Marcia Mae Jones

“I don’t know if I could have done as well as my mother did, had the tables been reversed. But she did love me way too much and it did cause trouble and jealousy with my brothers and sister. I can understand today how they must have felt. It was always, ‘Marcia Mae has to go to work. Marcia Mae’s making the money.'” –Marcia Mae Jones

Marcia Mae Jones was born on August 1, 1924, in Los Angeles, California, to William and Margaret Freda Jones. She was the youngest of four children, with siblings Margaret, Macon, and Marvin.

When Jones was two years old, she made her film debut playing a baby in Mannequin (1926). Reportedly, director James Cruze saw her in her baby carriage and she received the role. Largely propelled by her mother, who was also an actress, Jones was soon routinely appearing in films from this point onward. She had a bit part as a flower girl in King of Jazz (1930) during the “My Bridal Veil” sequence, in addition to roles in Street Scene (1931) and Night Nurse (1931). Incidentally, she portrayed a flower girl again in What Price Hollywood? (1932) and Employee’s Entrance (1933). At age 6, she was a founding member of the Screen Actors Guild.

By the 1930s, she was established as a child star. She performed in The Champ (1931) and worked alongside Shirley Temple in Heidi (1937) and The Little Princess (1939). Along the way, she could also be spotted in These Three (1936), The Garden of Allah (1936), and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938).

As entered her teenage years, her film career continued with First Love (1939) alongside Deanna Durbin and Anne of the Windy Poplars (1940). She signed with Monogram Pictures in 1940, where she appeared in romances and action comedies.

In 1943, she married Merchant Marine Robert Chic, with whom she had two children: Robert “Denny” and Tim. They divorced in 1951.

By the 1950s, she appeared in both films and on television, including working as Buster Keaton’s comic foil in his television series. She also performed in other hit shows, including The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, Peyton Place, and General Hospital. In 1952, she was simultaneously working as a switchboard operator for the Greg Bautzer Law Firm.

In 1955, she married television writer William Davenport. Tragically, Davenport committed suicide in 1989. Moreover, Jones struggled with alcoholism as acting roles waned. After turning to pursuing a degree in religious science, she later addressed and conquered her dependency issues. Her final feature film role was in The Way They Were (1973), though she continued appearing on television into the 1980s.

Jones became a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. She passed away on September 2, 2007, at the Motion Picture and Television Hospital in Woodland Hills, California, from complications from pneumonia. She was 83 years old.

In 1930, Jones and her family lived at 907 N. Stanley Ave., West Hollywood, California. The home stands today.