Media History Digital Library (1944)

WlakpJm Vyiain THE daughter ol a minister who ob¬ jected to her stage ambitions, Marjorie Main won him over when she married a noted clergyman, psy¬ chologist and author. Her father was the Rev. S. J. Tomlinson, pastor of the Elkhart, Ind., Christian Church. Her husband was the late Dr. Stanley LeFevre Krebs, who encouraged her career and convinced her father. As a schoolgirl in Elkhart, Mary Tomlinson, later to be known professionally as Marjorie Main, was invariably an active participant in amateur dramatics and church socials. She enrolled at Knickerbocker Hall, a board¬ ing school, later at Franklin College and final¬ ly at Hamilton College, in Lexington, Ky. Her interest in the theater continued through them all and at the latter the dramatic coach was Julia Connolly, who thought well of her histrionic prospects. Against the wishes of her parents, she joined a Shakespearean company playing the Chau¬ tauqua circuit. The romance began with Dr. Krebs, who was a distinguished lecturer on the circuit. They were married and spent their honeymoon in Salt Lake City. When the bride went on the Orpheum Theater circuit, Dr. Krebs booked his lectures with her play dates. It was he who proposed the name Marjorie Main, suggested as they were reading Sinclair Lewis' "Main Street," together. On his ad¬ vice, Miss Main attempted to get a Broadway engagement but failed. She played in stock in Fargo, N. D., for twenty-three weeks, then returned to Broadway to team with W. C. Fields in The Family Ford. By this time all was forgiven at home and the girl from Indiana was well advanced on her career. Within three years she succeeded Adrienne Morris in the starring role in Yes Or No, first appearing with John Barrymore in a road company playing Cheating Cheaters. Her ability was fully recognized in a series of hits, including House Divided, The Wicked Age, Salvation, and a tour with Hal Skelly and Barbara Stanwyck, now the wife of Rob¬ ert Taylor, in the stage hit Burlesque. At this triumphant stage of her life. Miss Main stepped out in order to be with her hus¬ band, whose work took him away from New York. She counts their fourteen years together as the happiest of her life. Dr. Krebs died in 1934. Miss Main returned to the stage, hoping to find solace in work. She got a role as the gangster's mother in Dead End, one in which she scored a per¬ sonal triumph and was later to repeat on the screen in 1937. She triumphed again on the stage in The Women. Miss Main had made her screen debut in Music In the Air, with A1 Shean and Gloria Swanson, years before, but discounted it on the plausible grounds that her part in it ap¬ peared only on the cutting room floor. Certain it is that since her memorable role in Dead End, she has been steadily in demand. Now under contract to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, she has appeared in nearly 40 pictures, each role distinctive. Marjorie Main's dry wit, the frosty smile and the sparkle in her eyes, are known to millions, as well as her singular voice into which she can inject a file-like rasp. She has originated in Hollywood what she terms "cafeteria society." She dines most fre¬ quently at a cafeteria, where friends and strangers alike approach her without hesita¬ tion. They may come for idle talk, or serious advice. Whatever it is, she responds. She studies them for future portrayals. Miss Main is five feet, five inches in height, weighs 136 pounds, and her blue eyes usually reflect some inner mirth. Her hair is brown. LIFELINES Born, Mary Tomlinson, Feb. 24, in Acton, Ind., daughter of the Rev. S. J. and Mary Tomlinson; Educated, Elkhart public schools, Knickerbocker Hall, Franklin Col¬ lege, Hamilton College, Ky. Married to Dr. Stanley L. Krebbs, deceased; Height, 5 feet, 5 inches; Weight, 136 pounds; Hair, light brown; Eyes, blue; Occupations, Chau¬ tauqua entertainer, actress. Plays: Family Ford, Yes Or No, Cheating Cheaters, House Divided, Wicked Age, Sal¬ vation, Burlesque, Dead End, The Women, Shakespearean repertoire, stock. Pictures: Music In the Air, Dead End, Stella Dallas, Wrong Road, The Shadow, Boy ol the Streets, Penitentiary, Girls' School, Romance ol the Limberlost, Big Top, Test Pilot, Too Hot to Handle, Susan and God, Wyoming, Shepherd ol the Hills, Wild Man ol Borneo, to 1940; Trial ol Mary Dugan, A Woman's Face, Honky Tonk, The Bugle Sounds, We Were Dancing, 1941; Jackass Mail, The Man On America's Con¬ science, The Allans of Martha, Tish, Ten¬ nessee Johnson, 1942; Heaven Can Wait, Johnny Come Lately, Rationing, 1943; Meet Me In St. Louis, 1944. [90]