Roy Thorsen, whose full name was Roy Thorvald Thorsen, was an American businessman, West Point graduate and longtime husband of Hollywood child star Margaret O’Brien. Born in Brooklyn in 1930, Roy followed a very different path from his famous wife. He graduated from the United States Military Academy, built a respected business career connected with engineering and the steel industry, married Margaret in 1974, and became the father of her only child, Mara Tolene Thorsen. Later in life, he developed another unexpected talent: digitally restoring damaged photographs, including historic pictures from Margaret’s childhood career. Roy died on June 4, 2018, at age 87 after nearly 44 years of marriage.
Roy Thorsen Quick Bio
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Roy Thorvald Thorsen |
| Known As | Roy T. Thorsen / Roy Thorsen |
| Date of Birth | November 13, 1930 |
| Birthplace | Brooklyn, New York, USA |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | United States Military Academy at West Point |
| West Point Class | 1955 |
| Profession | Businessman; steel-industry executive |
| Other Career Descriptions | Engineering/manufacturing executive |
| Famous For | Margaret O’Brien’s second husband |
| Wife | Margaret O’Brien |
| Marriage | June 1974 |
| Children | One daughter |
| Daughter | Mara Tolene Thorsen |
| Retirement | Around 2000 |
| Later Interest | Digital photo restoration |
| Date of Death | June 4, 2018 |
| Age at Death | 87 |
| Net Worth | Not publicly verified |
Roy’s birth and death dates are confirmed by his memorial record, while West Point’s alumni pages identify him as a member of the Class of 1955. Margaret O’Brien’s biographies describe him as a businessman and steel-industry executive.
Who Was Roy Thorsen?
Roy Thorsen is best known today because of his marriage to Margaret O’Brien, but he had a substantial life before and outside Hollywood.
He was not an actor trying to use his wife’s fame.
He was not a movie producer.
And he did not build a public celebrity career.
Instead, Roy came from a military, engineering and business background.
West Point records identify him as Roy Thorvald Thorsen, Class of 1955. A classmate later remembered him as a respected businessman who was also outgoing, thoughtful and talented at dancing and putting on shows.
That combination makes his story unusual.
He was comfortable enough around Hollywood events to accompany Margaret, but his everyday professional identity came from a very different world.
When Was Roy Thorsen Born?
Roy Thorvald Thorsen was born on November 13, 1930, in Brooklyn, New York.
His memorial record and IMDb biography both give the same date and birthplace.
Roy grew up during the Great Depression and came of age around the period of World War II and the early Cold War.
Those circumstances make his later choice of West Point easier to understand.
Military service and technical education offered a structured path for young men of his generation.
Did Roy Thorsen Attend West Point?
Yes.
Roy graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1955.
West Point’s alumni memorial site specifically identifies him as “Roy Thorvald Thorsen — West Point, 1955.”
That is one of the strongest facts available about his education.
The Library of Congress also has an archival biographical-file listing for “Roy T. Thorsen — West Point graduate,” further confirming that this part of his background was publicly documented.
West Point is known for combining military training with a demanding academic education, particularly in engineering and technical subjects.
Roy eventually moved into business and industry rather than becoming famous through military service.
What Was Roy Thorsen’s Career?
Roy is most consistently described as a businessman and steel-industry executive.
A published biography of Margaret O’Brien describes him as a “Scandinavian steel executive,” while modern summaries identify him broadly as a steel-industry businessman.
A contemporary newspaper account written around the time of the couple’s engagement or marriage described Roy as a landing gear manufacturer.
These descriptions are not necessarily contradictory.
Manufacturing, engineering and steel-related businesses can overlap, particularly in aerospace and industrial production.
The important point is that Roy’s career was industrial and business-focused, not entertainment-focused.
Was Roy Thorsen an Electrical Engineer?
Some modern biographical profiles describe Roy as an electrical engineer before he moved into executive work.
His West Point education makes a technical career plausible, but the strongest records located for this article more clearly document him as a West Point graduate, businessman and steel-industry executive.
For that reason, it is better to avoid presenting a detailed engineering résumé unless stronger employment records emerge.
What can be safely said is that Roy had a highly technical education and spent his professional life in industry and business.
