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{{short description|American actor (1929–2004)}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2019}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2019}}
{{Infobox person
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==Early years==
==Early years==
Born in California, Marsh began his career as a child actor in Hollywood, for one thing uncredited, dressed in costume as one of the Three Little Pigs in the ''Laurel and Hardy'' 1934 classic ''[[BABES IN TOYLAND]]''. In the late '60s he became an innovator of "queer cabaret" when he recorded the early gay album "I’ll Sing for You" with the [[London Philharmonic Orchestra]]. This was the first time he used the "Zebedy Colt" name. Controversial in its day, the album consisted of original gay-themed compositions (credited to his real name) and songs originally meant to be sung by women (''e.g.'', [[George Gershwin]]’s "[[The Man I Love (song)|The Man I Love]]"), but given a homosexual twist by being covered by a man.<ref name=advocate>{{cite web |url=http://www.queermusicheritage.us/sep2004zc.html |work=[[The Advocate (LGBT magazine)|The Advocate]] |date=March 9, 1977 |access-date=August 12, 2007 |title=Hollywood |first=Christopher |last=Stone}}</ref>
Born in California, Marsh began his career as a child actor in Hollywood, for one thing uncredited, dressed in costume as one of the Three Little Pigs in the ''Laurel and Hardy'' 1934 classic ''[[Babes in Toyland (1934 film)|Babes in Toyland]]''. In the late '60s he became an innovator of "queer cabaret" when he recorded the early gay album ''I’ll Sing for You'' with the [[London Philharmonic Orchestra]]. This was the first time he used the "Zebedy Colt" name. Controversial in its day, the album consisted of original gay-themed compositions (credited to his real name) or songs originally meant to be sung by women (''e.g.'', [[George Gershwin]]’s "[[The Man I Love (song)|The Man I Love]]"), but given a homosexual twist by being covered by a man.<ref name=advocate>{{cite web |url=http://www.queermusicheritage.us/sep2004zc.html |work=[[The Advocate (LGBT magazine)|The Advocate]] |date=March 9, 1977 |access-date=August 12, 2007 |title=Hollywood |first=Christopher |last=Stone}}</ref>


In November 1969 Marsh wrote a letter to ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine, using his "Zebedy Colt" pseudonym, in response to an article published in its October 31, 1969, edition entitled "Behavior: A Discussion: Are Homosexuals Sick?", using his Stockton, New Jersey, address, in which he argued that gays were then "becoming more and more a part of the mainstream."<ref>{{cite web |title=Letters: Nov 7, 1969 |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,840275,00.html |date=November 7, 1969 |website=Time |access-date=March 31, 2021 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110123233700/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,840275,00.html |archive-date=January 23, 2010}}</ref>
In November 1969 Marsh wrote a letter to ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine, using his "Zebedy Colt" pseudonym, in response to an article published in its October 31, 1969, edition entitled "Behavior: A Discussion: Are Homosexuals Sick?", using his Stockton, New Jersey, address, in which he argued that gays were then "becoming more and more a part of the mainstream."<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Letters: Nov 7, 1969 |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,840275,00.html |date=November 7, 1969 |magazine=Time |access-date=March 31, 2021 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110123233700/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,840275,00.html |archive-date=January 23, 2011}}</ref>


==Career==
==Career==
Marsh entered the pornographic film world in middle age, primarily as a way of financially supporting himself. He chose to resurrect the "Zebedy Colt" name from his "I’ll Sing for You" album for his porn directing/acting work both to conceal his true identity and as a way of separating this from his Broadway work.<ref name=advocate /> On one occasion, however, Marsh's double life was uncovered when the Broadway company he was with went to see ''[[The Story of Joanna]]'' and were surprised to see their co-star playing a bisexual butler, Marsh later recalled one of them telling him, "Darling, you can be my butler anytime". A similar situation occurred when Marsh was appearing in an off-Broadway play with [[Sandy Dennis]]. Dennis thought she recognized Marsh from an adult film she had been to see with her mother, and was delighted to have this confirmed when she asked him "are you Zebedy Colt".<ref name="Killgore">{{cite journal
Marsh entered the pornographic film world in middle age, primarily as a way of financially supporting himself. He chose to resurrect the "Zebedy Colt" name from his ''I’ll Sing for You'' album for his porn directing/acting work both to conceal his true identity and as a way of separating this from his Broadway work.<ref name=advocate /> On more than one occasion, however, Marsh's double life was uncovered. When the Broadway company he was with went to see ''[[The Story of Joanna]]'', they were surprised to see their co-star playing a bisexual butler. Marsh later recalled one of them telling him, "Darling, you can be my butler anytime". A similar situation occurred when Marsh was appearing in an off-Broadway play with [[Sandy Dennis]]. Dennis thought she recognized Marsh from an adult film she had been to see with her mother, and was delighted to have this confirmed when she asked him "are you Zebedy Colt?"<ref name="Killgore">{{cite journal
| last =Kilgore
| last =Kilgore
| first =Charles
| first =Charles
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His films as a director include ''[[Farmer's Daughters]]'' (1976, starring a young [[Spalding Gray]]), ''White Fire'' (1976, as Roger Colmont),<ref name="DistribPix">{{cite web | title=White Fire (1976) | website=DistribPix | date=November 5, 2015 | url=http://www.distribpix.com/blog/white-fire-1976 | access-date=September 29, 2019}}</ref> the sadistic ''[[The Devil Inside Her]]'' (1977, shot at Marsh's home in Lambertville, New Jersey), ''[[Unwilling Lovers]]'' (1977), and ''[[Terri's Revenge]]'' (1977).
His films as a director include ''[[Farmer's Daughters]]'' (1976, starring a young [[Spalding Gray]]), ''White Fire'' (1976, as Roger Colmont),<ref name="DistribPix">{{cite web | title=White Fire (1976) | website=DistribPix | date=November 5, 2015 | url=http://www.distribpix.com/blog/white-fire-1976 | access-date=September 29, 2019}}</ref> the sadistic ''[[The Devil Inside Her]]'' (1977, shot at Marsh's home in Lambertville, New Jersey), ''[[Unwilling Lovers]]'' (1977), and ''[[Terri's Revenge]]'' (1977).


