John Marriott (September 30, 1893 â€" April 5, 1977) was an American
actor of the stage, film and screen, whose career spanned five
decades. His acting career began on the stage in Cleveland, prior to
his moving to New York City, where he was a regular performer on the
Broadway stage. In the 1940s he also began to perform in films, when
he reprised his role from the hit Broadway play, The Little Foxes, in
the William Wyler movie of the same name, starring Bette Davis. While
he appeared infrequently in films (only ten during his career), he was
quite active in theater, both on Broadway and in regional productions.
His final performance was on-screen, in the Al Pacino film, Dog Day
Afternoon.Marriott was born in Boley, Indian Territory which is now a
part of Oklahoma. He died in Jamaica, Queens, New York City. He began
his acting career as a member of the Karamu Players in Cleveland in
1922. He was a member of the Cleveland Playhouse theater company. His
first significant role was in the short-lived Broadway production, Too
Many Boats, which opened at the Playhouse Theatre on September 11,
1934, but ran for only seven performances. Over the next 40 years he
would appear in over 20 Broadway productions. In 1936 he appeared in a
production of Sweet River, an adaptation of Harriet Beecher Stowe's
Uncle Tom's Cabin at the 55th Street Theater. In 1939 he originated
the role of Cal in The Little Foxes, which opened on February 15 at
the National Theatre and ran for 410 performances.As the new decade
dawned, Marriott appeared at the Flatbush Theater in a revival of
Langston Hughes' melodrama, Mulatto. In 1941 he reprised his role in
the William Wyler film version of The Little Foxes, which stars Bette
Davis. Marriott was one of five members of the original Broadway cast
to appear in the film. After his foray into film, he would return to
New York to focus on his stage career over the next decade. In 1941 he
appeared in the production of The Pursuit of Happiness, starring
Francis Lederer at the Flatbush Theater. In 1942, he originated the
role of Rodney in Janie, which ran for 642 performances at five
different theaters from 1942â€"44. The play would be made into a film
by Michael Curtiz in 1942, although Marriott was not selected for the
film's cast. Marriott would also appear in regional theater
productions, as he did in a 1944 version of Elena Miramova's play,
Dark Eyes in Stamford, Connecticut. Also in 1944, he appeared in the
Broadway production of No Way Out, at the Cort Theater. In 1946 he
appeared in the role of Dr. Einstein in the all-Black production of
Arsenic and Old Lace, in the debut production of the McKinley Square
Players, which starred Abbie Mitchell, Ruby Dee, and Avon Long. Also
in 1946 he originated the role of Joe Mott, one of the major parts in
the Eugene O'Neill classic, The Iceman Cometh, which opened at the
Martin Beck Theatre on October 9. Marriott was the only Black member
of the cast, and after the play opened he said, "I've enjoyed this
part more than any I've ever done. Joe Mott, the character I portray,
is a real part in the story. This looks as if, at last, there might be
a breaking away from the usual type-casting of butlers or valets
Negroes formerly had to do."Perhaps the height of his career came in
1948, when he had one of the leads in the American production of
Jean-Paul Sartre's The Respectful Prostitute, which as a one-act play,
was one of two plays presented at Cort Theatre, the other being The
Happy Journey to Trenton and Camden. The two one-acts previewed at the
New Stages Theater in Greenwich Village, prior to opening on March 16
at the Cort and running for 318 performances, closing on December 18,
1948. Marriott's performance would be lauded as "graceful". In
September 1948, when Rex Ingram was arrested for violating the Mann
Act, Marriott replaced him in the lead in Charleston 1822, a drama by
Dorothy Heyward which was in previews in New Haven, Connecticut. The
play would be retitled Let My People Free, and prior to moving to more
previews in Philadelphia, Marriott would leave the cast. In 1949,
Marriott was cast as one of the leads, Arrafi, in the Barrie Stavis
drama, The Sun and I, which opened on March 20 at the New Stages
Theater in Greenwich Village. Later that year, Marriott reprised his
role in The Respectful Prostitute at the Flatbush Theater in Brooklyn.
Also in 1949, Marriott would appear on the new medium, television,
when he appeared in an episode of The Philco-Goodyear Television
Playhouse, titled "The Lonely", which originally aired on September
25. Over the next three years he would appear in several television
productions, including the episode "The Twentieth Century" of The Ford
Theatre Hour (1949), which starred Fredric March and Eli Wallach; a
1950 episode of The Web (1950), entitled "Stone Cold Dead", which
starred John Carradine; and the episode titled "Key to the Death
House" on the Dumont Network series, The Plainclothesman in January
1950.
actor of the stage, film and screen, whose career spanned five
decades. His acting career began on the stage in Cleveland, prior to
his moving to New York City, where he was a regular performer on the
Broadway stage. In the 1940s he also began to perform in films, when
he reprised his role from the hit Broadway play, The Little Foxes, in
the William Wyler movie of the same name, starring Bette Davis. While
he appeared infrequently in films (only ten during his career), he was
quite active in theater, both on Broadway and in regional productions.
