E. G. Marshall


Everett Eugene Grunz, known professionally as E. G. Marshall, was an American actor. One of the first group selected for the new Actors Studio, by 1948, Marshall had performed in major plays on Broadway.
Among his film roles, Marshall is perhaps best known as the unflappable and analytical Juror 4 in Sidney Lumet's courtroom drama 12 Angry Men. He starred in the CBS legal drama The Defenders, played the President of the United States in Superman II, and Nazi collaborator Henri Denault on the CBS prime-time drama Falcon Crest in 1982. Marshall was also known as the host of the radio drama series CBS Radio Mystery Theater.

Early life

Marshall was born Everett Eugene Grunz in Owatonna, Minnesota, the son of Hazel Irene and Charles G. Grunz. During his life, he chose not to reveal what "E. G." stood for, saying that it stood for "Everybody's Guess." The U.S. Social Security Claims Index states that he was listed with the Social Security Administration in June 1937 as Everett Eugene Grunz, and in December 1975 as E.G. Marshall.
Marshall claimed in interviews in later life to have attended both Carleton College and the University of Minnesota, but there is no evidence that he ever attended either institution, or had attended college at all.

Career

He took the surname "Marshall" for his acting career. Although most familiar for his later television and movie roles, which gained wide audiences, Marshall also had a distinguished Broadway career. In 1948, having already performed in the original New York productions of The Skin of Our Teeth and The Iceman Cometh, Marshall joined Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift, Julie Harris, Kim Stanley, and 45 others to make up the first group of actors granted membership in the newly formed Actors Studio. In subsequent years, he landed the leading roles in The Crucible and Waiting for Godot.
Marshall achieved perhaps his highest profile as top-billed star of the CBS-TV legal drama The Defenders. Marshall portrayed Manhattan defense attorney Lawrence Preston, for which he won two Emmys. He later played Dr. David Craig in the television series The Bold Ones: The New Doctors, and Nazi collaborator Henri Denault on the CBS prime-time drama Falcon Crest in 1982.
In 1973, Marshall returned to the live stage to play the title role in a well-received production of Macbeth at the Virginia Museum Theatre in Richmond, Virginia, under the direction of Keith Fowler. The production was highly praised by the New York Times. From January 1974 until February 1982, Marshall was an occasional participant and the original host of the popular nightly radio drama, The CBS Radio Mystery Theater.
In film, Marshall was known for playing Juror 4 in 12 Angry Men, District Attorney Harold Horn in Compulsion, Colonel Jerome Pakenham in Town Without Pity, Colonel Rufus S. Bratton in Tora! Tora! Tora!, Arthur in Interiors, the President of the United States in Superman II, Arthur "Art" Smith in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, John N. Mitchell in Nixon, and Walter Sullivan in Absolute Power. His final performance was a reprisal of his role as Lawrence Preston in two TV Movies based on The Defenders.
Marshall was selected as a Fellow of the American Bar Association and an officer of the American Judicature Society, a national organization of judges, lawyers, and lay persons devoted to promoting the effective administration of justice.

Personal life

Marshall was married twice. He married Helen Wolf in 1931. They had two daughters—Jill and Degen. Their marriage ended in divorce in 1953. He married Judith Coy in 1958. They had two sons and a daughter — Sam, Jud, and Sarah. They remained married until his death.
As a member of the Committee for National Health Insurance, Marshall was a long-time advocate of government-provided health care in the United States. During the 1968 United States presidential campaign, he filmed and narrated a political advertisement endorsing Democratic candidate Hubert Humphrey.

Death

Marshall died of lung cancer at his home in Bedford, New York, on August 24, 1998, at age 84.

Filmography

Film

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1949–1958Studio One6 episodes
1954Middle of the NightJerryLive TV broadcast. The Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse
1955Studio OneDr. ShrattEpisode "Donovans' Brain"
1957Alfred Hitchcock PresentsRonald GrimesEpisode: "Mail Order Prophet"
1957SuspicionPaul SteppeEpisode: "Four O'Clock"
1960The IslandersCurt CoberEpisode: "Forbidden Cargo"
1961RawhideBen FoleyEpisode: "Incident of the Broken Word"
1961–1965The DefendersLawrence Preston132 episodes
1966The Poppy Is Also a FlowerColey JonesTV movie
1969The Littlest AngelGodTV movie
1969–1973The Bold Ones: The New DoctorsDr. David Craig45 episodes
1970The Brady BunchJ.P. Randolph1 episode
1971Ellery Queen: Don't Look Behind YouDr. Edward CazalisTV movie
1971Night GalleryJared Soames, The Funeral Director1 episode
1972IronsideDr. David Craig1 episode
1972PursuitJames WrightABC Movie of the Week
1976Collision Course: Truman vs. MacArthurPresident Harry S. TrumanTV movie
1977Equal Justice Under LawHimselfTV miniseries
1979VampireHarry KilcoyneTV movie
1982–1983Falcon CrestHenri Denault3 episodes
1983KennedyJoseph P. KennedyTV miniseries
1986Tales from the DarksideGrandfatherEpisode: "Seasons of Belief"
1987At Mother's RequestFranklin BradshawTV miniseries
1988The EqualizerSenator Virgil Thomas BlakeEpisode: "The Last Campaign"
1988–1989War and RemembranceDwight D. EisenhowerTV miniseries
1993The TommyknockersEv HillmanTV miniseries
1994–1995Chicago HopeDr. Arthur Thurmond8 episodes
1997Miss Evers' BoysThe Senate ChairmanTV movie
1997The Defenders: PaybackLawrence PrestonTV movie
1998The Defenders: Choice of EvilsLawrence PrestonTV movie

Discography