# Marjorie Reynolds

Marjorie Reynolds (née Goodspeed; August 12, 1917 – February 1, 1997) was an American film and television actress who appeared in more than 50 films, including the 1942 musical Holiday Inn, in which she and Bing Crosby introduced the song "White Christmas" in a duet, albeit with her singing dubbed.

## Early life

The daughter of a doctor and his wife, Reynolds was born Marjorie Goodspeed in Buhl, Idaho. She acted under the names Marjorie Goodspeed and Marjorie Moore. When she was three years old, her family moved to Los Angeles, California. She began to take dancing lessons at age 4. She attended Los Angeles High School.

## Career

Beginning at age 6, Reynolds was a featured child actress in such silent films as Scaramouche (1923). At age 8 she stopped acting to concentrate on education until leaving school at 16 to play a ballerina in Herbert Brenon's Wine, Women and Song (1933). She went on to appear in bit parts in many films, including Gone with the Wind (1939) and as a chorus girl in Paramount Pictures musicals. Her first speaking role was in Murder in Greenwich Village (1937) and she then appeared in a number of westerns for Poverty Row studios opposite most of the cowboy stars of the time with the exception of Gene Autry.
Reynolds played the loyal girlfriend opposite wrongly accused Richard Cromwell in Enemy Agent (1940). That same year, in The Fatal Hour, Reynolds appeared for Monogram Pictures as a reporter on the trail of Boris Karloff's detective James Lee Wong and opposite Grant Withers as a cop.
Perhaps her best-known film was Holiday Inn (1942), which introduced the classic song "White Christmas". She performed the song both as a duet with Bing Crosby and later in a solo performance, although her singing was dubbed by Martha Mears. The movie also showcased her dancing ability.
She also had major roles in Fritz Lang's Ministry of Fear (1944) and in the movie Up in Mabel's Room (1944). Her career progression was hindered by the premature death of her mentor, Mark Sandrich.
Reynolds starred with Abbott and Costello in the supernatural comedy The Time of Their Lives (1946), one of the few films with Abbott and Costello as leads but not together as a team. Instead, Costello spends most of his screen time with Reynolds; they play a pair of American Revolution ghosts who need the help of Abbott and his friends to get to heaven. Leonard Maltin's review of the film describes it as "Most unusual film for A&C and one of their best... Imaginative, funny, and well done." She was cast in a supporting role in Mario Lanza's film debut, That Midnight Kiss (1949).
She later appeared in the NBC version of the television series The Life of Riley (1953–1958) and appeared on three episodes of the television series Leave it to Beaver (1960–1963).

## Personal life

Reynolds was married to Jack Reynolds, a casting director. The couple had a daughter, Linda, and divorced in 1952. Her second husband was film editor Jon M. Haffen (who during his acting career had been billed as John Whitney). He died in 1985.

## Recognition

Reynolds has a star in the Television section of the Hollywood Walk of Fame, at 1525 Vine Street.

## Death

On February 1, 1997, having suffered from congestive heart disease, she collapsed and died in Manhattan Beach, California, while walking her dog. She was 79 years old.

