Marion Helen Schilling

 Marion Helen Schilling (December 3, 1910 – November 6, 2004)

Schilling was born in Colorado, and grew up in St. Louis. She started her acting career as a stage actress, starring in stage plays such as Miss Lulu Betts and Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch. While playing in Dracula on stage with Bela Lugosi, she developed a blood-curdling scream so effective, when she was working in Hollywood, she was asked to dub screams for Constance Bennett and Schilling's idol Pola Negri. After a couple of roles in other films, she starred opposite William Powell in the 1930 crime drama Shadow of the Law. In 1931 she was one of thirteen girls selected as "WAMPAS Baby Stars", a list that included future Hollywood star Marian Marsh. From 1930 to 1936 she starred in forty two films, mostly westerns or mysteries. She often starred opposite Tom Keene and Guinn "Big Boy" Williams. In the 1934 film serial, The Red Rider, she starred opposite early western film legend Buck Jones, with a supporting cast that included William Desmond and football legend Jim Thorpe. Shilling retired in 1936, to marry and have a family. She was married to Edward Cook from 1937 until his death in 1998. They had two children, Edward and Frances. In 2002, Schilling received a Golden Boot Award for her contribution to Western films. She died at age 93 on November 6, 2004. Her body was cremated, and the ashes kept with family.