Marcia Mae Jones

Marcia Mae Jones (August 1, 1924 – September 2, 2007) was an American film and television actress whose prolific career spanned 47 years.

Marcia Mae Jones
Jones in 1938
Born
Marcia Mae Jones

(1924-08-01)August 1, 1924
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
DiedSeptember 2, 2007(2007-09-02) (aged 83)
Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California. U.S.
OccupationActress
Years active1926–1983
Spouse(s)Robert Chic (2 children)
(m.1943–1951)
Bill Davenport
(m.1955–1963; divorced)

Early years

Jones was the youngest of four children born to actress Freda Jones. All three of her siblings, Margaret, Macon, and Marvin Jones, were also child actors. Their relationship was strained by their unequal status in the film world. "I constantly heard, 'You've got to be quiet; Marcia Mae has to learn her lines.' It was Marcia Mae this and Marcia Mae that. That's where the jealousy from my siblings came from. They blamed me for it, when it was my mother who was doing it." [1]

Career

Jones made her film debut at the age of two in the 1926 film Mannequin. She appeared in films such as King of Jazz (1930), Street Scene (1931),[2] and Night Nurse (1931) before rising to child stardom in the 1930s with roles in The Champ (1931) and, alongside Shirley Temple in Heidi (1937) and The Little Princess (1939).[3] She also starred in films such as The Garden of Allah (1936), These Three (1936), and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938). In the 1937 film Mountain Justice she played Bettie Harkins as seen on TCM.

Jones blossomed into a wide-eyed, blonde, wholesome-looking teenager, and worked steadily in motion pictures through her late teens. She appeared in First Love (1939), in support of Deanna Durbin. In 1940, Monogram Pictures signed her to co-star with Jackie Moran in a few rustic romances; when this series lapsed, both Jones and Moran joined Monogram's popular action-comedy series starring Frankie Darro.

As a young adult, she continued to work in motion pictures, notably in Nine Girls (1944) and Arson, Inc. (1948). Like many familiar faces of the 1940s, she appeared on numerous television programs. In 1951 she appeared as comic foil to Buster Keaton in Keaton's filmed TV series. She went on to work in such top-rated shows as The Cisco Kid, The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok, The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, Peyton Place, and General Hospital. Her last major role was in the Barbra Streisand film The Way We Were in 1973.[4] She also appeared in the Barnaby Jones; episode "Doomed Alibi" (1975).

Personal life

Jones was married to writer Bill Davenport.[2] She married and divorced Robert Chic twice and had two sons with him.

Death

On September 2, 2007, Jones died in Woodland Hills, California, of complications of pneumonia. She was 83.[5]

Partial filmography

References
  1. Ankerich, Michael G. (February 25, 2011). The Sound of Silence: Conversations with 16 Film and Stage Personalities. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 144.
  2. Goldrup, Tom; Goldrup, Jim (2002). Growing Up on the Set: Interviews with 39 Former Child Actors of Classic Film and Television. McFarland. pp. 169–177. ISBN 978-0786412549. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
  3. "Former child star Jones dies, 83". BBC News. 5 September 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-07.
  4. Vallance, Tom (2007-09-07). "Marcia Mae Jones: Prolific child actress of the 1930s". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2007-09-07.
  5. McLellan, Dennis (September 7, 2007). "Marcia Mae Jones, 83; TV, film actress". Los Angeles Times. p. B8. Retrieved November 17, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.

6. Demetria Fulton previewed Marcia Mae Jones' appearance in Barnaby Jones; episode titled, "Doomed Alibi"(03/11/1975).

Further reading
  • Dye, David (1988). Child and Youth Actors: Filmography of Their Entire Careers, 1914-1985. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co., p. 119.
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