## Acting credits
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Director | Producer | Studio/Distributor | Other cast members |
| 1923 | The Broken Wing | Child (uncredited) | Tom Forman | B. P. Shulberg Productions | Al Lichtman, Preferred Pictures, Exclusivité Equitable Films | Kenneth Harlan, Miriam Cooper |
| 1923 | Scaramouche | Bit part (uncredited) | Rex Ingram | Rex Ingram | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | Ramon Novarro, Alice Terry, Lewis Stone |
| 1923 | Trilby | Waif (uncredited) | James Young | Richard Walton Tully | Associated First National Pictures | Andrée Lafayette, Creighton Hale |
| 1924 | Revelation | Child (uncredited) | George D. Baker | | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | Viola Dana, Monte Blue, Lew Cody |
| 1933 | Wine, Women and Song | Marilyn Arnette (credited as Marjorie Moore) | Herbert Brenon | I. E. Chadwick | State Rights | Lilyan Tashman, Lew Cody |
| 1933 | College Humor | (uncredited) | Wesley Ruggles | William LeBaron | | Bing Crosby, Jack Oakie, Richard Arlen, Mary Carlisle |
| 1935 | Collegiate | (uncredited) | Ralph Murphy | Adolph Zukor | Paramount Pictures | Jack Oakie |
| 1936 | The Big Broadcast of 1937 | (uncredited) | Mitchell Leisen | Adolph Zukor | Paramount Pictures | Jack Benny |
| 1936 | Three Cheers for Love | (Uncredited) | Ray McCarey | Adolph Zukor | Paramount Pictures | Robert Cummings, Eleanore Whitney |
| 1936 | College Holiday | Student (uncredited) | Frank Tuttle | William LeBaron, Harlan Thompson | Paramount | Jack Benny, George Burns, Gracie Allen, Martha Raye |
| 1936 | Dancing Pirate | (Uncredited) | Lloyd Corrigan | Merian C. Cooper | RKO Pictures | Rita Hayworth, Frank Morgan, Charles Collins |
| 1937 | Murder in Greenwich Village | Molly Murphy | Albert S. Rogell | Irving Briskin | Columbia Pictures | Richard Arlen, Fay Wray |
| 1937 | Tex Rides with the Boy Scouts | Norma Willis | Ray Taylor | Edward L. Alperson | Grand National Films Inc. | Tex Ritter, Philip Ahn |
| 1938 | Western Trails | Alice | George Waggner | Paul Malvern | Universal Pictures | Bob Baker |
| 1938 | Delinquent Parents | Edythe Ellis as a young woman | Nick Grinde | Ben N. Judell | State Rights | Doris Weston |
| 1938 | Rebellious Daughters | Claire | Jean Yarbrough | Ben N. Judell | State Rights | Verna Hillie |
| 1938 | Six Shootin' Sheriff | Molly Morgan | Harry L. Fraser | Max Alexander | Grand National Films Inc. | Ken Maynard |
| 1938 | The Overland Express | Jean Greeley | Drew Eberson | L. G. Leonard | Columbia Pictures | Buck Jones |
| 1938 | Black Bandit | Jane Allen | George Waggner | Trem Carr | Universal Pictures | Bob Baker |
| 1938 | Guilty Trails | Jackie | George Waggner | Trem Carr | Universal Pictures | Bob Baker |
| 1938 | Man's Country | Madge Crane | Robert Hill | Robert Tansey | Monogram Pictures | Jack Randall |
| 1939 | Gone with the Wind | (uncredited) | Victor Fleming | David O. Selznick | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | Vivien Leigh |
| 1939 | Mr. Wong in Chinatown | Bobby Logan | William Nigh | William T. Lackey | Monogram Pictures | Boris Karloff, Grant Withers |
| 1939 | Streets of New York | Anne Carroll | William Nigh | Scott R. Dunlap | Monagram Pictures | Jackie Cooper |
| 1939 | Sky Patrol | Betty Lou Barnes | Howard Bretherton | Paul Malvern | Monogram Pictures | Jackie Coogan, Milburn Stone, Jason Robards Sr. |
| 1939 | Racketeers of the Range | Helen Lewis | D. Ross Lederman | Bert Gilroy | RKO Radio Pictures | George O'Brien, Chill Wills |
| 1939 | Danger Flight | Betty Lou | Howard Bretherton | Paul Malvern | Monogram Pictures | Milburn Stone, Jacon Robards Sr. |
