Lawrence Marston Explained

Lawrence Marston (June 8, 1857 – February 1, 1939) was an American actor, playwright, producer, stage director and film director.

Biography

Marston was born to a Jewish family in Hammerstadt, Bohemia, Austrian Empire (now Vlastějovice in the Czech Republic).^[1] Naturalized in Chicago, he lived mainly in New York City.^[2] After working as an actor, producer and director for the stage, he became a film director with the Biograph Studios.^[3]

His first wife was actress Lillian Lewis, who he married in 1888.^[4]

Marston's second wife Anna Cornelia Delves was billed as Mrs. Lawrence Marston.^[5] With her, he had his only daughter, Anna Lawrence Marston, who was baptized Catholic at age 12.^[6]

Lawrence Marston died February 1, 1939, in Manhattan.^[7] His ashes were interred into the mausoleum of Ferncliff Cemetery.

Works

Playwright

• An Innocent Sinner (1896)
• The Widow Goldstein (1897)
• For Liberty and Love (1897)
• The Helmet of Navarre (1901)
• The Penitent (1902) from Hall Caine's novel A Son of Hagar
• The Little Mother (1902)
• A Remarkable Case (1902)
• After Midnight (1904)
• When the World Sleeps (1905)
• Jeanne D'arc (1906)

Screenwriter

• The Warfare of the Flesh (1917) scenario
• The Border Legion (1918)
• A Man of Iron (1925) adaptation

Stage director

• The Monster (1922) play by Crane Wilbur
• Death Takes a Holiday (1929) with Katharine Hepburn (both actress and director were fired during the run) ^[8]

Film director

• The Star of Bethlehem
• The Evidence of the Film (1913) short
• The Woman in Black (1914)
• Under the Gaslight (1914) with Lionel Barrymore and Mrs. Lawrence Marston
• The Marriage Bond (1916)
• A Wall Street Tragedy (1916)

Notes and References

1. Web site: Marston. 1923. United States Passport Applications, 1795-1925. FamilySearch.
2. Robert E. Weir (1996) Beyond Labor's Veil: The Culture of the Knights of Labor, Penn State Press
3. Robert Grau (1914) The Theatre of Science
4. Encyclopedia: 1900. Lewis, Lillian. Appletons' Annual Cyclopaedia and Register of Important Events. D. Appleton & Company. 617.
5. Web site: Marston. 1934. New York, New York City Municipal Deaths, 1795-1949. FamilySearch.
6. Web site: Marston. 1913. New Jersey Births and Christenings, 1660-1980. FamilySearch.
7. Web site: Marston. 1939. New York, New York City Municipal Deaths, 1795-1949. FamilySearch.
8. William J. Mann (2007) Kate: The Woman Who Was Hepburn , Macmillan and Co.