E. G. Marshall

E. G. Marshall (born Everett Eugene Grunz; June 18, 1914 – August 24, 1998) was an American actor, best known for his television roles as the lawyer Lawrence Preston on The Defenders in the 1960s and as neurosurgeon David Craig on The Bold Ones: The New Doctors in the 1970s. One of the first group selected for the new Actors Studio by 1948, he had performed in major plays on Broadway.

For the American Union Army general with the same first initials, see Elisha Marshall.
E. G. Marshall
Marshall in 1970
Born
Everett Eugene Grunz

(1914-06-18)June 18, 1914
Owatonna, Minnesota, U.S.
DiedAugust 24, 1998(1998-08-24) (aged 84)
Bedford, New York, U.S.
OccupationActor
Years active1945–1998
Spouse(s)Judith Coy (?-1998)
Emy de Haze Winkelman
Helen Wolf (1939-1953)

Among his film roles Marshall is perhaps best known as the unflappable, conscientious, and analytical Juror 4 in Sidney Lumet's courtroom drama 12 Angry Men (1957).[1][2][3] He 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 (1974–82).

Early life

Marshall was born in Owatonna, Minnesota, the son of Hazel Irene (née Cobb; 1892–1975) and Charles G. Grunz (1882–1959). His paternal grandparents were German immigrants.[4] During his life, he chose not to reveal what "E. G." stood for, saying that it stood for "Everybody's Guess." The initials match Everett (or Eugene) Grunz.[5] The Social Security Death Index gives his full name as: "E G Marshall".[6] 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.[7]

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.[8] In subsequent years, he landed the leading roles in The Crucible and Waiting for Godot.[9]

In 1973, he 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.[10] 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.[11]

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.[12]

Personal life

Marshall was married three times. He had a total of five children: Jed, Sarah, Jill, Degen, and Sam.

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.[13] During the 1968 United States presidential campaign, he filmed and narrated a political advertisement endorsing Democratic candidate Hubert Humphrey.[14]

Death

Marshall died of lung cancer in Bedford, New York, on August 24, 1998, at age 84. He was buried at Middle Patent Rural Cemetery, in the hamlet of Banksville, within the Town of North Castle, New York.

Filmography

References
  1. Norwegian American Actor E. G. Marshall
  2. E. G. Marshall (livetvcenter.com)
  3. Everett Eugene Grunz (Minnesota Birth Index) Archived 2011-07-19 at the Wayback Machine
  4. Everett Eugene Grunz Marshall (rootsweb.com)
  5. Irving Wallace, David Wallechinsky, Amy Wallace and Sylvia Wallace, The Book of Lists 2 (1980): Famous Initials
  6. "Social Security Death Master File info for E G Marshall #354-05-6094". 2014. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
  7. "E.G. Marshall's Invented Past". 2018. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
  8. Dick Kleiner: "The Actors Studio: Making Stars Out of the Unknown," The Sarasota Journal (Friday, December 21, 1956), p. 26. "That first year, they interviewed around 700 actors and picked 50. In that first group were people like Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift, Tom Ewell, John Forsythe, Julie Harris, Kim Hunter, Karl Malden, E.G. Marshall, Margaret Phillips, Maureen Stapleton, Kim Stanley, Jo Van Fleet, Eli Wallach, Ray Walston and David Wayne."
  9. E. G. Marshall (ibdb.com)
    1. ^ Stage - Fowler 'Macbeth' - A Vigorous Production Staged in Richmond The Cast - Article - NYTimes.com
  11. E. G. Marshall (Norwegian Hall of Fame)
  12. .Welsh, James M. and Whaley, Donald M. (2013). The Oliver Stone Encyclopedia. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, pg 132.
  13. (Committee for National Health Insurance)
  14. Humphrey campaign ad
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