Season 4: Episode 192 - DARK SHADOWS - The Marie Wallace Interview

The Literary License Podcast

Born and raised in New York City, Marie Wallace found herself drawn to the footlights at an early age. She appeared in her first professional production, off-Broadway, as a teenager. She also modeled, both on the runway and in print. In 1959, Marie landed her first Broadway show: as one of the showgirls in the original production of "Gypsy", starring Ethel Merman. Her list of Broadway credits grew to include The Beauty Part (1962-63); Nobody Loves an Albatross (1963-64), with Robert Preston; The Right Honourable Gentleman (1965-66) with Coral Browne and Frances Sternhagen; Sweet Charity (1966-67) starring Gwen Verdon and Ruth Buzzi, and directed by Bob Fosse; Mert and Phil with Beverlee McKinsey and Estelle Parsons, and directed by Joseph Papp; and The Women (1973) with Myrna Loy and Kim Hunter. She also toured the U.S. with Jackie Gleason in a production of Sly Fox. On TV, Marie guest-starred on Car 54 Where Are You?, The Phil Silvers Show, The Perry Como Show, and Victor Borge's 20th Anniversary Show, among others. She played three roles on the Gothic soap opera Dark Shadows, beginning in 1968: evil Eve, demented Jenny Collins, and antique shop-owner Megan Todd. Megan became a vampire, and the day the character met her demise, Marie got a call from her agent with another job. "I said, 'I've just been staked,' I'd better take it!," she recalled years later. Marie then moved to NBC and originated the character India Delaney on the 1970 Another World spin-off Somerset. She remained on the show until 1972. In 1978, she played Johnsie Lafite on The Guiding Light. In the early 1980s, Marie went to Los Angeles on a television assignment and stayed for two years, making guest appearances on several shows, including Fame and Fantasy Island. While there, she also appeared in commercials. The actress returned to New York and established a career as a professional photographer, shooting assignments for many clients in New York. She also continues to act on stage and television. In the winter of 1993, Marie worked with Dark Shadows star Jonathan Frid as he made his directing debut on a stage production of The Lion in Winter, at the Georgia College Theatre in Milledgeville, Georgia. Heading up a cast of students, Marie played Eleanor of Aquitaine. In 1999, she had a brief role as Molly O'Day on One Life To Live. She's been a fan favorite at the annual Dark Shadows Festivals, often performing dramatic one-woman shows and readings. She is currently working on a book about her stage career, In Shadows and On Stage, with publication planned for late 2004. Read a preview at Marie's official site, part of Dark Shadows Online.