Judith Allen

Judith Allen (born Marie Elliott, February 8, 1911 – October 5, 1996) was an American film actress.[4]

Judith Allen
Allen in The Port of Missing Girls (1938)
Born
Marie Elliott

(1911-02-08)February 8, 1911
New York City, U.S.
DiedOctober 5, 1996(1996-10-05) (aged 85)
Yucca Valley, California, U.S.
Other namesMari Colman
OccupationActress
Years active1933–1952
Spouse(s)
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1931; div. 1933)​
    [1]
      ​
      ​
      (m. 1935; div. 1938)​
      [2]
        Rudolph Field
        ​
        ​
        (m. 1941; annulled 1945)​
        [3]

        Early years

        Allen was born Marie Elliott in New York City, and she grew up in Belmont, Massachusetts. She attended Leland Powers School in Boston[5] and gained acting experience with a stock theater company.[6]

        Allen and James Dunn in Bright Eyes (1934)
        Allen and Milburn Stone in The Port of Missing Girls (1938)

        Using the name Mari Colman, Allen worked as a commercial model in New York for the Walter Thornton Modeling Agency.[7] That was where she was selected for a leading role in the film This Day and Age (1933).[6] The role led to her name change to Judith Allen. Robert S. Birchard wrote about the process in his book, Cecil B. DeMille's Hollywood, comparing it to "a comic sequence in David O. Selznick's 1937 production of A Star Is Born."[8]

        Birchard related: "Mari Colman was subjected to the same treatment as DeMille and Paramount tested long lists of potential screen names.... Somehow, the name ultimately bestowed upon her was Judith Allen."[8]

        Personal life

        Allen married wrestler Gus Sonnenberg in 1931 in New York City. They were divorced September 23, 1933, in Reno, Nevada.[9] She married actor/boxer/singer Jack Doyle April 28, 1935, in Agua Caliente, Mexico. She filed for annulment March 15, 1937, in Los Angeles, California.[10]

        Selected filmography

        References
        1. "Wife Divorces Gus Sonnenbert". The Milwaukee Journal. United Press. September 24, 1933. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
        2. "Movita Castaneda, actress - obituary". The Telegraph. February 18, 2015. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
        3. "Judith Allen Asks Marriage Annulment". San Jose News. International News Service. April 25, 1945. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
        4. Bradley p. 347
        5. Wagner, Laura (Summer 2015). "Judith Allen: Freelancing on Poverty Row". Films of the Golden Age (81): 61–63.
        6. Harrison, Paul (October 13, 1937). "Is $2,000,000 Worth of Love Enough?". Hope Star. Arkansas, Hope. Newspaper Enterprise Association. p. 5. Retrieved July 26, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
        7. "Model' Girls Are Always Very Much In Demand". The Brooklyn Eagle, (Brooklyn, New York). August 12, 1944. p. 55.
        8. Birchard, Robert S. (2009). Cecil B. DeMille's Hollywood. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 978-0813138299. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
        9. "Gus Sonnenberg and Actress Are Divorced". The Winnipeg Tribune. Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba. September 25, 1933. p. 13. Retrieved July 26, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
        10. "Actress Files Annulment Suit". Salt Lake Tribune. Salt Lake City. International News Service. March 16, 1937. p. 7. Retrieved July 26, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.

        Bibliography
        • Edwin M. Bradley. The First Hollywood Musicals: A Critical Filmography of 171 Features, 1927 through 1932. McFarland, 2004.


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