As an actor in adult films, he starred in such pictures as [[Radley Metzger]]{{'s}} ''[[Barbara Broadcast]]'', [[Gerard Damiano]]{{'s}} ''[[The Story of Joanna]]'',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.randomhouse.ca/hazlitt/feature/godfather-gonzo-porn |title=the Godfather of Gonzo Porn |last=Sloan |first=Will |date=November 21, 2013 |website=RandomHouse |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203001036/http://www.randomhouse.ca/hazlitt/feature/godfather-gonzo-porn |archive-date=December 3, 2013 |access-date=March 31, 2021}}</ref> ''[[Manhold]]''—a [[3-D film|3D]] film—and the ''[[Death Wish (1974 film)|Death Wish]]'' porn rip-off ''[[Sex Wish]]''. His Broadway acting work included appearing as [[Anthony Newley]]’s understudy in ''[[The Roar of the Greasepaint - The Smell of the Crowd]]'' as well as performances in ''The Royal Family'', ''Dark at the Top of the Stairs'' and an award-winning 1976 production of [[Tom Stoppard]]'s ''[[Travesties]]''. He was also known in New Jersey and Pennsylvania for directing and performing in Regional and Community Theatre Productions.
As an actor in adult films, he starred in such pictures as [[Radley Metzger]]{{'s}} ''[[Barbara Broadcast]]'', [[Gerard Damiano]]{{'s}} ''[[The Story of Joanna]]'',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.randomhouse.ca/hazlitt/feature/godfather-gonzo-porn |title=the Godfather of Gonzo Porn |last=Sloan |first=Will |date=November 21, 2013 |website=RandomHouse |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203001036/http://www.randomhouse.ca/hazlitt/feature/godfather-gonzo-porn |archive-date=December 3, 2013 |access-date=March 31, 2021}}</ref> ''[[Manhold]]''—a [[3-D film|3D]] film—and the ''[[Death Wish (1974 film)|Death Wish]]'' porn rip-off ''[[Sex Wish]]''. On Broadway, he served as [[Anthony Newley]]’s understudy in ''[[The Roar of the Greasepaint - The Smell of the Crowd]]'' and performed in ''The Royal Family'', ''Dark at the Top of the Stairs'' and an award-winning 1976 production of [[Tom Stoppard]]'s ''[[Travesties]]''. He was also known in New Jersey and Pennsylvania for directing and performing in regional and community theater productions.


One uncredited film appearance, shared anecdotally in his Las Vegas home a year before his death: one of the children seated on the ground of the forest in ''[[The Adventures of Robin Hood (film)|The Adventures of Robin Hood]]'' with [[Errol Flynn]].
One uncredited film appearance, shared anecdotally in his Las Vegas home a year before his death, was as a child in ''[[The Adventures of Robin Hood (film)|The Adventures of Robin Hood]]'' with [[Errol Flynn]].


Marsh retired from adult films in the early 1980s, due to concerns over the criminal element (citing the murder of Dutch businessman [[Navred Reef]] who directed him in the film ''Sharon'') in the industry as well as the drop in quality due to the change from film to video. He spent his final years in [[Las Vegas, Nevada|Las Vegas]], entertaining friends and neighbors with scrapbooks that documented his long career.
Marsh retired from adult films in the early 1980s, due to concerns over the criminal element (citing the murder of Dutch businessman [[Navred Reef]] who directed him in the film ''Sharon'') in the industry as well as the drop in quality due to the change from film to video. He spent his final years in Las Vegas, entertaining friends and neighbors with scrapbooks that documented his long career.


