Born Marlene Blatz in Brooklyn/Queens, New York. Mother and father were
entertainers. Her father, John Blatz, was a trumpet player who appeared
in the road company of "Broadway" with Lee Tracy in the 20s. Mother,
Marion Cameron Blatz, was a George White Scandals "pony showgirl." She
also worked at the Cotton Club in Harlem, New York, as a cigarette and
hat check girl.
By the age of two and a half Marlene was being trained as a dancer and
singer. She made her debut at the age of three singing and dancing in a
group called "The Cheer Givers Club." She became a paid performer at
this time. This group was organized and managed by a woman named Essie
Herman, a Bronxite. At age four and five Marlene performed in small
clubs in and around the New York City area that were arranged by Essie
Herman. About this time Marlene performed at Sing Sing prison, twice!
Marlene's mother continued to train her to read so by age six she was
reading cold scripts with the help of other trainers her mother found
in the City. One was a collaborator on the well known radio program
called "Coast to Coast on a Bus", a program that was heard on NBC at 9
am every Sunday featuring children from the age of seven to ten years
old. Miss Norton was a collaborator for another early Saturday morning
show called "Let's Pretend." Nila Mack was the casting/creative
director. It wasNila Mack who suggested that Marlen's last name be
changed. It was changed to Marlene Cameron, an alias she retained
throughout her professional career.
Miss Norton trained many children to read and sing well. All of her
students were being prepared to enter radio. Marlene was one of her
star pupils. She auditioned continuously at the NBC studios at Radio
City. She landed a spot on "Coast to Coast on a Bus" when she was seven
years old along with the now very famous staff announcer Milton Cross.
Children were not permitted to work until they were seven on radio at
that time. She continued to sing and and dance while doing radio on
weekends for two more years. Her credits include commercials, i.e.
"Colgate Toothpaste." By age nine she had her own radio show called
"Global Neighbors" on WNYC, a city owned station. She eventually
auditioned for Nila Mack who was so impressed with her work that she
recommended to Burgess Meridith that she be seen at an audition for a
new Broadway show called "Georgia Boy" that was to star Henry Hull. Mr.
Hull had been the star of a big hit called "Tobacco Road" which ran in
New York for seven years. Burgess Meredith fell ill, replaced by Joshua
Logan. Jacqueline Miles quit the show before the Boston opening and
Marlene stepped in to take over the role. The show opened on January 5,
1945. The critics panned the play and "Georgia Boy" closed at the
Copley theatre in Boston.
