Joan Marsh
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Notes
Marsh reportedly had the tiniest feet -- size 2AAA -- in Hollywood.
Her father Charles Rosher was sentenced to jail term in 1938 for failure to pay child support for Joan Marsh stemming from a July 1936 court case; Rosher stopped paying support for Marsh when she turned 18 because (he claimed) she was self-supporting as an actress, earning $100,000 a year.
Biography
A child performer who made the transition to adult roles before retiring after her second marriage, Joan Marsh appeared as a blonde bombshell in comedies of the 1930s and 40s. The daughter of noted cinematographer Charles Rosher, she began her acting career as a toddler (billed under her real name of Dorothy Rosher) appearing alongside Mary Pickford in such silent classics as "The Little Princess" (1917), "Daddy Long Legs" (1919) and "Pollyanna" (1920).
Although many a silent player did not make the successful transition to talkies, Marsh was one of the lucky ones. Petite with delicate features and platinum hair, she also possessed a lilting voice and was signed by Universal as an adult. Although she played prominent secondary parts and occasional leads, Marsh never quite achieved true stardom. Still, she remained active for much of the 30s, often playing chorines with names like Toots, Cuddles and Dimples. There were also the rare dramatic roles as in "Anna Karenina" (1935) but they were relatively few. Divorced from screenwriter Charles Belden, Marsh married John D.W. Morrill in 1943 and retired from the screen the following year. There was a brief flurry of interest in her when archival clips of her appeared in the compilation film "That's Entertainment" (1974), but she remained content operating a successful stationery business in Southern California.
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Life Events
1917
Acted alongside Mary Pickford in "The Little Princess"; billed as Dorothy Rosher; father was the cameraman
1919
Again appeared with Pickford in "Daddy Long Legs"
1920
Co-starred in "Pollyanna"
1920
Last major film part for ten years, "Thou Art the Man"
1930
First screen credit as Joan Marsh, "Little Accident"
1944
Final film, "Follow the Leader"
Videos
Movie Clip
Trailer
Family
Companions
Bibliography
Notes
Marsh reportedly had the tiniest feet -- size 2AAA -- in Hollywood.
Her father Charles Rosher was sentenced to jail term in 1938 for failure to pay child support for Joan Marsh stemming from a July 1936 court case; Rosher stopped paying support for Marsh when she turned 18 because (he claimed) she was self-supporting as an actress, earning $100,000 a year.
