|
Click
images to enlarge
|
Click here for detailed FILMOGRAPHY
with images.
BIOGRAPHY:
Marian Nixon (Marion Nixon, Maria
Nissinen, Marian Nissinen)
The brown haired 5'01" (155 cm) tall Marian Nixon was a sweet but
feisty little actress with a long list of good parts in her years as
a Hollywood leading lady. She was launched as one of the WAMPAS Baby
Stars of 1924. Never a major star, she had a natural, solid acting technique
with a no nonsense rapid delivery of dialogue. Her voice was nazal and
high pitched like Myrna Loy's, whom she somewhat resembled stylistically
and facially. She also had touches of her contemporaries Mary Astor
and Helen Chandler in her appearance on the screen. She retired at the
age of 32 after a career of 13 years. She has her star on the Hollywood
Walk Of Fame.
BIOGRAPHY IMDb
mini-biography by Denny Jackson:
Marian Nixon was born on October 20, 1904 in Superior, Wisconsin.
Her career started in 1923 when she played Agnes Evans in CUPID'S FIREMAN.
She was nineteen.
Marian always gave a good account for herself when she appeared in films
and was much in demand throughout the twenties. Marian was one of those
fortunate actresses who made the successful transition to the "talkie"
era. Her final film was as Treasure McGuire in TANGO in 1936. When she
retired, Marian had been in 73 productions.
On February 13, 1983, Marian died from complications from surgery in
Los Angeles, California. She was 78 years old.
Mother of Christopher Nixon Seiter
Spouses:
Joe Benjamin (1925 - 1926) Prize-fighter.
Edward Hillman, Jr. (1929 - 1933) from Chicago
William A. Seiter (1934 - July 1964) (his death)
(1892-1964)
All Movie Guide: A man of enormous appetites who preferred
his leisure activities to filmmaking, William A. Seiter was
every bit as easygoing as his directorial style. After attending Hudson
River Military Academy, Seiter broke into films as a bit player at
Mack Sennett's Keystone studios. He graduated to director in
1918, and a director he remained until his retirement in 1954.
At Universal in the mid-'20s, Seiter was principal director of the
popular Reginald Denny vehicles, most of which co-starred Seiter's
then-wife Laura La Plante (his second wife was actress Marion
Nixon). In the early talkie era, Seiter helped nurture the talents
of RKO's comedy duo Wheeler and Woolsey in such rollicking
features as Caught Plastered (1931) and Diplomaniacs (1933).
He also proved to be the perfect director for Laurel and Hardy,
guiding the Derbied Ones through their best feature, Sons of the Desert
(1933).
Among the many stars directed by Seiter during his long career were
Shirley Temple, Fred Astaire, Henry Fonda, Margaret Sullavan, Jack
Haley, Deanna Durbin, Jean Arthur, John Wayne, Fred MacMurray, Lucille
Ball, and the Marx Brothers.
While many of his films were minor gems, Seiter was capable
of turning out a clinker once in a while; if, for example, he ran
into friction from his star (as was the case with Lou Costello
in 1946's Little Giant), Seiter would get even by adhering
religiously to the script, refusing to add any nuance or creativity
to the project (this pettiness may have been the reason that one prominent
actress of the 1930s referred to Seiter as the most unimaginative
director she'd ever worked with).
On his final four films, William A. Seiter functioned as both
producer and director: the best of this quartet was The Lady Wants
Mink (1953), a gentle satire of the then topical "raise your
own coat" craze. ~ Hal Erickson
Biography
Entered pictures 1915 doubling a cowboy.
Father to 'Christopher Nixon Seiter' and 'Jessica Seiter Niblo'.
Grandfather of Ted Griffin.
Was one of the founding members of the Directors Guild.
IMDb
Ben Lyon (1972 - 1979) (his death)
(1901-1979)
All Movie Guide: He made his stage debut at age 17 and appeared
in a film the following year. He later starred in many Hollywood silents
and early talkies; in Howard Hughes' Hell's Angels (1930),
he piloted his own plane and shot some of the airborne scenes.
Lyon married actress Bebe Daniels in 1930, and in the late '30s the
two of them moved to England; there they became popular in vaudeville
and on radio, and also appeared in a few films. During World War Two
he was a pilot with the British Royal Air Force. After the War he
was an executive talent director for Fox; later he headed his own
London-based talent agency. According to some sources, he discovered
Marilyn Monroe and gave her her screen name.
After his wife died in 1971, he married actress Marian Nixon, one
of his former costars, and they moved back to the U.S. In 1977 he
was awarded the Order of the British Empire for his World War Two
record. He was the father of actor Richard Lyon. ~ All Movie Guide
From "Dan Cupid's Bulletin Board," in Screen Secrets, September
1928: "Ben Lyon is seen often these days with Marian Nixon who
was divorced not long ago from Joe Benjamin, her prize-fighter husband.
"Gary Cooper seems to have found his feminine ideal in the charming
Evelyn Brent. They are going about a great deal together lately."
