Marguerite Churchill

Marguerite Graham Churchill (December 26, 1910^[2][3] – January 9, 2000) was an American stage and film actress whose career spanned 30 years, from 1922 to 1952. She was John Wayne's first leading lady, in The Big Trail (1930).

Marguerite Churchill
Churchill in 1929
Born	Marguerite Graham Churchill (1910-12-26)December 26, 1910 Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.
Died	January 9, 2000(2000-01-09) (aged 89) Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1922–1952[1]
Spouses	George O'Brien ​ ​ (m. 1933; div. 1948)​ Peter Ganine (m. 1954; div. 19??)
Children	3, including Darcy and Orin O'Brien

Career

With John Wayne in The Big Trail

Churchill in Dracula's Daughter (1936)

A child actress, Churchill made her Broadway debut on Christmas Day 1922, the day before her 12th birthday.^[a] She was later recognized as a leading lady on Broadway at age sixteen. A Fox Film official saw her acting and offered her a contract, which soon led to her screen debut in The Diplomats (1929).

Churchill appeared in more than 25 films. She played leading lady to John Wayne in Raoul Walsh's The Big Trail (1930),^[4] an early widescreen epic and Wayne's first leading role. She appeared with Wayne again in Girls Demand Excitement (1931), with Spencer Tracy and George Raft in Quick Millions (1931), with Will Rogers in Ambassador Bill (1931), with Warner Oland in Charlie Chan Carries On (1931), with her future husband George O'Brien in Riders of the Purple Sage (1931), with Charles Farrell in Girl Without a Room (1933), with Ralph Bellamy in The Final Hour (1936), with Boris Karloff in The Walking Dead (1936), and with Edward Van Sloan in Dracula's Daughter (1936).

On Broadway, Churchill performed in And Now Good-bye (1937), Dinner at Eight (1932), The Inside Story (1932), Skidding (1928), The Wild Man of Borneo (1927), House of Shadows (1927), and Why Not? (1922).^[1]

Personal life

Churchill married actor George O'Brien on July 15, 1933. Their first child, Brian, died 10 days after his birth. Their daughter, Orin O'Brien, became a double bassist for the New York Philharmonic, and their youngest child, Darcy O'Brien (1939–1998), was a successful writer and college professor. Churchill and O'Brien divorced in 1948.^[5] After their divorce, Churchill appeared in one film and a few television plays.

On June 5, 1954, Churchill married sculptor Peter Ganine.^[6][7] That union also ended in divorce.

Marguerite Churchill died on January 9, 2000, aged 89, in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, from natural causes.

Partial filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1929	The Valiant	Mary Douglas	Co-starring Paul Muni in his film debut
	Pleasure Crazed	Nora Westby
	They Had to See Paris	Opal Peters	With Will Rogers
	Seven Faces	Hélène Berthelot
1930	Harmony at Home	Louise Haller	With Rex Bell
	Born Reckless	Rosa Beretti	With Edmund Lowe
	Good Intentions	Helen Rankin
	The Big Trail	Ruth Cameron	With John Wayne
1931	Girls Demand Excitement	Miriam	With John Wayne
	Charlie Chan Carries On	Pamela Potter	With Warner Oland
	Quick Millions	Dorothy Stone	With Spencer Tracy and George Raft
	Riders of the Purple Sage	Jane Withersteen	With future husband George O'Brien
	Ambassador Bill	Queen Vanya	With Will Rogers
1932	Forgotten Commandments	Marya Ossipoff
1933	Girl Without a Room	Kay Loring	With Charles Farrell and Charlie Ruggles
1935	Without Children	Sue Cole
	Speed Devils	Pat Corey
1936	Man Hunt	Jane Carpenter
	The Walking Dead	Nancy	With Boris Karloff
	Dracula's Daughter	Janet	With Edward Van Sloan
	Murder by an Aristocrat	Sally Keating	With Lyle Talbot
	The Final Hour	Flo Russell	With Ralph Bellamy
	Alibi for Murder	Lois Allen	With William Gargan
	Legion of Terror	Nancy Foster
1950	Bunco Squad	Barbara Madison

Notes

1. Some sources mistakenly cited the date as her 13th birthday.