Marilyn Nash

Nash was born in Flint, Michigan, and attended the University of Arizona with the intention of pursuing medicine as her chosen career.[1] However, her professional career path changed when she traveled to Los Angeles with her mother while attending Arizona.[1]

By chance, Nash met Charlie Chaplin while playing tennis at the Beverly Hills Hotel.[1] Chaplin quickly signed Nash as an actress in his Charlie Chaplin Studios.[1] He then cast her in his black comedy Monsieur Verdoux, which was released in 1947.[1]

L-R: Otto Waldis, Bruce Kellogg, Marilyn Nash and Victor Kilian

Nash appeared in just one other film during her career, the 1951 science fiction adventure Unknown World,[1] in which she portrayed a doctor. She then switched to television and stage roles during the 1950s. Her television credits include Hopalong Cassidy in 1952 and Medic in 1955.[1]

She moved to Oroville, located in northern California, with her second husband, Dr. Donald P. Franks. There Nash worked as a casting director, specializing specifically in films shot in the region surrounding Oroville.[1] Her casting credits included The Great Smokey Roadblock, The Klansman and The Outlaw Josey Wales.[1]

Nash was married three times. Her first husband was screenwriter Philip Yordan, who introduced her to Hollywood's highest echelons.[1] Nash's marriage to Yordan ended in divorce in the early 1950s.[1] Her second marriage was to Dr. Donald P. Franks, with whom she moved to Oroville. Nash's third marriage to Mack Hill ended sadly with Hill's death.[1]

Nash was interviewed in the 2007 documentary, Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story, directed by Jeffrey Schwarz, which focused on the life of her longtime friend, William Castle.[1] Her first husband, Philip Yordan, had introduced Nash to Castle during the 1950s.[1]

Marilyn Nash died on October 6, 2011, at the age of 84.[1] She was survived by four sons and six grandchildren. Her memorial service was held at the St. Augustine of Canterbury Anglican Church in Chico, California.[1]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Marilyn Nash.

• Interview with Nash from 1997 ("Disc Features" on Criterion Collection of Monsieur Verdoux); accessed November 17, 2017.
• Marilyn Nash at IMDb
• Family obituary originally published in the Chico Enterprise-Record
• 2005 interview in The Astounding B monster website