* * * Postcripts: Our last clipping hinted that a romance was brewing
between Ben Lyon and Marian Nixon. Two years later, however, Lyon
married Bebe Daniels, and that union lasted forty-one years, until
Bebe's death in 1971. He got married again in 1974, though... to Marian
Nixon. Unknown
Video
Early
biography
IMDb
Marian Nixon was the adopted mother of the producer, production manager
and assistant director Christopher Nixon Seiter (1935-2003).
CHRISTOPHER N. SEITER Died Dec. 17, 2003
Assistant director/production assistant/producer Christopher N. Seiter
died of heart and lung problems at age 68. Mr. Seiter worked on a
number of Disney films including "The Black Hole," "The North Avenue
Irregulars," "Pete’s Dragon," "No Deposit, No Return," "The Shaggy
D.A." and "The Cat From Outer Space." He was also an assistant director
on the Oscar winning "Save the Tiger." Mr. Seiter’s producer credits
include the TV series "Fame" and the Made for TV "Columbo" movies
during the 1990s.
IMDb
Marian Nixon was the grandmother of the
screenwriters Ted Griffin (left) and his brother Nicholas
Griffin (right):
Warner Brothers: TED GRIFFIN (Screenwriter) previously [before
Ocean's Eleven] wrote Ravenous, starring Guy Pearce
and Robert Carlyle, directed by Antonia Byrd and Best Laid Plans,
starring Reese Witherspoon.
A native of Pasadena, California, Griffin is the grandson of film
director William A. Seiter (Room Service with the Marx Bros., Sons
of the Desert with Laurel and Hardy, Roberta with Fred Astaire and
Ginger Rogers) and actress Marion Nixon (Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm).
IMDb
Biograhpy by Thomas
Staedeli
The actress Marian Nixon was born as Marian Nissinen in Superior,
Wisconsin.
She began her extensive silent movie career already in 1923 with
the movie "Cupid's Fireman" (23). She was able to gain a
foothold in the film business immediately and became a very busy actress
of the 20's.
To her well-known silent movies belong "The Vagabond Trail"
(24), "The Hurricane Kid" (25), "The Saddle Hawk"
(25), "Hands Up! (26), "What Happened to Jones" (26),
"Devil's Island (26), "Heroes of the Night" (27), "Down
the Stretch" (27), "The Chinese Parrot" (27), "How
to Handle Women" (28) and "Man, Woman and Wife" (29).
She didn't have any problems with the transition to the talkies and
she continued her career till her retreat from the film business in
1936.
In the 30's you could see Marian Nixon among others in the productions
"Courage" (30), "The Lash" (30), "Charlie
Chan's Chance" (32), "Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm" (32),
"Pilgrimage" (33), "We're Rich Again" (34), "Captain
Calamity" (36) and "Tango" (36).
All Movie Guide Biography:
A vaudeville chorus dancer in her early teens, actress Marian Nixon
entered films in 1922. Two years later, she was chosen by the Western
Association of Motion Picture Advertisers as a WAMPAS Baby Star, along
with such other hopefuls as Clara Bow and Dorothy Mackaill.
After serving an apprenticeship as a Western ingénue, she was
given leading-lady assignments opposite such popular male stars as
Raymond Griffith, Reginald Denny, John Barrymore, Richard Barthelmess,
and Al Jolson.
She made a successful transition to talkies, but her peaches-and-cream
screen image -- exemplified by her appearance as the title character
in 1932's Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm -- was growing out of fashion.
In 1934, she tried in vain to change her image with a Grace Allen-type
scatterbrain role in We're Rich Again. While the film wasn't a howling
success, in one respect it turned out to be beneficial to Nixon: She
married the film's director, William Seiter, a union that lasted until
Seiter's death in 1964 (it was her third marriage, his second). In
1974, the long-retired Marian Nixon married actor/producer Ben Lyon,
the widower of actress Bebe Daniels. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
PUBLICITY
A magazine arcticle (translation) published in the Finnish movie
magazine Filmiaitta in the issue #6-7 of May 15th, 1925 written by the
Finnish Hollywood correspondent Gösta Gustafsson Wrede:
Hollywood's most lovable movie star
- a Finn
Your correspondent has lived here for quite a long while now, imagining
to be the only Finn in the whole of Hollywood, untill one day he made
a beautiful observation: Marian Nixon, the most charming among
the Fox company's little starlets, is Finnish.
Yes. This is almost the case, because although Marian herself was
born in the United States, and presumably is herself an American citizen,
her parents are Finnish - her father is from the Ostrobotnia region
and her mother is from the city of Kotka.
Now my dear readers, You can hear the life story of Your own movie
star.
Marian Nixon was born in Superior on October 20th in 1904. When she
was just a few years old, her parents moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota,
where the girl started school. Even as a child Marian already showed
a special love towards the theater, and being resourceful and presentable
in her demenour, it did not take long before she - at the age of sixteen
- performed for the first time as a dancer in the Pantages theater
in Minneapolis. She was offered a comfortable position in Los Angeles,
but she decided to pursue the art of film instead.
