Marguerite Churchill

She frequently appeared in westerns such as Riders of the Purple Sage (1931) and was John Wayne's first leading lady in The Big Trail (1930). She also appeared in action films and in mysteries such as Charlie Chan Carries On (1931).

• Name — Marguerite Churchill • Birth Name — Marguerite Graham Churchill • Born — 26 December 1910 • Birthplace — Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. • Died — 9 January 2000 • Place of death — Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, U.S. • Known for — Charlie Chan Carries On • Occupation — Actress • Years Active — 1922–1952 • Spouse — * Peter Ganine (m. married 1954; div. divorced 19??) • Children — 3, including Darcy and Orin O'Brien

• Illustration — With John Wayne in The Big Trail • Illustration — Churchill in Dracula's Daughter (1936) Marguerite Graham Churchill was born on December 26, 1910 in Kansas City, Missouri. She was a daughter of movie producer Edward Paycen Churchill, who died on December 11, 1920. Churchill attended the Professional Children's School in New York City, with Milton Berle among others. She also attended the Theatre Guild Dramatic School in Manhattan where she worked with Winifred Lenihan, winning both the Winthrop Ames and Otto H. Khan scholarships. A child actress, Churchill made her Broadway debut on Christmas Day 1922, the day before her 12th birthday. The show was Why Worry? (1922–23). At sixteen, Churchill was described as "an outstanding ingenue lead" for her role in The House of Shadows (1927). In 1932, she appeared in the first Broadway production of "Dinner at Eight". Fox Films offered her a contract which led to her screen debut in the comedy short The Diplomats (1929). Her first feature-length film was The Valiant (1929) in which she appeared with Paul Muni and John Mack Brown. Over the course of her career, Churchill appeared in more than 25 films. She played leading lady to John Wayne in Raoul Walsh's The Big Trail (1930), an early widescreen epic and Wayne's first leading role. She appeared with Wayne again in Girls Demand Excitement (1931), with Spencer Tracy and George Raft in Quick Millions (1931), with Will Rogers in Ambassador Bill (1931), with Warner Oland in Charlie Chan Carries On (1931), with her future husband George O'Brien in Riders of the Purple Sage (1931), with Charles Farrell in Girl Without a Room (1933), with Ralph Bellamy in The Final Hour (1936), with Boris Karloff in The Walking Dead (1936), and with Edward Van Sloan in Dracula's Daughter (1936). On Broadway, Churchill performed in And Now Good-bye (1937), Dinner at Eight (1932), The Inside Story (1932), Skidding (1928), The Wild Man of Borneo (1927), House of Shadows (1927), and Why Not? (1922).

Churchill married actor George O'Brien on July 15, 1933. Their first child, Brian, died 10 days after his birth. Their daughter, Orin O'Brien, became a double bassist for the New York Philharmonic. Their youngest child, Darcy O'Brien (1939–1998), was an author and college professor. Churchill and O'Brien divorced in 1948. Darcy O'Brien's novel Margaret in Hollywood (1991) has been described as loosely based upon his mother's life. On June 5, 1954, Churchill married sculptor Peter Ganine. That union also ended in divorce. Marguerite Churchill died on January 9, 2000, aged 89, in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, from natural causes.

• Year — Title — Role — Notes • 1929 — The Valiant — Mary Douglas — Co-starring Paul Muni in his film debut • Pleasure Crazed — Nora Westby • They Had to See Paris — Opal Peters — With Will Rogers • Seven Faces — Hélène Berthelot • 1930 — Harmony at Home — Louise Haller — With Rex Bell • Born Reckless — Rosa Beretti — With Edmund Lowe • Good Intentions — Helen Rankin • The Big Trail — Ruth Cameron — With John Wayne • 1931 — Girls Demand Excitement — Miriam — With John Wayne • Charlie Chan Carries On — Pamela Potter — With Warner Oland • Quick Millions — Dorothy Stone — With Spencer Tracy and George Raft • Riders of the Purple Sage — Jane Withersteen — With future husband George O'Brien • Ambassador Bill — Queen Vanya — With Will Rogers • 1932 — Forgotten Commandments — Marya Ossipoff • 1933 — Girl Without a Room — Kay Loring — With Charles Farrell and Charlie Ruggles • 1935 — Without Children — Sue Cole • Speed Devils — Pat Corey • 1936 — Man Hunt — Jane Carpenter • The Walking Dead — Nancy — With Boris Karloff • Dracula's Daughter — Janet — With Edward Van Sloan • Murder by an Aristocrat — Sally Keating — With Lyle Talbot • The Final Hour — Flo Russell — With Ralph Bellamy • Alibi for Murder — Lois Allen — With William Gargan • Legion of Terror — Nancy Foster • 1950 — Bunco Squad — Barbara Madison