| Joan Marsh | |
| Birthname: | Dorothy Rosher |
| Birth Date: | 10 July 1914 |
| Birth Place: | Porterville, California, U.S. |
| Death Place: | Ojai, California, U.S. |
| Othername: | Dorothy D. Rosher |
| Occupation: | Actress |
| Years Active: | 1915 - 1944 |
| Spouse: | |
Joan Marsh (July 10, 1914 - August 10, 2000) was an American child actress in silent films between 1915 and 1921. Later, during the sound era, she resumed her acting career and performed in a variety of films during the 1930s and 1940s.
Marsh, born Dorothy D. Rosher, was the daughter of Lolita and Charles Rosher. Her parents later divorced.[1]
In 1915, Marsh made her first film appearance, an uncredited one, in the short The Mad Maid of the Forest, which her father was filming.[2] Later that same year she was also cast in Hearts Aflame and then billed as Dorothy Rosher.[2] In 1917 she appeared too in A Little Princess and in no less than five other productions in 1918, including the comedy-drama Women's Weapons for Paramount Pictures.[3] After these minor roles as a baby and toddler, Marsh finally became a star in Mary Pickford films such as Daddy-Long-Legs (1919) and Pollyanna (1920).[2]
Marsh made her last film appearance as a child in 1921 but returned to films nine years later with a role in King of Jazz, in which she sang with Bing Crosby. She subsequently worked in a series of shorts and other feature films before she played W. C. Fields's daughter in You're Telling Me! in 1934. She continued performing on-screen in small roles for the next decade.[2] In 1936, she sang on the CBS radio program Flying Red Horse Tavern.[4]
In 1931, Marsh was one of 13 actresses named as WAMPAS baby stars.[5]
She made her final film appearance in 1944 in Follow the Leader.
During the filming of Charlie Chan on Broadway, Marsh met writer Charles Belden, who had co-written the film's screenplay. They married on December 2, 1938, in Beverly Hills, California.[6] Their marriage ended in divorce in 1943—first in Los Angeles, California, on August 26, 1943, followed by a second divorce October 23, 1943, "so she won't have to wait a year before remarrying."[7]
In 1943, Marsh married Army Captain John D. W. Morrill in Santa Monica, California.[8]
Marsh later managed a stationery shop. She died at age 86 in Ojai, California[2] on August 10, 2000.[9]