R.I.P. Marian Marsh Henderson

[Reza]

The Desert Sun

Film star Marian Marsh Henderson dies
'Mrs. Palm Desert' known for keeping desert beautiful
Partial list of Marian Marsh films
House of Errors, 1942Gentleman from Dixie, 1941Murder by Invitation, 1941Fugitive from a Prison Camp, 1940Missing Daughters, 1939A Desperate Adventure, 1938Prison Nurse, 1938Saturday's Heroes, 1937Youth on Parole, 1937The Great Gambini, 1937When's Your Birthday? 1937Come Closer, Folks, 1936The Man Who Lived Twice 1936Counterfeit, 1936Lady of Secrets, 1936Crime and Punishment, 1935The Black Room, 1935Unknown Woman, 1935In Spite of Danger, 1935A Girl of the Limberlost, 1934Source: Internet Movie Database


The Desert Sun
November 10, 2006 November 10, 2006

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She's recognized in film history as a major star of the 1930s, the teen who was mesmerized by John Barrymore in "Svengali."
But Coachella Valley residents remembered Marian Marsh Henderson as "the woman who kept the desert beautiful" or simply "Mrs. Palm Desert."
Henderson, the widow of Palm Desert founder Clifford Henderson, died in her Palm Desert home early Thursday after several years of deteriorating health. She was 93.
Mother of Palm Desert
"If Cliff Henderson was the father of Palm Desert, Marian was probably the mother," said Richard Jandt, a friend who worked with Henderson in desert beautification efforts. "Some have called her that and I think it's appropriate."
"She was just a forerunner of all the environmental things we do," said Palm Desert City Councilwoman Jean Benson. "She was just a one-woman champion with all her devotees, and she had a lot of them."
Henderson married Cliff Henderson in 1960, 14 years after he led the development of Desert Shadows Country Club and the community of Palm Desert.
Cliff Henderson's brother, Randall, founder of Desert Magazine, often receives credit for founding Palm Desert. His brother Phil, ventriloquist Edgar Bergen and tire magnate Leonard Firestone also helped develop the community.
But Marian Henderson was a 5-foot-2-inch dynamo who championed her late husband's role as a pioneer with the same tenacity she brought to environmentalism.
"When you'd say they all founded Palm Desert, she'd say, 'No, they didn't. It was just Cliff,' " said Benson, "and you didn't argue with her."
'Desert Beautiful' founder Marian Henderson founded the nonprofit organization Desert Beautiful in the early 1960s. She had founded a "beautification group" in Chatsworth and Rancho Santa Fe, and brought the same determination to fight litter and ensure new development didn't spoil the desert's beauty.
"She was really the driving force behind that organization that kept Palm Desert and the whole desert beautiful years before we had code enforcement," said Benson. "I think the whole desert owes its beauty to her."
"I think this place would be a lot more like L.A. if not for her influence," added Jandt.
Desert Beautiful held social functions to honor businesses and residents who created distinctive buildings and beautiful landscape architecture. But Henderson also organized her friends to pick up litter in massive cleanup days on which she persuaded refuse centers to waive their dumping fees.
She often used force of will to make developers seek higher aesthetic standards than local government codes required.
Henderson's daughter, Cathy Scott, and two grandsons said in a written statement that Henderson was most proud of planting trees along streets, abolishing highway signs and educating youths about conservation.
"It is safe to say that her vision and dedication have helped to make Palm Desert and its surrounding cities the beautiful communities they are today," they said.
Hollywood star
But, years before taking an active role in Palm Desert, Henderson starred in more than 40 movies. Al Flogge, who has organized two major pop culture exhibitions at Kent State University in Ohio, said her film career inspired him to collect Marian Marsh memorabilia before he even knew she lived here.
"I want to do a tribute to Marian (at Kent State)," he said. "She was probably on more magazine covers than Greta Garbo. I have a lot of them."
Henderson was born Violet Krauth in Trinidad, British West Indies. She moved to California during World War I with her mother and three siblings and followed her older sister, Jeanne Morgan, into theater and films.
She made Howard Hughes' epic "Hells Angels" at age 16 under the name Marilyn Morgan and reportedly dated him in the desert.
Starred opposite the greats
She was selected to star in "Svengali" after Barrymore said she resembled his wife. Her selection to play the young Trilby, who is mesmerized by the hypnotist Svengali, put her face on movie magazines with a new name, Marilyn Marsh.
She made films with the top male stars of the 1930s, including Edward G. Robinson, William Powell and Boris Karloff before marrying businessman Albert P. Scott in 1938. She soon retired to raise their two children. They divorced in the late 1950s.
Cliff Henderson was a pioneer of aviation promotions and Marian Henderson perpetuated his interest in that long after his death, too.
She is survived by her daughter, Cathy of Arkansas, a son, Albert P. Scott Jr. of Colorado; eight grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. Services are scheduled, said Cathy Scott, at 10 a.m. Thursday at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Palm Desert.