Margia Dean Profile

Margia Dean

	(Marguerite Louise Skliris)
7 April 22	is born in Chicago, Illinois, of Greek descent. Her father, Evangelos Skliris, is a lawyer from Athens, Greece; her mother studied in Paris, France. Her great-great-grandfather rose to become regent of Greece; her grandfather owned all the railroads in Greece.
?	moves to San Francisco, California, with her parents
c. 29	debuts on stage as a child actress at age 7
c. 37	wins a national Shakespearean Declamation Contest at age 15
?	is “Miss San Francisco”
?	is “Miss California”
c. 44	is discovered by a representative of Republic Pictures
46	goes to Hollywood
c. 49	moves to Lippert Studios, where she will be in 16 productions
June 49	columnist Erskine Johnson reports she may be Tarzan's next mate in the jungle series
May 53	is Paulette Goddard's glamour competition in Sins of Jezebel
January 54	is in nationwide newspapers modeling the "Tee-V" shirt. It's obviously designed to pep up sluggish TV programs.
August 55	resides in a hilltop home overlooking Hollywood
June 56	columnist Walter Winchell expects that her "sexy tones will be wed to Perez Prado's music"
25 June 56	reports to 20th Century-Fox for Stagecoach to Fury opposite Forrest Tucker and Mari Blanchard
September 56	is among stars aiding "forgotten" children of World War II. Other supporters of WAIF, the World Adoption International Fund, are Eve Arden, Robert Cummings, Edward Nassaur and Mrs. John Agar, Loretta Combs.
November 56	columnist Walter Winchell thinks she doesn't look for a backer but for a play. "She has scads of admirer-angels!"
November 57	dates Prince Aly Khan in Washington, D.C. but returns to Tommy Whelan
December 57	columnist Earl Wilson reports that she is an occasional member of the Liz Whitney Horsey Set. But her real beau is Tommy Whelan of St. Louis and Broadway.
	films The Pancho Villa Story for 20th Century-Fox in Mexico City
August 58	she and and TV producer Wilbur Stark are a West Coast item
March 59	adds glamour at the ribbon cutting ceremony opening the North Hills Shopping Center in Granada Hills, California
June 59	columnist Walter Winchell reports that she's the favorite guest of former New York City mayor and Ambassador to Mexico William O'Dwyer at his Mexico retreat
c. December 59	lives it up at a party for Cuba's Fulgencio Batista on the Isle of Pines when Fidel Castro starts the fireworks. A lot of people are there, and they are all stranded for 13 days on the island. The servants disappear along with the food, and she has to steam clams in her evening dress. A private plane finally takes all of Batista's guests to Miami after a lot of talk and uneasiness about whether the plane would be shot down. During a debate about whether the plane should have some kind of a neutral insignia, she offers the solution, "How about displaying a Diners' Club emblem?"
February 61	knows everyone from New York's El Morocco to Chasen's in Beverly Hills
	is off to Munich, Germany, for the filming of 20th Century-Fox's The Long Rope
December 61	columnist Walter Winchell reports her to have gold plumbing in her new Hollywood home
64	is off to England for the filming of Witchcraft
April 67	a lawsuit involving her, theater owner and movie producer Robert L. Lippert, and his wife, Ruth, is settled in Los Angeles Superior Court
?	goes into real estate and becomes vice president of a Los Angeles company
65	marries Spanish architect and author Felipe Alvarez
03	is involved in charity and reads to the blind
23 June 23	as Margia D. Alvarez, she dies at age 101 in Dana Point, California

Sources: Giseld Dervishi, "Welcome to Hollywood...Margia Dean" by Ed Warren in Classic Images, The Odessa American, The Daily Register, Statesville Daily Record, The Lowell Sun, Burlington Daily Times-News, Chronicle-Telegram, Syracuse Herald-Journal, The Daily Intelligencer, The Lima News, Van Nuys News, Nevada State Journal, The Times Recorder, The News, Photoplay, Motion Picture, Screenland
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Links: Filmography