| 1939 | Mystery Plane | Betty Lou | George Waggner | Paul Malvern | Monogram Pictures | Milburn Stone, Jason Robards Sr. |
| 1939 | Stunt Pilot | Betty Lou | George Waggner | Paul Malvern | Monogram Pictures | Milburn Stone, Jason Robards Sr. |
| 1939 | The Phantom Stage | Mary | George Waggner | Trem Carr | Universal Pictures | Bob Baker |
| 1939 | Timber Stampede | Anne Carr | David Howard | Bert Gilroy | RKO Radio Pictures | Chill Wills |
| 1940 | The Fatal Hour | Bobby Logan | William Nigh | William T. Lackey | Monogram Pictures | Boris Karloff, Grant Withers |
| 1940 | Doomed to Die | Bobby Logan | William Nigh | William T. Lackey | Monogram Pictures | Boris Karloff, Grant Withers |
| 1940 | Midnight Limited | Joan Marshall | Howard Bretherton | T. R. Williams | Monogram Pictures | John 'Dusty' King |
| 1940 | Chasing Trouble | Susie | Howard Bretherton | Grant Withers | Monogram Pictures | Frankie Darro, Mantan Moreland, Milburn Stone |
| 1940 | Up in the Air | Anne Mason | Howard Bretherton | Lindsley Parsons | Monogram Pictures | Frankie Darro, Mantan Moreland |
| 1940 | Enemy Agent | Peggy O'Reilly | Lew Landers | Ben Pivar | Universal Pictures | Richard Cromwell, Helen Vinson, Robert Armstrong |
| 1941 | Cyclone on Horseback | Mary Corbin | Edward Killy | Bert Gilroy | RKO Radio Pictures | Tim Holt |
| 1941 | Dude Cowboy | Barbara Adams | David Howard | Bert Gilroy | RKO Radio Pictures | Tim Holt |
| 1941 | The Great Swindle | Margaret Swann | Lewis D. Collins | Larry Darmour | Columbia Pictures | Jack Holt |
| 1941 | Robin Hood of the Pecos | Jeanie Grayson | Joseph Kane | Joseph Kane | Republic Pictures | Roy Rogers, George "Gabby" Hayes |
| 1941 | Secret Evidence | Linda Wilson | William Nigh | E.B. Derr | Producers Releasing Corporation | Charles Quigley |
| 1941 | Tillie the Toiler | Bubbles | Sidney Salkow | Robert Sparks | Columbia Pictures | William Tracy, Sylvia Field |
| 1941 | Top Sergeant Mulligan | Gail Nash | Jean Yarbrough | Lindsley Parsons | Monogram Pictures | Nat Pendleton, Carol Hughes, Sterling Holloway |
| 1941 | Law of the Timber | Perry Lorimar | Bernard B. Ray | Bernard B. Ray | Producers Releasing Corporation | Monte Blue, J. Farrell MacDonald |
| 1942 | Holiday Inn | Linda Mason | Mark Sandrich | Mark Sandrich | Paramount Pictures | Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Virginia Dale |
| 1943 | Dixie | Jean Mason | A. Edward Sutherland | Paul Jones | Paramount Pictures | Bing Crosby, Dorothy Lamour, Billy De Wolfe, Clara Blandick, Eddie Foy, Jr. |
| 1943 | Star Spangled Rhythm | Herself | George Marshall | Joseph Sistrom | Paramount Pictures | Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, Mary Martin, Veronica Lake |
| 1944 | Ministry of Fear | Carla Hilfe | Fritz Lang | Buddy G. DeSylva | Paramount Pictures | Ray Milland, Carl Esmond, Hillary Brooke |
| 1944 | 3 Is a Family | Kitty Mitchell | Edward Ludwig | Sol Lesser | United Artists | Charles Ruggles, Fay Bainter, Hattie McDaniel, Arthur Lake |
| 1944 | Up in Mabel's Room | Geraldine Ainsworth | Allan Dwan | Edward Small | United Artists | Charlotte Greenwood, Gail Patrick, Dennis O'Keefe |
| 1945 | Bring on the Girls | Sue Thomas | Sidney Lanfield | Fred Kohlmar | Paramount Pictures | Eddie Bracken, Veronica Lake |
| 1945 | Duffy's Tavern | Peggy O'Malley | Hal Walker | Danny Dare | Paramount Pictures | Bing Crosby |
| 1946 | Meet Me on Broadway | Ann Stallings | Leigh Jacon | Burt Kelly | Columbia Pictures | Fred Brady |
| 1946 | Monsieur Beaucaire | Princess Maria of Spain | George Marshall | Paul Jones | Paramount Pictures | Bob Hope |