==References==
==References==
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[[Category:20th-century American musicians]]
[[Category:20th-century American musicians]]
[[Category:American actors in gay pornographic films]]
[[Category:American actors in gay pornographic films]]
[[Category:American film directors]]
[[Category:American male stage actors]]
[[Category:American male stage actors]]
[[Category:American pornographic film directors]]
[[Category:American pornographic film directors]]
[[Category:Bisexual male pornographic film actors]]
[[Category:Bisexual male pornographic film actors]]
[[Category:Directors of gay pornographic films]]
[[Category:Directors of gay pornographic films]]
[[Category:LGBT musicians from the United States]]
[[Category:American LGBTQ musicians]]
[[Category:LGBT people from California]]
[[Category:LGBTQ people from California]]
[[Category:LGBT pornographic film actors]]
[[Category:LGBTQ pornographic film actors]]
[[Category:Male pornographic film actors]]
[[Category:Male pornographic film actors]]
[[Category:Place of death missing]]
[[Category:Place of death missing]]
[[Category:Pornographic film actors from California]]
[[Category:Pornographic film actors from California]]
[[Category:20th-century LGBT people]]
[[Category:20th-century American LGBTQ people]]

Latest revision as of 20:14, 24 September 2024

Zebedy Colt
Born
Edward Earle Marsh

(1929-12-20)December 20, 1929
California, United States
DiedMay 29, 2004(2004-05-29) (aged 74)
United States
Occupation(s)Film director, actor, singer

Edward Earle Marsh (December 20, 1929 – May 29, 2004) was an American actor, musician, adult film director and star. He is principally known by his stage name Zebedy Colt.

Early years

[edit]

Born in California, Marsh began his career as a child actor in Hollywood, for one thing uncredited, dressed in costume as one of the Three Little Pigs in the Laurel and Hardy 1934 classic Babes in Toyland. In the late '60s he became an innovator of "queer cabaret" when he recorded the early gay album I’ll Sing for You with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. This was the first time he used the "Zebedy Colt" name. Controversial in its day, the album consisted of original gay-themed compositions (credited to his real name) or songs originally meant to be sung by women (e.g., George Gershwin’s "The Man I Love"), but given a homosexual twist by being covered by a man.[1]

In November 1969 Marsh wrote a letter to Time magazine, using his "Zebedy Colt" pseudonym, in response to an article published in its October 31, 1969, edition entitled "Behavior: A Discussion: Are Homosexuals Sick?", using his Stockton, New Jersey, address, in which he argued that gays were then "becoming more and more a part of the mainstream."[2]

Career

[edit]

Marsh entered the pornographic film world in middle age, primarily as a way of financially supporting himself. He chose to resurrect the "Zebedy Colt" name from his I’ll Sing for You album for his porn directing/acting work both to conceal his true identity and as a way of separating this from his Broadway work.[1] On more than one occasion, however, Marsh's double life was uncovered. When the Broadway company he was with went to see The Story of Joanna, they were surprised to see their co-star playing a bisexual butler. Marsh later recalled one of them telling him, "Darling, you can be my butler anytime". A similar situation occurred when Marsh was appearing in an off-Broadway play with Sandy Dennis. Dennis thought she recognized Marsh from an adult film she had been to see with her mother, and was delighted to have this confirmed when she asked him "are you Zebedy Colt?"[3]

His films as a director include Farmer's Daughters (1976, starring a young Spalding Gray), White Fire (1976, as Roger Colmont),[4] the sadistic The Devil Inside Her (1977, shot at Marsh's home in Lambertville, New Jersey), Unwilling Lovers (1977), and Terri's Revenge (1977).

As an actor in adult films, he starred in such pictures as Radley Metzger's Barbara Broadcast, Gerard Damiano's The Story of Joanna,[5] Manhold—a 3D film—and the Death Wish porn rip-off Sex Wish. On Broadway, he served as Anthony Newley’s understudy in The Roar of the Greasepaint - The Smell of the Crowd and performed in The Royal Family, Dark at the Top of the Stairs and an award-winning 1976 production of Tom Stoppard's Travesties. He was also known in New Jersey and Pennsylvania for directing and performing in regional and community theater productions.

One uncredited film appearance, shared anecdotally in his Las Vegas home a year before his death, was as a child in The Adventures of Robin Hood with Errol Flynn.

Marsh retired from adult films in the early 1980s, due to concerns over the criminal element (citing the murder of Dutch businessman Navred Reef who directed him in the film Sharon) in the industry as well as the drop in quality due to the change from film to video. He spent his final years in Las Vegas, entertaining friends and neighbors with scrapbooks that documented his long career.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Stone, Christopher (March 9, 1977). "Hollywood". The Advocate. Retrieved August 12, 2007.
  2. ^ "Letters: Nov 7, 1969". Time. November 7, 1969. Archived from the original on January 23, 2011. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
  3. ^ Kilgore, Charles (1996). "Ecco – the World of Bizarre Video". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  4. ^ "White Fire (1976)". DistribPix. November 5, 2015. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
  5. ^ Sloan, Will (November 21, 2013). "the Godfather of Gonzo Porn". RandomHouse. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
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