E. G. Marshall was an American actor, best known for his television roles as the lawyer Lawrence Preston on The Defenders in the 1960s and as neurosurgeon David Craig on in the 1970s. Among his film roles he is perhaps best known as the unflappable, conscientious "Juror #4" in Sidney Lumet's courtroom drama12 Angry Men. He played the President of the United States in Superman II. Marshall was also known as the host of the radio drama series, CBS Radio Mystery Theater but probably best known to Generation X-ers for his memorable role as Upson Pratt in the Stephen King horror classic "Creepshow".
Biography
Early life
Marshall was born in Owatonna, Minnesota, the son of Hazel Irene and Charles G. Grunz. His paternal grandparents were German. During his life, he chose not to reveal what "E. G." stood for, telling most people it stood for "Everybody's Guess," but it can be observed the initials match Everett Grunz. According to the Social Security Death Index, his Social Security card showed his full name as: "E G Marshall". Marshall claimed in interviews to have attended both Carleton College and the University of Minnesota, but there is no evidence that he ever attended either institution or, indeed, to have gone to college at all.
Career
Although most familiar for his later television and movie roles, Marshall also had a distinguished Broadway career. In 1948, having already appeared in the original New York productions of The Skin of Our Teeth and The Iceman Cometh, Marshall would join Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift, Julie Harris, Kim Stanley, and 45 others to make up the first group of actors granted membership in the newly formed Actors Studio. In subsequent years, he landed the leading roles in The Crucible and Waiting for Godot. In 1973, he returned to the live stage to play the title role in a highly praised production of Macbeth in Richmond, Virginia, under the direction of Keith Fowler. From January 1974 until February 1982, Marshall was an occasional participant and the original host of the popular nightly radio drama, The CBS Radio Mystery Theater. Marshall was also a Fellow of the American Bar Association and an officer of the American Judicature Society, a national organization of judges, lawyers, and lay persons devoted to promoting the effective administration of justice.
Personal life
Marshall was married three times. He had five children in all, including Jed, Sarah, Jill, Degen, and Sam. As a member of the Committee for National Health Insurance, Marshall was a long-time advocate of government-provided health care in the United States. During the 1968 United States presidential campaign, he filmed and narrated a political advertisement endorsing Democratic candidate Hubert Humphrey.