Who Was Margaret O’Brien?
Margaret O’Brien was one of the most successful child actresses of Hollywood’s Golden Age.
Born Angela Maxine O’Brien in 1937, she became famous while still a small child and appeared in films including:
Journey for Margaret
Madame Curie
Jane Eyre
The Canterville Ghost
Meet Me in St. Louis
Our Vines Have Tender Grapes
Little Women
and The Secret Garden.
Her performance as Tootie in Meet Me in St. Louis became one of her defining roles.
She received a special Juvenile Academy Award for her work during that era and later received two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
By the time Roy entered her life, Margaret had already experienced decades of fame.
Was Roy Thorsen Margaret O’Brien’s First Husband?
No.
Margaret had previously been married to Harold Robert Allen Jr., an artist.
That marriage began in 1959 and ended in divorce in 1968.
Roy became her second husband.
Unlike her first marriage, her relationship with Roy lasted for the rest of his life.
How Did Roy Thorsen Meet Margaret O’Brien?
The exact first-meeting story is not preserved as clearly as their wedding and family history.
However, the two were already appearing together publicly before their 1974 marriage.
Getty’s photo archive includes images of Margaret and Roy together at a Beverly Hills gallery opening in April 1973, showing that they were a couple by then.
A contemporary newspaper column from around the wedding period also reported Margaret talking about marrying Roy and described him as a landing-gear manufacturer.
The report included a memorable detail involving actress June Allyson.
Allyson reportedly encouraged Margaret not to marry unless she felt she could not imagine facing her days without Roy.
Margaret apparently decided that she could not—and married him.
When Did Roy Thorsen and Margaret O’Brien Get Married?
The couple married in June 1974, but sources differ slightly on the exact day.
IMDb and Encyclopedia.com give June 8, 1974.
A published Margaret O’Brien biography cited in other reference works gives June 6, 1974.
Because both dates appear in established sources, the safest wording is simply:
Roy Thorsen and Margaret O’Brien married in early June 1974.
Their marriage then lasted until Roy’s death in June 2018.
How Long Were Roy and Margaret Married?
They were married for almost 44 years.
That is one of the most remarkable parts of their story.
Margaret had grown up in an industry famous for unstable relationships and intense public attention.
Roy came from a far more conventional business background.
Yet their relationship lasted for more than four decades.
IMDb records the marriage as June 8, 1974 through June 4, 2018.
That means Roy died only a few days before what would have been their 44th wedding anniversary.
Did Roy Thorsen and Margaret O’Brien Have Children?
Yes.
They had one daughter, Mara Tolene Thorsen.
She was Margaret O’Brien’s only child.
Some reference sites say Mara was born in 1977.
However, stronger evidence points to July 12, 1976.
IMDb gives that exact date, while an El País report published on July 18, 1976 described Margaret receiving a kiss from Roy after recently giving birth to their daughter.
A December 1976 newspaper caption also described Mara as five months old, supporting a July 1976 birth.
So July 12, 1976 appears to be the better-supported date.
Who Is Mara Tolene Thorsen?
Mara Tolene Thorsen is Roy and Margaret’s only daughter.
Unlike her famous mother, Mara has largely avoided a public entertainment career.
Photos from the late 1970s show the young Mara appearing at Hollywood social events with both parents.
Getty’s archive includes photographs of Margaret, Roy and Mara at annual celebrity Easter brunch events in 1977 and 1978.
A later 2011 photograph also shows all three together, demonstrating that Roy remained publicly connected with his wife and daughter well into later life.
Detailed information about Mara’s modern private life is limited, and there is no need to speculate about it.
Roy Thorsen at Hollywood Events
Although Roy never became an entertainer himself, he regularly supported Margaret at public events.
Getty’s archive contains photographs of the couple at:
the Thalians Presidents Club Crown Russe Ball,
celebrity Easter brunches,
American Cinema Awards events,
film-industry gatherings,
and other Hollywood functions.
Later, Roy also appeared with Margaret at events such as the TCM Classic Film Festival.
The pictures show a marriage in which Roy was comfortable accompanying his famous wife without attempting to turn himself into the star.
Roy Thorsen Retired Around 2000
Roy retired from his main professional career around 2000.