His final performance was on-screen, in the Al Pacino film, Dog Day
Afternoon.Marriott was born in Boley, Indian Territory which is now a
part of Oklahoma. He died in Jamaica, Queens, New York City. He began
his acting career as a member of the Karamu Players in Cleveland in
1922. He was a member of the Cleveland Playhouse theater company. His
first significant role was in the short-lived Broadway production, Too
Many Boats, which opened at the Playhouse Theatre on September 11,
1934, but ran for only seven performances. Over the next 40 years he
would appear in over 20 Broadway productions. In 1936 he appeared in a
production of Sweet River, an adaptation of Harriet Beecher Stowe's
Uncle Tom's Cabin at the 55th Street Theater. In 1939 he originated
the role of Cal in The Little Foxes, which opened on February 15 at
the National Theatre and ran for 410 performances.As the new decade
dawned, Marriott appeared at the Flatbush Theater in a revival of
Langston Hughes' melodrama, Mulatto. In 1941 he reprised his role in
the William Wyler film version of The Little Foxes, which stars Bette
Davis. Marriott was one of five members of the original Broadway cast
to appear in the film. After his foray into film, he would return to
New York to focus on his stage career over the next decade. In 1941 he
appeared in the production of The Pursuit of Happiness, starring
Francis Lederer at the Flatbush Theater. In 1942, he originated the
role of Rodney in Janie, which ran for 642 performances at five
different theaters from 1942â€"44. The play would be made into a film
by Michael Curtiz in 1942, although Marriott was not selected for the
film's cast. Marriott would also appear in regional theater
productions, as he did in a 1944 version of Elena Miramova's play,
Dark Eyes in Stamford, Connecticut. Also in 1944, he appeared in the
Broadway production of No Way Out, at the Cort Theater. In 1946 he
appeared in the role of Dr. Einstein in the all-Black production of
Arsenic and Old Lace, in the debut production of the McKinley Square
Players, which starred Abbie Mitchell, Ruby Dee, and Avon Long. Also
in 1946 he originated the role of Joe Mott, one of the major parts in
the Eugene O'Neill classic, The Iceman Cometh, which opened at the
Martin Beck Theatre on October 9. Marriott was the only Black member
of the cast, and after the play opened he said, "I've enjoyed this
part more than any I've ever done. Joe Mott, the character I portray,
is a real part in the story. This looks as if, at last, there might be
a breaking away from the usual type-casting of butlers or valets
Negroes formerly had to do."Perhaps the height of his career came in
1948, when he had one of the leads in the American production of
Jean-Paul Sartre's The Respectful Prostitute, which as a one-act play,
was one of two plays presented at Cort Theatre, the other being The
Happy Journey to Trenton and Camden. The two one-acts previewed at the
New Stages Theater in Greenwich Village, prior to opening on March 16
at the Cort and running for 318 performances, closing on December 18,
1948. Marriott's performance would be lauded as "graceful". In
September 1948, when Rex Ingram was arrested for violating the Mann
Act, Marriott replaced him in the lead in Charleston 1822, a drama by
Dorothy Heyward which was in previews in New Haven, Connecticut. The
play would be retitled Let My People Free, and prior to moving to more
previews in Philadelphia, Marriott would leave the cast. In 1949,
Marriott was cast as one of the leads, Arrafi, in the Barrie Stavis
drama, The Sun and I, which opened on March 20 at the New Stages
Theater in Greenwich Village. Later that year, Marriott reprised his
role in The Respectful Prostitute at the Flatbush Theater in Brooklyn.
Also in 1949, Marriott would appear on the new medium, television,
when he appeared in an episode of The Philco-Goodyear Television
Playhouse, titled "The Lonely", which originally aired on September
25. Over the next three years he would appear in several television
productions, including the episode "The Twentieth Century" of The Ford
Theatre Hour (1949), which starred Fredric March and Eli Wallach; a
1950 episode of The Web (1950), entitled "Stone Cold Dead", which
starred John Carradine; and the episode titled "Key to the Death
House" on the Dumont Network series, The Plainclothesman in January
1950.
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