Marcus (Beresford) Brandel (1919 - 1994)

Born 28 Mar 1919 in London, England, United Kingdom

Ancestors

Husband of Barbara Bingham (Hale) Davis — married 1950 (to before 1955) in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States

Died 16 Nov 1994 at age 75 in Santa Monica, Los Angeles, California, United States

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Biography

Marcus was born in 1919 in London, England. He was the son of author John Davys Beresford and Eveline Roskams. Marcus's birth was registered in the Apr-May-Jun quarter of 1919 in the Hampstead district.^[1] He spent his childhood with his family in Paris, France and then Bath, Somerset. He was the brother of "Wombles" author Elisabeth Beresford. He was educated at St. Catherine's College, Cambridge, 1937-38, and Westminster College, 1939-40.

Marcus immigrated in 1939 in New York, New York, United States.^[2] (in fact there are several immigration records, and he travelled often from the United Kingdom to the United States and back).

During the war he served as a Merchant Marine.

In In 1948 he had a scholarship to Yaddo, an artists community in Saratoga Springs, New York, United States. While there he had a relationship with novelist Patricia Highsmith, they were briefly engaged but never married.

While he dabbled with journalism and writing short stories, he really found success as a television screenwriter in the United States in the 1950s and 60s, including Burke's Law (1963), Danger Man (1960) and Secret Agent (1964). He also published eleven novels. He is probably more well known in Germany than either the UK or the US for his series of children's detective novels "The Three Investigators" (or The Three ???)^[3]

In 1950 in Manhattan, New York he married (1) Barbara Bingham Hale, daughter of Thomas Shaw Hale and Helen Bingham.^[4][5] They must have divorced (or had the marriage annulled) before 1955 (when she remarried).

In 1956 he married actress (2) Ruda Podemska aka Ruda Michelle. In 1958 they had a daughter, Antonia Beresford who later took her stepfather's name, Dauphin. Antonia is a casting agent, she married producer Peter Newman in 1988 (their sons are actors Griffin Newman and James Newman, and daughter Romilly Newman is a chef).^[6]

Marcus and Ruda divorced around 1960. Ruda entered a relationship with French actor Claude Dauphin and moved with her daughter to Paris.^[7]

He changed his name legally in 1960 to Marc Brandel, probably adopting his new wife's name.^[8] He married (3) Naomi Brandel, a writer, sculptor and therapist. She is still living (as of 2023) but has stated she lived most of her life in south-west Ireland.^[9] They have 2 daughters, Tara (a dancer) and Shaena (an aerial circus performer) born in the late 1970s, almost certainly in Ireland.

Marc was recorded as a resident on 1 October 1986 in Pasadena, Los Angeles, California, United States.^[10]

He passed away in 1994 in Santa Monica, California.^[11]

Sources

1. ↑ Birth Registration: "England and Wales Birth Registration Index, 1837-2008"
   citing Birth Registration, Hampstead, London, England, citing General Register Office, Southport, England
   FamilySearch Record: 2F1G-R81 (accessed 31 July 2023)
   Marcus J Beresford birth registered Apr-May-Jun 1919 in Hampstead.
2. ↑ Immigration: "New York, New York Passenger and Crew Lists, 1909, 1925-1957"
   citing Immigration, New York, New York, United States, NARA microfilm publication T715 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.)
   FamilySearch Record: 242P-S13 (accessed 31 July 2023)
   FamilySearch Image: 33S7-95N4-9KCT Image number 00508
   Name: Marcus James Beresford; Immigration Date: 1939; Immigration Place: New York, New York, United States; Birth Date: 1919; Birth Place: England; Age: 20; Ship Name: Aquitania.
3. ↑ https://threeinvestigators.fandom.com/wiki/Marc_Brandel
4. ↑ Marriage: "New York, New York City Marriage Licenses Index, 1950-1995"
   citing New York City Clerk's Office
   FamilySearch Record: QLS5-T2GF (accessed 31 July 2023)
   Marcus Beresford marriage to Barbara Hale in 1950 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States.
5. ↑ I stumbled across this marriage record - none of the biographical sources mention this marriage - and a NY Times article (paywall, I have not read the whole thing) appears to confirm the Marcus Beresford involved was an author. The Manhattan location also matches his second marriage. Note: this is NOT the actress Barbara Hale who married Bill Williams in 1946 and appeared in Perry Mason.
6. ↑ https://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/17/realestate/houseful-of-handfuls.html
7. ↑ She claims she was married to Dauphin from 1972 to his death in 1978. She kept his name and is now a festival director/agent and organiser of celebrity salons. As a semi-famous figure, online sources are inconsistent about Antonia's parentage and normally claim she is Dauphin's natural daughter, but she was born within 2 years of her mother's marriage to Marcus. There is also inconsistency over Dauphin and Ruda's marital status, with Wikipedia insisting he only married 3 times and his final marriage was to Norma Eberhart. Ruda insists they were married and described her relationship to a journalist “It was the late ’60s and ’70s. It was wonderful,” However Norma insisted (before her 2011 death) she was the legal widow, she never divorced Dauphin, she was the sole beneficiary of his will and the French government recognise her as the beneficiary of his pension. Ruda disagrees. Either way, this argument has very little to do with Marcus.
8. ↑ His 3rd wife's maiden name has not been clearly established, nor the date or country of their marriage.
9. ↑ See "About the author" on her debut novel. She and her daughters identify as Irish and her husband has been established as a frequent Atlantic-crosser, so he may have been able to maintain a family in Ireland and a career in the United States.
10. ↑ Residence: "United States Public Records, 1970-2009"
    FamilySearch Record: KTKN-H75 (accessed 31 July 2023)
    Name: Marc Brandel; Residence Date: 1 Oct 1986; Residence Place: Pasadena, Los Angeles, California, United States; Prev Res2 Date: 1 Nov 1984; Prev Res2 Place: Pasadena, California 91106; Previous Residence Date: 1 Oct 1986; Previous Residence Place: Pasadena, California 91101.
11. ↑ Death: "California Death Index, 1940-1997"
    FamilySearch Record: VPDH-8FF (accessed 1 August 2023)
    Marc Brandel death 16 Nov 1994 (born 28 Mar 1919), son of Beresford & Roskams, in Los Angeles, California, United States.

• Familysearch: Marcus Beresford
• https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0104572/ IMDB entry
• Wikidata: Item Q1301602, fr:Wikipedia - Wikipedia page in French
• Wikidata: Item Q1301602, de:Wikipedia - Wikipedia page in German