Marie Wallace

Marie Wallace (born May 19, 1939) is an American stage and television actress, best known for her performances in the cult gothic soap opera Dark Shadows.

Early life and career

Marie was born in New York City on May 19, 1939, and grew up in the Yorkville neighborhood, on Manhattan's Upper East Side. She dreamt of being a star at an early age, having been inspired by the theatrical personality of Rev. Ralph Washington Sockman, the minister of Christ Church Methodist, the church she attended in Manhattan.

As a teenager, she appeared in an Off-Broadway production, and also did modelling. With her dark red hair, green eyes, classic features, and tall, slender figure, she was popular on the runway, and often did print work. In 1959, Marie performed on Broadway as a showgirl in Gypsy starring Ethel Merman. Marie continued to perform in Broadway shows in the 1960s and early 1970s including the 1966 production of Sweet Charity in the role of "Ursula".

Dark Shadows

In 1968, Marie received national attention when she landed the first of three roles in the wildly popular Gothic soap opera Dark Shadows produced by Dan Curtis. Her first appearance was on October 4, and she played the part of the diabolical Frankenstein-like monster "Eve". She would go on to play the demented wife of Quentin, "Jenny Collins", Marie's personal favorite character, who was notable for her unkempt mane of red hair, black lace dress, and hysterical, cackling laughter. Her last part in the series was "Megan Todd", an antique shopkeeper. Her final episode on the program was aired March 16, 1970. In 2009, she returned to the world of Dark Shadows in the series of audio dramas produced by Big Finish Productions. In 2010 she reprised the role of "Jenny Collins" in The Doll House.

Later career

After Dark Shadows, Marie had a part as the delightfully evil "India Bishop Delaney" in Somerset, a soap opera spin—off from Another World. She continued to perform on Broadway, in soap operas, the theatre, and did many television commercials. In 1993, she played the part of Eleanor of Aquitaine in a stage production of The Lion In Winter which was directed by her former Dark Shadows co-star Jonathan Frid. She still occasionally performs to this day. Marie is also a photographer, and spends much time involved in charity work. Her longtime friend Ruth Buzzi described Marie as having "grace, beauty, intelligence, sincerity, and kindness". In 2005, her memoirs entitled On Stage and In Shadows was published.

Marie collaborated with freelance writer (and long-time Dark Shadows fan) Rod Labbe on an interview for Scary Monsters magazine, which was published in issue #55, a "special" Dark Shadows edition 7. Labbe followed-up with another interview in issue #77, this time focusing on Marie's recently released autobiography. He also interviewed her for Fangoria #313, the issue devoted to the new Johnny Depp/Tim Burton version of Dark Shadows. This interview was entitled: "Marie Wallace: Eve of Destruction."

All three interviews garnered Labbe Rondo Award nominations for Best Article and Best Interview.

Marie was extensively interviewed with her longtime friend Barbara London for the theater magazine The Sondheim Review, published in the winter of 2008, about their experiences with Merman in "Gypsy" as branches of the stripper Christmas tree that climaxed the stripper montage near the end of the show; including a story about an on-stage monkey who got quite excited when Merman sang. Written by a fellow member of a NY acting workshop, John Ellis, it supplements the stories in Marie's own memoir, and is available online : http://www.sondheimreview.com/v15n2.htm#sample .

On June 24, 2012 Marie co-starred with Larry Storch in a production of Love Letters that benefitted The Actor's Temple in New York City.

Personal life

In 1959, Marie married Gregory Pollock, a successful plastic surgeon who was also a former actor. The couple were devoted to one another, until his death in the early 1970s.