Marion Fairbanks

Marion Fairbanks was an American stage and film actress born on November 15, 1900, in New York City. She was the twin sister of Madeline Fairbanks, and the two performed together extensively throughout their careers. Their mother was actress Jennie M. Fairbanks, also known as Jane Fairbanks, and their father was a descendant of Jonathan Fairbanks, a Massachusetts figure of the Revolutionary era, and the son of Nathaniel Fairbanks, who served in the American Civil War. Marion and Madeline had an older brother named Robert. The twins received much of their education from private tutors, both at home and while traveling.

The Fairbanks twins launched their stage careers at the New Theatre in New York City with a production of The Bluebird. They subsequently appeared on Broadway in The Piper in 1911, followed by Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch and Snow White, both in 1912. Around the same time, the sisters entered the film industry through the Thanhouser Film Corporation, where they were billed as the Thanhouser Twins and the Thanhouser Kids. Their film work there included Cousins in 1913, The Flying Twins in 1915, and both The Bird of Prey and The Answer in 1916. Their association with Thanhouser lasted until 1916.

Marion's Broadway career extended from 1912 to 1926 and encompassed a range of musical productions. She and her sister appeared together in the Ziegfeld Follies across multiple editions, including the Ziegfeld Follies of 1918 and 1919, as well as the Ziegfeld Midnight Frolic in 1918 and the Ziegfeld 9 O'Clock Frolic in 1921. Among the other productions in which the twins appeared together were The Century Girl, Two Little Girls in Blue, and Mercenary Mary in 1925. Marion also took on solo stage work, including Grab Bag in 1924 and a tour of Little Nellie Kelly, while Madeline separately appeared in The Ritz Revue that same year. The sisters reunited for Oh, Kay! in 1926, as well as Allez-Oop and Happy in 1927.

By 1932, Marion was performing independently at the Waldorf Theatre in New York City, where she succeeded Eleanor King as leading lady in Whistling in the Dark. News accounts from the 1930s noted that she operated a beauty parlor and directed a branch of a cosmetics manufacturer during that period. Marion Fairbanks died on September 20, 1973, in Georgia, and was buried at Westview Cemetery. At the time of her death, her name was Marion Fairbanks Delph. Her twin sister Madeline was her only survivor.