- Born
- Died
- Birth nameMarjorie Goodspeed
- Height5′ 5″ (1.65 m)
- Bright, vivacious Marjorie Reynolds (née Goodspeed) was born in Idaho on August 12, 1917 to a homemaker and a doctor and raised in Los Angeles. She made her film debut at age 6, then "retired" after only a few years to pursue a regular education.
She returned in the mid-1930s as a teenager and began the typical assembly-line route of extra and bit roles for various mega-studios, billed this time as Marjorie Moore. Her first speaking role was in Columbia Studio's Murder in Greenwich Village (1937), this time billed as Marjorie Reynolds; her first husband's last name, this was the moniker she maintained for the duration of her career.
The blonde (originally brunette) actress then went through a rather non-challenging prairie-flower phase opposite Hollywood's top western stars such as Tex Ritter, Buck Jones, Roy Rogers, and Tim Holt. It all paid off, however, when she won the top female role opposite Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire in the seasonal film classic Holiday Inn (1942), a role originally designed for Mary Martin. It remains Marjorie's most popular and cherished role on film, but it did not help her make a permanent transition into 'A' quality fare.
Marjorie continued as a dependable "B" co-lead in such films as Up in Mabel's Room (1944), Meet Me on Broadway (1946), and Heaven Only Knows (1947), with an exciting movie offer such as Fritz Lang's Ministry of Fear (1944) coming her way on a rare occasion.
Along with maturity and a new entertainment medium (television) in the 1950s came a return to her natural hair color. As William Bendix's patient, resourceful brunette wife on the comedy TV series The Life of Riley (1953), Marjorie became a semi-household name. Her career took a steep decline following its demise five years later and she was only sporadically seen in films, commercials, and TV guest spots after that.
She was married twice. Her first husband was Jack Reynolds, an Assistant Casting Director for Samuel Goldwyn. They had one daughter, Linda, before divorcing in 1952 after 16 years. Her second husband, film editor John Whitney, worked for a time in the 1940s as an actor. They were married for 32 years until his death in 1985.
Long retired, Marjorie died in 1997 of congestive heart failure after collapsing while walking her dog. Though she didn't fully live up to her potential as a serious, formidable actress, her gentle charm and obvious beauty certainly spruced up the 60+ films in which she appeared.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Gary Brumburgh / gr-home@pacbell.net
- SpousesJohn Whitney(May 18, 1953 - May 4, 1985) (his death)Jack Reynolds(September 4, 1936 - May 14, 1952) (divorced, 1 child)
- ParentsHarry Goodspeed
- Appeared in Gone with the Wind (1939) in the barbecue at Twelve Oaks.
- As a child, appeared in silent films under her real name.
- Toured army bases during World War II and the Korean War.
- She is prominently featured as a character in eight mystery novels by John Dandola: "Dead By All Appearances", which takes place during the initial theatrical release of Holiday Inn (1942); "Dead in Small Doses", which is set just prior to the release of Dixie (1943); "Dead by Happenstance" and "Dead in the Shadows", which both take place before she begins filming Up in Mabel's Room (1944); "Dead on Their Trail"; "Dead in the Embers"; "Dead During Intermission", "Dead by Any Means".
- Daughter, Linda Reynolds, started out as an actress but moved into casting. She cast Marjorie in ...All the Marbles (1981) but her role as the mother of a lady wrestler was deleted before its release.
- It doesn't overly concern me if I don't become a superstar. There are more important things for a successful, happy life and career, such as being pleasant, amiable and a decent human being.
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