E.G. MARSHALL
Name: Everett Eugene Grunz
Born: 18 June 1914 Owatonna, Minnesota, USA
Died: 24 August 1998 (lung cancer) Bedford, New York
E. G. Marshall (June 18, 1914 - August 24, 1998) was a two-time Emmy Award-winning
American actor who co-starred in the 1957 movie 12 Angry Men. Two of his better
known TV roles are those of lawyer, Lawrence Preston on The Defenders in the
1960s, and as neurosurgeon, Dr. David Craig on The Bold Ones: The New Doctors in
the 1970s.
Marshall was born Everett Eugene Grunz in Owatonna, Minnesota, the son of Hazel
Irene (née Cobb) and Charles G. Grunz. During his life, he never divulged
fully what 'E.G' stood for, telling most people it stood for "Everybody's Guess".
It was thought to mean "Everett Eugene Grunz" or "Edda Gunnar Marshall".
Marshall was the original host of the popular nightly radio drama The CBS Radio
Mystery Theater (or CBSRMT), which ran on CBS radio affiliate stations across
the United States between 1974 and 1982. CBSRMT was an ambitious and sustained
attempt to revive the great drama of old-time radio. Each episode began with the
ominous sound of a creaking door, slowly opening to invite listeners in for the
evening's adventure. At the end of each show, the door would swing shut, with
Marshall signing off, "Until next time, pleasant... dre-e-eams?" Marshall hosted
the program for the first seven years. Failing health forced his departure in
1981, and he was replaced by actress Tammy Grimes for the final season.
Marshall also found fame playing in other television and film roles, usually as
an authoritative figure. One of his best known television roles was as defense
lawyer Lawrence Preston in the series The Defenders, which lasted from 1961 to
1965. He and future Brady Bunch star Robert Reed portrayed a father and son who
worked in a law firm. This role garnered him two Emmy wins-one in 1962 and one
in 1963. He also earned more prominence as dedicated neurosurgeon, Dr. Benjamin
Craig, in The Bold Ones: The New Doctors, from 1969 to 1973, featuring
unfamiliar actors David Hartman and John Saxon. Marshall reprised the role of
Lawrence Preston for a 1997 Showtime television movie based on The Defenders
called The Defenders: Payback. It featured the elder Preston and his descendants
taking on legal cases in the 1990s. (Reed did not appear in the revival since he
died in 1992. The movie acknowledged this absence by mentioning that Reed's
character had died.) There was a second movie and plans for a series. The series
was aborted after his death.
Marshall was married three times. He had seven children in total, whose names
include Sam, Jed, Sarah, Jill, and Degen.
He died of lung cancer in Bedford, New York, on August 24, 1998, at age 84. His
grave is in the Middle Patent Rural Cemetery, located in the hamlet of
Banksville, a part of the town of North Castle, New York.
Name: Everett Eugene Grunz
Born: 18 June 1914 Owatonna, Minnesota, USA
Died: 24 August 1998 (lung cancer) Bedford, New York
E. G. Marshall (June 18, 1914 - August 24, 1998) was a two-time Emmy Award-winning
American actor who co-starred in the 1957 movie 12 Angry Men. Two of his better
known TV roles are those of lawyer, Lawrence Preston on The Defenders in the
1960s, and as neurosurgeon, Dr. David Craig on The Bold Ones: The New Doctors in
the 1970s.
Marshall was born Everett Eugene Grunz in Owatonna, Minnesota, the son of Hazel
Irene (née Cobb) and Charles G. Grunz. During his life, he never divulged
fully what 'E.G' stood for, telling most people it stood for "Everybody's Guess".
It was thought to mean "Everett Eugene Grunz" or "Edda Gunnar Marshall".
Marshall was the original host of the popular nightly radio drama The CBS Radio
Mystery Theater (or CBSRMT), which ran on CBS radio affiliate stations across
the United States between 1974 and 1982. CBSRMT was an ambitious and sustained
attempt to revive the great drama of old-time radio. Each episode began with the
ominous sound of a creaking door, slowly opening to invite listeners in for the
evening's adventure. At the end of each show, the door would swing shut, with
Marshall signing off, "Until next time, pleasant... dre-e-eams?" Marshall hosted
the program for the first seven years. Failing health forced his departure in
1981, and he was replaced by actress Tammy Grimes for the final season.
Marshall also found fame playing in other television and film roles, usually as
an authoritative figure. One of his best known television roles was as defense
lawyer Lawrence Preston in the series The Defenders, which lasted from 1961 to
1965. He and future Brady Bunch star Robert Reed portrayed a father and son who
worked in a law firm. This role garnered him two Emmy wins-one in 1962 and one
in 1963. He also earned more prominence as dedicated neurosurgeon, Dr. Benjamin
Craig, in The Bold Ones: The New Doctors, from 1969 to 1973, featuring
unfamiliar actors David Hartman and John Saxon. Marshall reprised the role of
Lawrence Preston for a 1997 Showtime television movie based on The Defenders
called The Defenders: Payback. It featured the elder Preston and his descendants
taking on legal cases in the 1990s. (Reed did not appear in the revival since he
died in 1992. The movie acknowledged this absence by mentioning that Reed's
character had died.) There was a second movie and plans for a series. The series
was aborted after his death.
Marshall was married three times. He had seven children in total, whose names
include Sam, Jed, Sarah, Jill, and Degen.
He died of lung cancer in Bedford, New York, on August 24, 1998, at age 84. His
grave is in the Middle Patent Rural Cemetery, located in the hamlet of
Banksville, a part of the town of North Castle, New York.