surrounding Oroville. Her casting credits included ''

The Great Smokey Roadblock ''The Great Smokey Roadblock'' is a 1977 comedy road film written and directed by John Leone. It stars Henry Fonda, Eileen Brennan, John Byner, Dub Taylor and Daina House. The film is also known as ''The Goodbye Run'' and ''The Last of the Cowbo ...

'', ''

The Klansman ''The Klansman'' (also known as ''Burning Cross'') is a 1974 American drama film based on the 1967 book of the same name by William Bradford Huie. It was directed by Terence Young and starred Lee Marvin, Richard Burton, Cameron Mitchell, Lo ...

'' and ''

The Outlaw Josey Wales ''The Outlaw Josey Wales'' is a 1976 American revisionist Western film set during and after the American Civil War. It was directed by and starred Clint Eastwood (as Josey Wales), with Chief Dan George, Sondra Locke, Bill McKinney, and Joh ...

''.

Personal life

Nash was married three times. Her first husband was

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

Philip Yordan Philip Yordan (April 1, 1914 – March 24, 2003) was an American screenwriter, film producer, novelist and playwright. He was a three-time Academy Award nominee, winning Best Story for ''Broken Lance'' (1954). During the 1950s and 1960s, Yorda ...

, who introduced her to Hollywood's highest echelons. Nash's marriage to Yordan ended in divorce in the early 1950s. Her second marriage was to Dr. Donald P. Franks, with whom she moved to Oroville. Nash's third marriage to Mack Hill ended sadly with Hill's death. Nash was interviewed in the 2007 documentary, ''Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story'', directed by

Jeffrey Schwarz Jeffrey Schwarz is an American Emmy Award-winning film producer, director, and editor. He is known for an extensive body of documentary work including ''Commitment to Life'', '' Boulevard! A Hollywood Story'', '' The Fabulous Allan Carr'', '' Ta ...

, which focused on the life of her longtime friend,

William Castle William Castle (born William Schloss Jr.; April 24, 1914 – May 31, 1977) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He is known for the horror film, horror and thriller film, thriller B movie, B-movies he directed durin ...

. Her first husband, Philip Yordan, had introduced Nash to Castle during the 1950s.

Death

Marilyn Nash died on October 6, 2011, at the age of 84. She was survived by four sons and six grandchildren. Her memorial service was held at the St. Augustine of Canterbury Anglican Church in

Chico, California Chico ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "little") is the most populous city in Butte County, California, United States. Located in the Sacramento Valley region of Northern California, the city had a population of 101,475 in the 2020 United Sta ...

Filmography

References

External links

Interview with Nash from 1997
("Disc Features" on Criterion Collection of ''

''); accessed November 17, 2017. *
Family obituary
originally published in the

Chico Enterprise-Record The ''Chico Enterprise-Record'' is the daily newspaper of Chico, California. Also known as the E-R, the newspaper was first published in Bidwell Bar, California as the Butte Record in 1853 and is now part of the MediaNews Group corporation, who ...

2005 interview
i
The Astounding B monster
website {{DEFAULTSORT:Nash, Marilyn 1926 births 2011 deaths University of Arizona alumni American film actresses American television actresses American stage actresses American casting directors American women casting directors Actresses from California People from Oroville, California Actresses from Flint, Michigan 21st-century American women