Editor’s note: This article is the latest in a monthly series highlighting the personalities featured in the Exhibit Hall at the Orpheum Theater Center.

Many people know that John Wayne, Donna Reed, and Ashton Kutcher hail from the Hawkeye state, and Marshalltown’s own Jean Seberg remains an international icon. But these are just a few of many personalities whose stories are on display at the Orpheum. Whether writing a screenplay, designing sets for Broadway or starring in a Hollywood Blockbuster, Iowans have long made their mark on the stage and screen. This month we feature three such talented Iowans: Claire Dodd, Steve Darrell and Marilyn Maxwell.

Born in Baxter, Claire Dodd spent part of her childhood in Montana, where she and her mother were abandoned by her father when Dodd was just 10 years old. Her mother suffered from tuberculosis and so the young girl was forced to become the breadwinner. At the age of 15, she went to New York, and lying about her age, landed a job with the esteemed Ziegfeld Follies. Later discovered by Darryl F. Zanuck, Dodd moved to Hollywood and remained under Zanuck’s guidance and leadership throughout most of her career. Working for Warner Brothers, Paramount and Universal, she made almost 60 films in 12 years from 1930-42. Dodd walked away from her career to focus on her family with H. Brand Cooper, with whom she had four children. She died at age 65 in Beverly Hills.

Born Darryl Eugene Horsfall, Osage native Steve Darrell caught the acting bug early, playing Abraham Lincoln in a grade-school play. By the end of his 30-year professional career, Darrell had appeared in more than 100 films, many of them, the popular ‘B’ Westerns. Playing the “character villain,” Darrell was often seen menacing Roy Rogers, Buster Crabbe, Rocky Lane and Gene Autry. He also enjoyed success in television, appearing in more than 200 segments, including an episode of Daniel Boone and a recurring part on “26 Men,” which portrayed stories of the Arizona Rangers. Darrell died in Hollywood in 1970 at the age of 64.

Clarinda native Marilyn Maxwell was a musical child was said to have a natural singing voice. Though her family left Clarinda when Marilyn was just 5 years old, she’d already been bitten by the “bug to perform.” As a teenager, she sang for several bands, and it was the leader of one, Ted Weems, who paid for her first acting lessons. She made her first movie in 1942 and went on to star with Bob Hope in “The Lemon Drop Kid,” Kirk Douglas in “Champion,” and Clark Gable in “Key To The City.” Maxwell was proud of being the straight woman for comedians and performed alongside Bob Hope, Jerry Lewis and Jack Benny in USO shows during World War II and the Korean War. Marilyn Maxwell died of a heart attack in Los Angeles at the age of 50. Among the honorary pallbearers were Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and Jack Benny.

The Orpheum Theatre Center is a member of the League of Historic American Theaters and is administered by Iowa Valley Community College District. It is located at 220 E. Main St. in Marshalltown.

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Nancy Adams is an associate professor of psychology and coordinator for the Student Assistance Program at Marshalltown Community College and the Orpheum Gallery curator.