* Marguerite Churchill; Starred With John Wayne

Marguerite Churchill, 90, an actress who starred opposite John Wayne in his breakthrough motion picture. Churchill was 19 when she played Wayne’s leading lady in the 1930 western “The Big Trail.” It was the first starring role for Wayne. Churchill made only a handful of films in the early 1930s, but always with major stars. She appeared with Will Rogers in “Ambassador Bill” and “They Had to See Paris.” And she starred with her future husband, George O’Brien, in the 1931 version of Zane Grey’s “Riders of the Purple Sage.” Churchill was married to O’Brien from 1933 until their divorce in 1948. The actress, who lived abroad for many years, was part of an artistic family. Her father, E.P. Churchill, was a designer and producer of theatrical productions; her son is author Darcy O’Brien; and her daughter, Orin Ynez O’Brien, is a bassist with the New York Philharmonic. Churchill made her debut on Broadway in “Why Not” at the age of 16, and in 1932 appeared in the original Broadway production of “Dinner at Eight.” On Jan. 9 in Broken Arrow, Okla.