Marion Byron AKA Peanuts
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Marion was born Miriam Bilenkin on March 16, 1911, in Dayton, Ohio, to Louis and Bertha Bilenkin. She had two older sisters and one younger sister. Although most fans thought she made her acting debut at 16, she was actually 13, however. Marion followed one of her older sisters on the stage and got her first part in the play Patsy. Next, she was featured in the Hollywood Music Box Revue of 1924. While still a young teen, she continued to perform in vaudeville productions such as The Strawberry Blonde, Tip Toes, and Cradle Snatchers.
Impressed by her talents, Buster Keaton cast her as his leading lady in Steamboat Bill Jr. (1928) -- her first picture. She was only 16 at the time. (What a lucky gal!) After starring in SBJ, she caught the eye of producer Hal Roach, who was supposedly on the hunt for a tiny, devilish comedienne. In an attempt to create a female version of Laurel and Hardy, Roach paired her with Anita Garvin in three short films: Feed 'Em and Weep 'Em (1928), Going Ga-Ga (1929), and A Pair of Tights (1929). Although they were funny, they were a commercial failure and did not continue collaborating. Post-Anita films include: Plastered in Paris, Is Everybody Happy?, and The Boy Friend -- all shorts from 1928.
She appeared with Alice White and Sally Eilers in Broadway Babies (1929) and had a role in the lost silent film, The Forward Pass (1929), starring Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and teenage Loretta Young. Some other big names she worked with include Frank Fay, Wheeler and Woolsey, Lilyan Tashman, John Wayne, Charley Chase, and Vivienne Segal.
In 1932 she tied the knot with screenwriter Lou Breslow, whom she met during the production of her second picture Plastered In Paris. They had two sons, Lawrence and Daniel. Lawrence "Larry" grew up to be a film editor at Paramount and her husband continued to write scripts. Lou penned scripts for Laurel and Hardy, Abbott and Costello, The Three Stooges, The Red Skelton Show, and the Blondie series.
Unfortunately, most of the roles she received were small or uncredited, so by 1938 she retired from the business to focus on devoting herself to her family. Her last film was Five of a Kind (1938) where she played a baby nurse to the Dionne Quintuplets.
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| Marion Byron and Harriette Lake (Ann Sothern) as chorus girls in Show of Shows (1929). |
Marion remained married to Lou Breslow until her death from a "long illness" on July 5, 1985, in Santa Monica, California. Her ashes were scattered at sea.
Marion was only 5'0 tall. Because of her small stature, she was called "Peanuts."