Tully Marshall

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Tully Marshall
Marshall in Fighting Caravans (1931)
Born
William Phillips

(1864-04-10)April 10, 1864
DiedMarch 10, 1943(1943-03-10) (aged 78)
Resting placeHollywood Forever Cemetery
Alma materSanta Clara University
OccupationActor
Years active1883–1943
Spouse
(m. 1899)

Tully Marshall (born William Phillips;[1] April 10, 1864 – March 10, 1943) was an American character actor. He had nearly a quarter century of theatrical experience before his debut film appearance in 1914 which led to a film career spanning almost three decades.

Early years[edit]

Marshall was born in Nevada City, California. He attended private schools and Santa Clara College,[2] from which he graduated with an engineering degree.[3]

Stage[edit]

The Devil's Needle (1916) with Howard Gaye, Tully Marshall, Norma Talmadge and Marguerite Marsh
Marshall in 1923

Marshall began acting on the stage at 18, appearing in Saratoga at the Winter Garden in San Francisco on March 8, 1883.[2] He played a wide variety of roles on Broadway from 1887. His Broadway credits include The Clever Ones (1914).[4]

For several years, Marshall played with a variety of stock theater troupes, including both acting and being stage manager for E. H. Sothern's company.[2]

Film[edit]

Marshall in The Merry Widow (1925)

In 1914, Marshall arrived in Hollywood. His screen debut was in Paid in Full (1914).[2] By the time D. W. Griffith cast him as the High Priest of Bel in Intolerance (1916), he had already appeared in a number of silent films.

His career continued to thrive during the sound era and he remained busy for the remaining three decades of his life. He played a vast array of drunken trail scouts, lovable grandpas, unforgiving fathers, sinister attorneys and lecherous aristocrats. He is arguably most widely known today for his portrayal of John Wayne's sidekick in the lavish widescreen epic Western The Big Trail (1930) directed by Raoul Walsh, shot on location all across the American West, and starring Wayne in his first leading role. In one of Marshall's last films, This Gun for Hire (1942) starring Alan Ladd, he played a treacherously sinister nitrogen industrialist.

Personal life[edit]

Marshall was married to screenwriter, playwright, actress and head of her own studio Marion Fairfax[3] from 1899 to his death in 1943. Fairfax died in 1970 at age 94.

Death[edit]

Marshall died on March 10, 1943, age 78, after a heart attack at his home in Encino, California. His grave is located in Hollywood Forever Cemetery.[1]

Filmography[edit]

Marshall and Mabel Normand in The Slim Princess (1920)
Marshall (4th from left) in Along Came Ruth (1924)
Marshall and Marguerite Churchill in The Big Trail (1930)
Lobby card with Marshall and John Wayne in The Big Trail (1930)
Lobby card with Marguerite Churchill, Marshall and John Wayne in The Big Trail (1930)
Lobby card with Marshall, Marguerite Churchill and Tyrone Power Sr. in The Big Trail (1930)
Ernest Torrence, Gary Cooper, Lili Damita, and Marshall in Fighting Caravans (1931)
Marshall, Gary Cooper and Dan Duryea in Ball of Fire (1941)

Stage plays[edit]

  • Because She Loved Him So (1899)
  • Sky Farm (1902)
  • Hearts Aflame (1902)
  • The Best of Friends (1903)
  • An African Millionaire (1904)
  • Just Out of College (1905)
  • The Stolen Story (1906)
  • The Builders (1907)
  • Paid in Full (1908)
  • The City (1910)
  • The Talker (1912)
  • The Girl and the Pennant (1913)
  • The House of Bondage (1914)
  • The Clever Ones (1915)
  • The Trap (1915)

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Wilson, Scott (2016). Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed. (2 volume set). McFarland. p. 481. ISBN 9780786479924. Retrieved November 30, 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d Lowrey, Carolyn (1920). The First One Hundred Noted Men and Women of the Screen. Moffat, Yard. pp. 112-113. Retrieved November 30, 2016. Tully Marshall.
  3. ^ a b Katchmer, George A. (2002). A Biographical Dictionary of Silent Film Western Actors and Actresses. McFarland. p. 234. ISBN 9781476609058. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
  4. ^ "("Tully Marshall" search results)". Playbill Vault. Retrieved December 1, 2016.

External links[edit]