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Among the 200 movies in which Nevada City-born actor Tully Marshall appeared was the Al Capone-inspired Scarface, in 1932, in which he portrayed a newspaper editor.
Beginning in 1914, Nevada City-born Tully Marshall appeared in 200 movies, including The Big Trail, a 1930 film that marked John Wayne’s screen debut.
Among the 200 movies in which Nevada City-born actor Tully Marshall appeared was the Al Capone-inspired Scarface, in 1932, in which he portrayed a newspaper editor.
Beginning in 1914, Nevada City-born Tully Marshall appeared in 200 movies, including The Big Trail, a 1930 film that marked John Wayne’s screen debut.
Tully Marshall Phillips was born during the Civil War and died during World War II, leaving behind an acting career that spanned sixty years and included roles in nearly 250 stage plays and 200 movies. Born in Nevada City in 1864, he took the stage name Tully Marshall in 1883 when he made his acting debut in San Francisco, honoring his mother, whose maiden name was Tully, and his maternal grandmother, whose maiden name had been Marshall.
He actually made his acting debut in 1869 when a vaudeville troupe appearing at the Nevada Theatre needed a small boy for a skit. Young Phillips filled in for two performances and later said his experience as a five-year-old inspired him to pursue an acting career.
When he was 19, Marshall withdrew from Santa Clara College (now University) and landed a series of roles in San Francisco and Sacramento. And when he was not chosen to act, he often worked as a stagehand and curtain-puller—any job that would keep him involved with theater. Later, he hooked up with a traveling stock company, performing in shows from Los Angeles to Seattle.
In 1887, Marshall joined Helena Modjeska’s touring company, a move that took him to New York City. Modjeska was a Polish actress who immigrated to the United States in 1876 and became a major star, specializing in Shakespeare, but also performing in plays by modern playwrights.
Once in New York, Marshall established himself as a professional actor in lead roles—often comedies—and in 1907 formed his own stock company, producing and starring in The Builders, a hit Broadway play written by his wife, Marion Fairfax, a successful playwright and budding screenwriter.
In 1914, Marshall and Fairfax were attracted to the emerging film industry and less involved with Broadway, so the couple moved to Hollywood, where Marshall became one of the busiest actors of his time, occasionally appearing in films for which his wife had written the screenplay and title cards.
After a few silent movie bit parts, director D.W. Griffith chose 52-year-old Tully Marshall for the role of the High Priest of Babylon in the 1916 classic Intolerance, a 3.5-hour epic starring Lilian Gish with, literally, “a cast of thousands.” It was the first of many prominent film roles for the Nevada City native.
In total in 1916, Marshall appeared in ten movies; six in 1917; ten in 1918; twelve in 1919; and two-dozen in 1923. And because of his many years as a stage actor, he was able to make the transition from silent films to talkies, appearing in nearly 150 movies between 1928 and 1943.
Among his silent movie credits were feature roles as Fagin in Oliver Twist (1916); Jim Bridger in The Covered Wagon (1923); and King Luis XI in The Hunchback of Norte Dame (1923). In addition, in 1918 he portrayed Judge Joshua McSnagley in the film adaptation of M’Liss, starring Mary Pickford—a story written by Bret Harte following his time as a teacher in Ready Springs in the 1850s. (Some silent movies and early talkies featuring Tully Marshall can be viewed at Internet Archives).
Meanwhile, Marion was busy writing scripts and providing story ideas and scenarios, including, in 1925, The Talker, adapted from the 1912 Broadway play she had written for her husband. Marshall starred in The Talker film and also in his wife’s 1922 screenplay, The Lying Truth. And while Marion had a successful career, she was often sick and lacked the energy to write, leading to her retirement in 1926 when only 51.
When talkies replaced silent movies, Marshall’s career didn’t miss a beat. Among his early sound appearances was Zeke in the 1930 film The Big Trail, John Wayne’s first credited role. Marshall also appeared in Grand Hotel and Scarface (1932); A Tale of Two Cities (1935); Sergeant York (1941); and This Gun For Hire, Alan Ladd’s screen debut in 1942.
Marshall was 78 and in declining health when he made his final appearance in a Hollywood film. Unlike the supporting character roles he often played, however, it was in a leading role as scheming steel tycoon James J. MacGlennon in Behind Prison Walls. He was very ill during the filming and on March 10, 1943—twelve days before the film’s release—Tully Marshall Phillips died at home in Encino with his wife at his side.
Marion Fairfax, who wrote her last screenplay in 1926, lived in retirement until her death at 94 in 1970. She and her husband are buried next to each other at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles
Historian Steve Cottrell, a former Nevada City Council member and mayor, can be contacted at exnevadacitymayor@gmail.com.
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