| 1946 | The Time of Their Lives | Melody Allen | Charles Barton | Val Burton | Universal Pictures | Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Gale Sondergaard |
| 1947 | Heaven Only Knows | Ginger | Albert S. Rogell | Seymour Nebenzal | United Artists | Robert Cummings, Brian Donlevy |
| 1949 | Bad Men of Tombstone | Julie | Kurt Neumann | Maurice King | King Brothers Productions | Barry Sullivan, Broderick Crawford |
| 1949 | That Midnight Kiss | Mary | Norman Taurog | Joe Pasternak | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | Mario Lanza, Kathryn Grayson |
| 1950 | Customs Agent | Lucille Gerrard | Seymour Friedman | Rudolph Flothow | Columbia Pictures | Benson Fong, William Eythe |
| 1950 | The Great Jewel Robber | Martha Rollins | Peter Godfrey | Bryan Foy | Warner Bros. | John Archer, David Brian |
| 1950 | Rookie Fireman | Margie Williams | Seymour Friedman | Milton Feldman | Columbia Pictures | Bill Williams, Barton MacLane |
| 1951 | His Kind of Woman | Helen Cardigan | John Farrow | Robert Sparks | RKO Pictures | Robert Mitchum, Jane Russell, Vincent Price |
| 1951 | Home Town Story | Janice Hunt | Arthur Pierson | Arthur Pierson | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | Jeffrey Lynn, Donald Crisp, Alan Hale, Jr. |
| 1952 | Models Inc. | Peggy Howard | Reginald Le Borg | Jack Dietz | Mutual Pictures Corporation | Howard Duff, Coleen Gray |
| 1952 | No Holds Barred | Rhonda Nelson | William Beaudine | Jerry Thomas | Monogram Pictures | Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, David Gorcey, Bernard Gorcey |
| 1956 | Mobs, Inc. | Mary Hale Browne (archive footage) | William Asher | | | Reed Hadley |
| 1959 | Juke Box Rhythm | Martha Manton | Arthur Dreifuss | Sam Katzman | Columbia Pictures | Jo Morrow, Jack Jones, Brian Donlevy |
| 1962 | The Silent Witness | Mary | Ken Kennedy | Ken Kennedy | Emerson Film Enterprises Inc. | George Kennedy |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Episode |
| 1949 | Hands of Mystery | | Secret Life of a Killer |
| 1951 | The Bigelow Theatre | | A Case of Marriage |
| 1951 | Hollywood Theatre Time | Sally Sanders | The Spectre |
| 1951 | Racket Squad | | The Fabulous Mr. James |
| 1951 | Gruen Guild Theater | | The Luckiest Guy in the World |
| 1951 | Gruen Guild Theater | | Peril in the House |
| 1952 | The Unexpected | The Blonde | The Slide Rule Blonde |
| 1953 | The Abbott and Costello Show | Nurse | Peace and Quiet |
| 1955 | The Millionaire | Louise Malcolm | The Fred Malcolm Story |
| 1953–1958 | The Life of Riley | Peg Riley | 76 episodes |
| 1960 | The Millionaire | Barbara's Mother | Millionaire Dixon Cooper |
| 1960 | Shirley Temple's Storybook | Betty | Emmy Lou |
| 1960 | Leave It to Beaver | Mrs. Murdock | Chuckie's New Shoes |
| 1961 | Whispering Smith | Baby Doll Harris | The Idol |
| 1961 | Surfside 6 | Mrs. Phelps | Little Star Lost |
| 1962 | Tales of Wells Fargo | Helen Mapes | Don't Wake a Tiger |
| 1962 | Alcoa Premiere | Eleanor | The Cake Baker |
| 1962 | Leave It to Beaver | Mrs. Murdock | Beaver the Babysitter |
| 1962 | Our Man Higgins | Dodie Bannister | The Three Faces of Higgins |
| 1963 | Laramie | Mrs. Sherman | The Last Battleground |
| 1963 | Leave It to Beaver | Mildred Gregory | The All-Night Party |
| 1963 | Wide Country | Katy Blaufus | The Quest for Jacob Blaufus |
| 1963 | Our Man Higgins | Dodie Bannister | Black Thursday |
| 1963 | Our Man Higgins | Dodie Bannister | The Milkman Cometh |
| 1969 | The Good Guys | Annie Butterworth | Love Comes to Annie Butterworth |
| 1978 | Pearl | Nurse #3 | |