Herbert Marshall

Herbert Brough Falcon Marshall was an English actor born in London on 23 May 1890, the only child of stage actors Percy F. Marshall and Ethel May Turner. His father, who retired from acting in 1922 and died on 28 December 1927, was noted by theatrical critics for his comic flair and rich voice, and also wrote and directed plays in which he appeared. Marshall's mother was the sister of journalist and drama critic Leopold Godfrey-Turner, and his grandfather, Godfrey Wordsworth Turner, authored several books and articles on art and travel. Marshall received the middle name Brough, pronounced "Bruf," after his godfather, comedic Shakespearean actor Lionel Brough. His mother gave him the nickname Bart to avoid the name Bertie, which she disliked, and he was addressed by that nickname by family, friends, and colleagues throughout his life.

As a child, Marshall was raised by his three maternal aunts while his parents toured in theatrical productions, though he accompanied them during school vacations. He was educated at St Mary's College in Harlow, Essex, and afterward worked briefly as an accounting clerk before taking a position as an assistant business manager for a theatre troupe connected to his father. He held a series of backstage jobs at various theatres and acting companies before turning to acting itself, later recalling that he became an actor out of necessity rather than ambition.

His stage debut is generally listed as The Adventure of Lady Ursula in 1911, though some sources place it as early as 1909, and he also recalled appearing alongside Eric Blore in Robert Courtneidge's The Arcadians in November 1910. In 1913, he made his London debut playing Tommy in Brewster's Millions, a performance that impressed actor-manager Cyril Maude sufficiently to recruit Marshall for a North American tour of Grumpy. When war was declared, the company returned to London and Marshall, then 24, enlisted in the London Regiment.

Marshall served with the 14th Battalion, London Regiment, known as the London Scottish, alongside fellow actors Claude Rains, Cedric Hardwicke, and Basil Rathbone. On 9 April 1917, he was shot in the left knee by a sniper at the Second Battle of Arras in France. After multiple operations, doctors amputated his leg, and he remained hospitalized for thirteen months. During his recovery at St Thomas' Hospital in London, King George V visited and, when asked to identify which of Marshall's legs was artificial, chose the wrong one. Marshall suffered from phantom pain and discomfort from his prosthesis for the rest of his life, and the pain became more pronounced in later years, occasionally affecting him visibly on film sets.

Following the Armistice, Marshall joined Nigel Playfair's repertory troupe, appearing in Make Believe in December 1918, The Younger Generation in 1919, and Abraham Lincoln in 1919. He also performed in John Ferguson and the Shakespearean productions The Merchant of Venice and As You Like It, later saying that playing Jacques in As You Like It gave him more pleasure than any other role. In 1920, he made his first known appearance opposite Edna Best, who would become his second wife, in Brown Sugar. The following year he toured North America with Marie Löhr and starred in A Safety Match in London.

By 1922, Marshall was appearing regularly on both sides of the Atlantic. His Broadway career spanned from 1922 to 1932 and included productions such as The Voice from the Minaret, The High Road, Fedora, Tomorrow and Tomorrow, and There's Always Juliet, among others. Over the course of his stage career he performed alongside Sir Nigel Playfair, Sir Gerald du Maurier, Noël Coward, Gertrude Lawrence, Edna Best, Cathleen Nesbitt, Mabel Terry-Lewis, Marie Löhr, Madge Titheradge, and Edmund Gwenn, among others.

Marshall subsequently built a prominent career in Hollywood, becoming an in-demand leading man in the 1930s and 1940s, particularly in romantic melodramas and occasional comedies. His notable film credits include Ernst Lubitsch's Trouble in Paradise (1932), Alfred Hitchcock's Murder! (1930) and Foreign Correspondent (1940), William Wyler's The Letter (1940) and The Little Foxes (1941), Albert Lewin's The Moon and Sixpence (1942), Edmund Goulding's The Razor's Edge (1946), and Kurt Neumann's The Fly (1958). He appeared on screen opposite Barbara Stanwyck, Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich, Kay Francis, Joan Crawford, and Bette Davis. In later years he transitioned to character roles.

Marshall was also active in radio and television. From 1944 to 1952 he starred in the American radio espionage series The Man Called 'X', and he made numerous radio guest appearances and hosted several programs. During the Second World War, he worked toward the rehabilitation of injured troops, with particular focus on aiding fellow amputees. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960. Marshall married five times and periodically appeared in gossip columns due to his turbulent private life. He died on 22 January 1966.