Margot Grahame

Margot Grahame
Born	Margaret Clark February 20, 1911(1911-02-20) Canterbury, Kent, England, UK
Died	January 1, 1982(1982-01-01) (aged 70) London, England, UK
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1930–1958
Spouse	Francis Lister (1934-1936) (divorced) Allan McMartin 1938-1946) (divorced) A. D. Peters (1958-1972) (his death)

Margot Grahame (20 February 1911 – 1 January 1982) was an English actress most noted for starring in The Informer and The Crimson Pirate. She started acting in 1930 and made her last screen appearance in 1958.

Movie actress

Her family went to South Africa when she was three years old, which led to her being educated there. She began her stage career with Dennis Neilson-Terry a few weeks after leaving school at the age of 14, in Pretoria. She made her London stage debut in 1927 as understudy to Mary Glynne in The Terror. Her screen debut was in the 1930 film Rookery Nook.

Grahame was the highest-paid actress in England during the 1930s, before going to America, where she performed in a number of films of the 30's, 40's and 50's. Hollywood producers' interest was peaked that she had appeared in forty-two major roles in English films in only three years. Grahame was signed to a long-term contract by RKO.

She appeared as the prostitute girlfriend of Gypo Nolan in John Ford's The Informer (1935). She followed this performance with a role as leading lady Milady de Winter in The Three Musketeers (1935). She performed with Bebe Daniels in The Fabulous Joe (1947). As the character Emily Terkle, Grahame was appearing in her first motion picture since The Buccaneer (1938). The latter dealt with U.S. history, particularly the lives of Jean La Fitte and Andrew Jackson. Starring opposite Frederic March, Grahame faced the challenge of playing the love interest rather than a siren. After World War II, she dyed her hair and became a redhead. She appeared in The Romantic Age in 1949.

Her last films were made in the 1950s and included I'll Get You For This (1950), The Crimson Pirate (1952), The Beggar's Opera (1953), Orders Are Orders (1954), and Saint Joan (1957). She appeared in "The Sweater" (1958), an episode of The New Adventures of Charlie Chan (1958).

Personal life

Grahame moved into a new home high in the Hollywood Hills after her separation from English actor, Francis Lister, in 1935. She married Canadian millionaire, Allen McMartin, in 1938. They divorced in 1946. In 1948, Grahame began a relationship with the British literary agent A. D. Peters which continued until his death in 1973.

Death

Margot Grahame died in London on New Year's Day of 1982, aged 70, from chronic bronchitis.

Selected filmography

• Compromising Daphne (1930)
• Uneasy Virtue (1931)
• Timbuctoo (1933)
• Yes, Mr Brown (1933)
• Broken Journey (1948)

References

• "Margot Grahame Dislikes Depot Change; Cecil B. Demille Talks About Buccaneer." Albuquerque Journal. January 24, 1938, Page 8.
• "Bebe Daniels Set To Produce Movie." Charleston Gazette. July 16, 1946, Page 11.
• "Margot Grahame Agrees That Luckies Are Gentlest On The Throat." Connellsville Daily Courier. March 9, 1937, Page 3.
• "Spring Styles Call For Much Warmer Hues-Margot Grahame." Dunkirk Evening Observer. March 11, 1937, Page 11.
• "In England They Call Margot Grahame Second Jean Harlow." Lowell Sun. May 28, 1935, Page 54.
• "Sign of Separation." Lowell Sun. November 2, 1935, Page 45.

External links

Biography portal

• Margot Grahame at the Internet Movie Database
• Margot Grahame at the Internet Broadway Database
• Margot Grahame at Find a Grave

Persondata
Name	Grahame, Margot
Alternative names	Clark, Margaret
Short description	Actress
Date of birth	1911-02-20
Place of birth	Canterbury, England
Date of death	1982-01-01
Place of death	London, England