George Marshall (director)

For other people named George Marshall, see George Marshall (disambiguation).

George Marshall
Marshall circa 1940
Born(1891-12-29)December 29, 1891
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
DiedFebruary 17, 1975(1975-02-17) (aged 83)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Other namesGeorge E. Marshall
Occupation(s)Actor, screenwriter, producer, film and television director
Years active1915–1975
SpouseGermaine Desiree Minet (m. 1919)[1]
Children2
Marshall (left) with Marlene Dietrich and producer Joe Pasternak on the set of the 1939 film Destry Rides Again

George E. Marshall (December 29, 1891 – February 17, 1975) was an American actor, screenwriter, producer, film and television director, active through the first six decades of film history.

Relatively few of Marshall's films are well-known today, with Destry Rides Again (1939), The Ghost Breakers (1940), The Blue Dahlia (1946), The Sheepman (1958), and How the West Was Won (1962) being the biggest exceptions. John Houseman called him "one of the old maestros of Hollywood ... he had never become one of the giants but he held a solid and honorable position in the industry."[2]

In the 1930s, he established a reputation for comedy, directing Laurel and Hardy in three classic films, and also working on a variety of comedies for Fox, though many of his films at Fox were destroyed in a vault fire in 1937.[3] Later in his career he was particularly sought after for comedies. He did around half a dozen films each with Bob Hope and Jerry Lewis, and also worked with W. C. Fields, Jackie Gleason, and Will Rogers.

  1. ^ "George Marshall".
  2. ^ Houseman, John (1976). "Lost Fortnight, a Memoir". The Blue Dahlia: A Screenplay. By Chandler, Raymond. Carbondale. pp. xiii.
  3. ^ Young, Jordan (2012). Directing Laurel and Hardy. USA: Past Times Publishing Co. pp. 292, 298, 302, 334.