Caren Marsh Doll, also credited as Caren Marsh, is an American stage and screen actress and dancer, specialising in modern dance and tap, who was Judy Garland's dancestand-in in The Wizard of Oz and Ziegfeld Girl in 1941. From 1937 until 1948 she appeared in motion pictures with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film Studios, including a small uncredited part in Gone with the Wind, from 1956 she took a second career becoming a dance teacher. Her younger sister was television and film actress Dorothy Morris.
Early life
Marsh was born in Hollywood, California. Her father was a Hollywood stockbroker. She and her family were active in the Methodist church. In 1937, she graduated from Hollywood High School and wanted to become an actress. Her parents did not approve of this choice and preferred she pursue a college education. They compromised by telling Caren that unless she could land an acting job she would be sent to school.
Film career
Marsh auditioned for a role in Rosalie, starring Nelson Eddy and Eleanor Powell, but did not win the role. She later re-auditioned for that movie and got the part. She was hired as Judy Garland's dance stand-in for The Wizard of Oz. She was hired largely mostly because she was similar in height and build to Garland and even received her own pair of ruby slippers. She served as a stand-in for Garland a second time with Ziegfeld Girl. According to Marsh, when she wasn't filling in for Garland in The Wizard of Oz she would be across Hollywood at Selznick International Pictures working as an extra in Gone with the Wind. In film, credited under the name Caren Marsh, she appeared in films such as That Night in Rio, Hands Across the Border, Wild Harvest, Girl Crazy, Best Foot Forward, Seven Sweethearts, and Night and Day. She did appear in speaking parts in films as Secrets of a Sorority Girl and Navajo Kid. In 1947, Marsh was named Miss Sky Lady of 1947 and began appearing in fewer films to focus on her new interest in dance. After appearing in an airshow as Miss Sky Lady, she took flight instruction classes, learned to fly and later dropped leaflets of her acting profile on various movie studios in Hollywood. She made an appearance on The Gabby Hayes Show in 1956, after which she became a dance instructor.
On July 12, 1949, aged 30, Marsh was aboard Standard Air Lines Flight 897R, when the C-46Ecrashed. The flight had left Albuquerque, New Mexico at 4:43 am. While on approach to the Lockheed Air Terminal in Burbank, California at 7:40 am, the twin engine plane, flying too low, hooked a wingtip on a hill and crashed near Chatsworth, California, and Marsh was one of the 13 people who survived. Marsh was pulled from the wreckage by another passenger named Judy Frost. Marsh was hospitalized at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital for several weeks, and nearly had her left foot amputated. Marsh's doctors told her that she would likely never dance again, but after careful exercise she was able to heal and continue in her dancing.
The Wizard of Oz
Although not a credited cast member, Marsh is one of a few known surviving personnel to have worked on the MGM film The Wizard of Oz. She has appeared in Wizard of Oz film festivals, conventions, and reunions.
Personal life
Marsh moved to Palm Springs, California, in 1957 and married Bill Doll, a press agent to theatre and film producer Mike Todd. The Dolls had one son. Her sister actress Dorothy Morris, became her neighbor when Marsh retired in 1971. The sisters lived next door to each other until Dorothy's death on November 20, 2011.
Autobiography and 'Oz' festivals
In November 2007, Marsh published her autobiography, Hollywood's Babe, in which she discussed her life in Hollywood, and her love affair with "The Wizard of Oz". In 2011, Marsh served as the Grand Marshal of the Oz-Stravaganza Parade in Chittenango, New York.
