“There’s actually no other way I can introduce this woman than saying that I am going to share the stage with the most exemplary human being I have ever met in my life.” That was how Eddie Muller introduced 100-year-old Marsha Hunt before a screening of one of her favorite movies, NONE SHALL ESCAPE (1944), at the TCM Classic Film Festival in 2018.

The affable centenarian, who made her film debut in 1935 at the age of 17, always appears so composed and amiable during appearances—she truly is one of the most lovely and appreciative people I’ve ever met—but that congeniality belies a life spent working hard and fighting for what’s right. Aside from her illustrious film career (including 1939’s THESE GLAMOUR GIRLS, 1940’s PRIDE AND PREJUDICE and 1948’s RAW DEAL), Ms. Hunt rallied against the unjust witch-hunt that the Blacklist era brought to Hollywood in support of her colleagues and her own career, and she also spent over six decades working for various humanitarian causes across the globe as one of the world’s first celebrity activists.

I’ve had the opportunity to speak to Ms. Hunt a few times over the years, mostly focusing on what she’s called the happiest time of her professional life: her work as a contract player for MGM from 1939-1945. During a conversation with her in 2014, she confirmed her deep appreciation of her time at the legendary studio:

“It was MGM that gave me what I wanted, which was to grow as an actress in every dimension. For that I needed challenge and an enormous range of characters to play instead of the love interest or ‘good girl,’ and at Metro they gave me every type of role to play; no two were alike… I was forever thrilled and grateful to MGM for that. Stardom was not the idea for me nor was it my goal.”

I was fortunate that Ms. Hunt opened up so much about her time on the backlot with me. She shared anecdotes ranging from humorous run-ins with legends (she arrived at the studio around the same time every day as Greta Garbo) to the mundane things that the company took care of (she never had to gas up her car, because MGM always made sure her tank was full) and the surprising people she palled around with most on the lot (to me, at least: it was the musicians).

To learn more about Ms. Hunt’s MGM days, you can read my full 2014 interview with her here. Late last year, I had the chance to follow-up with her about her MGM experience—and ask one question about her sweet friendship with Norman Lloyd.

Kim Luperi: You were dubbed “Hollywood’s Youngest Character Actress.” What part do you think was the farthest from your personality?

Marsha Hunt: Betty in THESE GLAMOUR GIRLS, my first suicide. A college widow desperate for attention and willing to try anything.

Kim Luperi: Do you recall your most challenging role?

Marsha Hunt: Perhaps aging roles.

Kim Luperi: What was the atmosphere like on the MGM lot during World War II?

Marsha Hunt: You hardly knew there was a war going on except for the missing leading men like Jimmy Stewart and Robert Taylor. We were conscious of the war, and I, at least, spent all my free time on set in my portable dressing room signing pictures. There was an awareness, I think, throughout that what we were making [movies] that would be seen around the world in different conditions. And the hope that what we were making would be a distraction or diversion. Any drama took their minds off their own plight. I learned this from them [G.I.s]—how much movies took them away from the horror of what they were forced to encounter. I learned from them how our movies were the greatest favor we could give them—a pretend world. They told me this on the Saturday nights I worked at the Hollywood Canteen. 

Kim Luperi: Did you like working within the studio system’s confines?

Marsha Hunt: Yes, because there had to be some sense of order. You simply adhered to the way things were.

Kim Luperi: As a contract player, did you have any say over what parts you played?

Marsha Hunt: Never!

Kim Luperi: Were there roles you campaigned for or were particularly excited to be assigned?

Marsha Hunt: Rarely. You had no access. You couldn’t sneak a peek at a role. I was off-beat because I was a character actress.

Kim Luperi: How active was MGM in promoting you along with your movies?

Marsha Hunt: Emily Torchia was the woman assigned to me. She got me a lot of interviews. I was photographed a great deal for publicity because I had been a model and was comfortable with being photographed. The foreign press was interested in us and the French were assigned to me because I spoke some French.

Kim Luperi: Did they send you to premieres or have you make appearances?

Marsha Hunt: I went to a few premieres with Van Johnson.

Kim Luperi: As someone interested in fashion, do you recall any of your MGM films that had particularly memorable costumes?

Marsha Hunt: Probably PRIDE AND PREJUDICE. Irene loved to dress me. I had a good clothes figure.

Kim Luperi: I saw photos of you with Norman Lloyd at the TCM Classic Film Festival last year. Have you been friends since you worked together in A Letter for Evie?

Marsha Hunt: We didn’t see each other for some time and then he directed me in a few plays. Years later we came across one another socially through mutual friends and there was a great connection.

Catch Marsha Hunt in three of her MGM pictures this month: CRY ‘HAVOC’ (1944) on June 20th, UNHOLY PARTNERS (1941) on June 29th and PRIDE AND PREJUDICE (1940) on June 30th. She also co-stars in SMASH-UP, THE STORY OF A WOMAN (1947) on June 30th.

Special thanks to Roger Memos and Elizabeth Lauritsen for their help securing this interview.