Marion Burns

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Marion Burns
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
DiedDecember 22, 1993(1993-12-22) (aged 86)
Laguna Niguel, California
, U.S.
OccupationActress
Years active1931 – 1961
Spouses
Bruce MacFarlane
​
​
(m. 1932; div. 1933)​
​
​
(m. 1934; died 1973)​
Children2

Marion Burns (August 9, 1907 – December 22, 1993) was an American film actress of the 1930s. She is best known for starring opposite John Wayne in The Dawn Rider and Paradise Canyon, both in 1935. She earlier had a large supporting role in the 1932 film Me and My Gal, starring Spencer Tracy and Joan Bennett.

Biography

Early years

Burns was born in

Los Angeles, California. Her father, L. L. Burns, founded Western Costume Company, which handled about ninety percent of the costuming for films in Los Angeles in the 1920s. She earned a bachelor's degree in dramatics from the University of California.[1] Burns was active in stock theater.[2] Her Broadway credits include Intimate Relations and They Don't Mean Any Harm, both in 1931.[3]

Film

Burns received her first film role in 1931, starring opposite

heroine. In 1932, she starred opposite George O'Brien in The Golden West, followed by Raoul Walsh's modern-day comedy Me and My Gal (1932) with Spencer Tracy and Joan Bennett that same year, which showcased Burns with a lot of screen time. In 1933, she starred in Sensation Hunters opposite Preston Foster; 1934 and 1935 were her biggest years, with her appearing in six films, three each year, two of which were uncredited, and the most notable being the two John Wayne films. Her first film in 1934 was Devil Tiger
.

In Devil Tiger, Director Clyde E. Elliott allowed his hero, Kane Richmond, to fight a 25-foot python with no stuntman. Richmond hated doubles and had insisted. The actor, on his feet, on the ground, on his feet again, succeeded in holding the snake's snapping mouth away from his face, while struggling to free himself from the triple coils around his body. At the height of the struggle, the heroine, Marion Burns, runs in and saves the hero from the python. Miss Burns had to fight the snake, too, to get at Richmond's pistol, with which she was supposed to shoot the python. She played her own scene, as well.

In the 1934 film

crime drama
Rip Roaring Riley. It was her last film for a span of 10 years.

She returned to acting three times and only briefly following 1935. The first time was in a stage appearance in Leaning on Letty in January 1936 at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles. The second time was in 1945 alongside her husband in

television series My Three Sons
.

Personal life

Burns married twice, both times to actors. She first married, then divorced, Bruce MacFarlane. Her second marriage was in 1934 to Kane Richmond, though reports in January 1934 state that they had been married in secret in May 1933.[4][5] Burns and Richmond had two daughters.[6]

Later years

Burns eventually settled in Laguna Niguel, California, where she was living at the time of her death on December 22, 1993.

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1931 Oklahoma Jim Betty Rankin
1932 The Golden West Helen Sheppard
Me and My Gal Kate Riley
1933 Sensation Hunters Dale Jordan
1934 Devil Tiger Mary Brewster
Born to Be Bad Mrs. Alyce Trevor
Flirting with Danger Marian Leslie
1935 The Dawn Rider Alice Gordon
Paradise Canyon Linda Carter - aka Princess Natasha
Rip Roaring Riley Anne Baker
1938 Dramatic School Working Girl Uncredited
1945 Brenda Starr, Reporter Zelda Serial, [Ch 9-10,12], Uncredited

References

  1. Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  2. Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  3. ^ "(Marion Burns search)". Playbill Vault. Retrieved September 1, 2016.
  4. Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  5. Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  6. Newspapers.com. Open access icon
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