First she met with a brick wall! And Marian's mother has told me
about instances, when her little girl came home from the studio with
a lump in her throat and in low spirits. (I would't blame her!) Nevertheless,
fog is never too dense to evaporate at some point, and when the sun
once again manages to peek through, it shines all the brighter. This
became true also for Marian quite soon. She managed to sign a contract
with the Fox company, and was gradually given more and more demanding
parts. So she has acted with John Gilbert, Huck Jones, Tom Mix and
Hoot Gibson in films like Just Off Broadway, Cupid's Fireman,
Riders of the Purple Sage, The Last of the Duanes and
The Wagabond Trail. The biggest and the best of Marian's roles
was at Universal in I Will Show You The Town Tomorrow, in which
she performs with the strong and pleasing Reginald Denny. At the moment
she is busy finishing her work in her last movie for Fox, after which
she shall give herself a month's vacation to travel across her home
state, Minnesota. - On June the 8th she will start a new, rather lurcative,
five year contract at Universal.
Great film career, don't you think!
"The Sweetest Girl in Hollywood" is the name the movie
capital has given to Marian Nixon. And the truth is that our little
Finn makes a charming impression on anyone lucky enough to encounter
her. Because, while Marian is no great beauty, she is - way greatly
- feminine, soft, impish and sweet. Definitely she is the sweetest
girl in all of Hollywood.
Marian is energetic and active, and her mother told me the other
day that the girl definitely makes sure that things move along to
the direction she herself wishes. This is no surprise to Your
correspondent - because Marian really is a little charmer - but then,
on the other hand, aren't all ladies?
In Hollywood, April 1925.
Gösta Gustafsson Wrede.
Another piece of movie magazine gossip in Filmiaitta. This (translation)
is from the issue #15-16, published on September 15th 1928. Filmiaitta
had a new Hollywood correspondent, Leonard Clairmont, after Gösta
Gustafsson Wrede died on a film set.
Seen and heard in Hollywood
The small Finnish girl, Marion Nixon, whom we've seen in several
movies, has now risen to the level of co-starring with Richard Barthelmess.
Their shared film is titled Out of the Ruins, and it is a war
film. Dick has reported to the newspapers that Marian is the best
co-star he's ever had and he wishes to be able to act with her also
in the future.
Photo fun:
"Another great photo from Ed Phillips, and the caption on the back
reads:
"This is not publicity stuff! Motion picture people in Hollywood
are too busy following their profession to stop and assume their street
clothes when they "go off the lot" to transact business
at the banks or other centers of trade. They often go "as is".
Here is one instance. They are all Hollywood stars, lined up at the
Savings window of the Hollywood Agency of the First National Bank
of Los Angeles of which M F Palmer is the manager. They are, reading
from left to right, Jack Hoxie, Pat O'Malley, Raymond Keane, Marion
Nixon and Mary Philbin.""
Enoch Bolles - Original Pulp Magazine
Cover Art (1930)
iCollectorLive.com: A captivating art deco image by Enoch
Bolles, this painting was published as the cover for Film Fun, May,
1930. The model for this elegant jester was posed by Marion Nixon,
a popular Hollywood actress in the '20s and '30s who made the transition
from silent movies to "talkies." She appeared in 73 films,
among them, "Riders of the Purple Sage" (1925) with Tom
Mix, "Charlie Chan's Chance" (1932) with Warner Oland, and
she starred as Rebecca in "Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm" (1932).
This offering is a unique glimpse of movie history combined with
an outstanding art deco pulp cover by Bolles. Executed in oil on canvas,
it measures 24 x 18 and is signed lower right. This painting was reproduced
in The Great American Pin-up (Martignette & Meisel), page 51,
fig. 87. An issue of the Film Fun magazine is included. Important
notice: We expect to be auctioning lots at the rate of 200-250 per
hour. Sometimes eBay Premier live bid software cannot keep up with
that pace, so we strongly recommend that you place a realistic proxy
bid now as insurance to avoid disappointment. Also please note that
all Heritage/CAA lots purchased through eBay Premier carry a 20% Buyer's
Premium. Please make sure you read the Terms and Conditions.
:: Sale Information
Sale Date/Time: 10-Mar-2003 @ 13:00 (PT)
10-Mar-2003 @ 16:00 (local)
Location: The Warwick Hotel, 65 West 54th Street, New York, NY 10019,
USA
Preview: Thursday March 6th – 12 noon – 7pm, Friday March
7th 10am – 7pm, Sat March 8th 9am – 7pm, Sun March 9th 10am
– 12 Noon
Currency of Sale: USD
Auction ID: 2498
Estimate: USD $6000 - $11220
Images and plot outlines of Marian's films and images of her leading
men can be found in the
FILMOGRAPHY section of this page.
|
Marian
Nixon
