Hollywood child star visits granny
The Courier and our friends at West Lothian local history library have teamed up to help readers take a trip down Memory Lane.
We will be featuring regular photos and details from West Lothian’s past in the paper and on The Courier’s website.
This week:‘ Hollywood film star visits his grandmother in Broxburn’, which featured in the June 10, 1949, edition of the Courier. It is not every day in the week that it falls to the lot of a local reporter to interview a real film star. Such was the experience of our Broxburn reporter this week during the visit to Broxburn of a representative from the film colony in Hollywood.
True, this star is not one of the most famous – but for a boy of only nine years of age he is doing not so badly.
The visiting star is Gregory Marshall, who came last week all the way from Hollywood by air to visit his Broxburn granny, Mrs T Shaw, 96 Greendykes Road.
Accompanying him is his mother, who left Broxburn for the United States 20 years ago as Miss Margaret Shaw. This is her first time visiting home since then.
Gregory’s salary runs to something like 1000 dollars per week but if you saw him in his granny’s humble room and kitchen home, playing with his three-year-old cousin Billy Sives, you would never imagine that he was used to an income like that or that he and his mother live in a 14-roomed house in Hollywood.
Gregory and Billy are great pals and Billy by no means stands in awe of the distinguished visitor. Gregory and his mother are just plain folk, obviously enjoying their holiday. The boy is self-possessed, as American children usually are, but is completely unaffected and free from fancy airs and graces.
He has the typical boy’s love of games and brought a bag of marbles all the way from America with him. Since he has quickly made friends with the boys in Broxburn they are doing their best to part him from them. They have also introduced him to the mysteries of ‘fitba’ and he is learning fast.
To date Gregory has appeared in 37 pictures and has met and worked with many famous stars including Rosalind Russell, Shirley Temple, Lon Chaney and Allan ‘Rocky ’Lane.
The latter is his particular hero for Gregory adores cowboy pictures.
In Hollywood he takes dancing lessons from Rita Hayworth’s father.
Among his pictures are ‘Stepchild’, ‘The Bride Wore Boots’ and his latest ‘Baltimore Cheat’, not yet released in this country, in which he plays the part of Shirley Temple’s brother.
In addition to his film work he has also appeared in television, playing the name part in‘ Oliver Twist ’as broadcast in America and also a part in ‘Wuthering Heights’.
Since he came to Scotland Gregory has spent the time visiting friends and relatives with his mother. He thinks Scotland is swell but wishes we had more of the Californian type of weather. He has been to see the Forth Bridge and visited Portobello and Edinburgh. Before he leaves for home he has two ‘musts ’on his list. One is to climb the Scott Monument and the other is to visit Edinburgh Castle.
Last night (Thursday) was a big night for him as Mr Major Walker, manager of the Regal Cinema, had arranged for him to make a personal stage appearance in the cinema. Gregory is keen to meet Broxburn folks but was very thrilled at the prospect of hearing a pipe band for the first time. Kirkliston Pipe Band were due to appear with him.
Mrs Marshall is very pleased to be back in her native town again. She doesn’t see much change since she left, she says. Welcome surprise for her was the apparently well-fed look we all have.
She had been led to believe that we were all on the brink of starvation and walking about like skeletons. She had intended buying stacks of clothes while here but discovered that clothes in Britain are much dearer than in the USA so she has decided to buy her clothes at home.
This photograph shows Gregory Marshall on his visit to Broxburn with his mother Mrs Margaret Muradian/ Marshall (nee Shaw), with Dr John MacLardy and Dr Nina MacLardy (on the right).
Gregory Marshall (born Muradian) was born on April 4, 1939, in Los Angeles County, California. His last film was released in 1958 and he died on October 2, 1989, in Orange, California.