Marion Marlowe obit

Marion Marlowe passes at 83 

She was not on the list.

Marion Marlowe passed away on Saturday, March 24, 2012.

Born on March 7, 1929, Marion was an American singer and actress. She died at

the age of 83 in Tucson, Arizona of natural causes.

She was born Marion Townsend in St. Louis, Missouri and was best known for her

performances on the television variety series "Arthur Godfrey and His Friends"

from 1950 to 1955 in which she sang duets with Frank Parker as the "Jeanette

MacDonald and Nelson Eddy of the 1950s.".

 

According to Richard Lamparksi's 1975 book "Whatever Became of...?", Marion

began taking vocal lessons when she was twelve years old and studied at London's

Royal Conservatory under Sir Thomas Beecham. Later, she roomed with Marilyn

Monroe at Hollywood's Studio Club while being coached by Sigmund Romberg. She

recorded for CBS Records in the mid-1950s, and had a hit single with "The Man in

the Raincoat", which reached #14 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1955. In April 1955

she was dropped from CBS's roster, and the same month she was fired by Arthur

Godfrey from his show along with Haleloke and the Mariners; the following month

she married television producer Larry Puck, who had also been fired by Godfrey.

She later pursued a career as a stage actress, most notably as the Baroness,

Elsa Schraeder, in The Sound of Music, 1959-1963.

 

Marion was a widow living in California, enjoying organic garden and caring for

the stray animals she took in.

he is best known for her recordings of "The Man in the Raincoat" and "Heartbeat". Marlowe worked with Frank Parker ("Moonlight and Roses") and was married to the television producer Larry Puck.

Marlowe was born in St. Louis, Missouri, and her father died several years later. At that point Marlowe and her mother (a ballerina who had danced with the Metropolitan Opera) moved in with her grandparents. Her initial public performance came at age 5 when she sang Ave Maria at the Moolah Temple in St. Louis. She had her own quarter-hour weekly radio program from age 9 until she was 13.

According to Richard Lamparksi's 1975 book Whatever Became of...?, Marlowe began taking vocal lessons when she was 12 years old and studied at London's Royal Conservatory under Sir Thomas Beecham. Later, she roomed with Marilyn Monroe at Hollywood's Studio Club while being coached by Sigmund Romberg.

Marlowe is best known for her performances on the television variety series Arthur Godfrey and His Friends from 1950 to 1955, in which she sang duets with Frank Parker as the "Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy of the 1950s."

In April 1955, she was dropped from CBS's roster, and the same month she was fired by Arthur Godfrey from his show along with fellow cast members Haleloke and the Mariners.[5] After being fired by Godfrey, she was signed by Ed Sullivan to make six appearances on his Toast of the Town program. Her contract with Sullivan provided $18,000 for the six appearances, compared to $1,500 per week for six shows with Godfrey.

Marlowe later pursued a career as a stage actress, most notably as the Baroness, Elsa Schraeder, in the original production of The Sound of Music, from 1959 to 1963. In 1964 she starred in the Off-Broadway flop The Athenian Touch.

Actress

Ed Sullivan in The Ed Sullivan Show (1948)

The Ed Sullivan Show

7.9

TV Series

Singer

1963

1 episode

 

Arthur Godfrey Time (1952)

Arthur Godfrey Time

4.6

TV Series

1952

1 episode

 

Soundtrack

Ed Sullivan in The Ed Sullivan Show (1948)

The Ed Sullivan Show

7.9

TV Series

performer: "Ave Maria"

1957

1 episode

 

Ruby Dee in That Man of Mine (1946)

That Man of Mine

writer: "It's Just Like That", "Dear One"

1946