We know this from something particularly valuable: an article written by Roy himself in 2007.
In that article, he explained that soon after retirement, Margaret mentioned that many of her old childhood photographs had faded or become damaged.
Roy suggested that computer software could restore them.
Margaret then encouraged him to learn how to do it.
What began as a small idea turned into a serious hobby and skill.
Roy Thorsen Became a Photo Restorer
This may be the most interesting lesser-known part of Roy’s biography.
After retiring, he taught himself digital photo restoration.
He studied manuals.
He attended seminars.
And he practiced for weeks and months.
Eventually, Roy restored Margaret’s childhood photographs and preserved many of them digitally on CDs or DVDs.
Think about how meaningful that was.
Margaret’s childhood photographs were not ordinary family snapshots.
They documented the career of one of MGM’s most famous young stars.
By restoring them, Roy was helping preserve part of Hollywood history.
Roy Restored Photos for Other Stars Too
Roy’s photo-restoration work did not stop with Margaret.
In his 2007 article, he explained that he also restored damaged photographs for other film and television personalities.
One example was actress and entertainer Rose Marie, remembered for The Dick Van Dyke Show and Hollywood Squares.
Roy described restoring an old photograph of Rose Marie that had become badly cracked and discolored.
When she saw the repaired version, she became emotional because she had thought the photograph was lost forever.
That experience clearly mattered to Roy.
He described photo restoration as meaningful because it allowed him to preserve something that might otherwise disappear.
Roy Thorsen and Margaret O’Brien’s Lost Oscar Story
Margaret’s own history with lost memorabilia makes Roy’s interest in preservation especially fitting.
Her original Juvenile Academy Award disappeared in the 1950s after a household employee took several awards home to clean them and never returned.
Decades later, the Oscar was found by memorabilia collectors and eventually returned to Margaret.
Roy’s work restoring her historic photographs therefore became part of a larger family effort to preserve objects and images from Margaret’s remarkable childhood career.
He helped protect the visual record that had survived.
What Did Roy’s West Point Friends Say About Him?
After Roy died, West Point classmate Larry Michalove posted a personal remembrance.
He described Roy as good-hearted, loved and respected by classmates, and remembered his warm personality at reunions.
He also said Roy was known as a respected businessman and noted his enthusiasm for dancing and performance. When classmates needed someone to help put on a show, Roy was apparently a natural choice.
That gives us a glimpse of Roy outside business and marriage.
He seems to have been sociable, humorous and comfortable entertaining people.
Perhaps that helped him fit so naturally into Margaret’s Hollywood world.
Was Roy Thorsen an Actor?
No professional acting career is strongly documented.
His West Point classmate jokingly praised his “thespian abilities,” but this appears to refer to social or reunion performances rather than a Hollywood acting career.
Roy’s public career remained in business.
He was a celebrity spouse, not a professional movie actor.
What Was Roy Thorsen’s Net Worth?
Roy Thorsen’s personal net worth was never reliably published.
He had a long industrial and executive career and came from a highly educated professional background.
But there is no dependable public financial disclosure showing his:
salary,
investments,
property,
business ownership,
retirement assets,
or estate value.
For that reason, celebrity websites assigning him an exact fortune should be treated cautiously.
His net worth is best listed as not publicly verified.
When Did Roy Thorsen Die?
Roy died on June 4, 2018.
His memorial record gives his full lifespan as:
November 13, 1930 – June 4, 2018.
He was 87 years old.
West Point’s alumni memorial page independently confirms that a member of its Class of 1955 named Roy Thorvald Thorsen died on that same date.
What Was Roy Thorsen’s Cause of Death?
A specific cause of death is not stated in the strongest public memorial sources located for this article.
His Dignity Memorial page records the date but does not publicly provide a medical cause.
For that reason, the responsible answer is that Roy’s exact cause of death was not widely disclosed.
It would be better to leave that detail unknown than copy an unsupported claim.
How Old Would Roy Thorsen Be in 2026?
Roy was born on November 13, 1930.
If he were alive in September 2026, he would be 95 years old, turning 96 in November.
Instead, he died in 2018 at age 87.
Margaret O’Brien After Roy Thorsen’s Death
Roy’s death ended one of the longest relationships in Margaret O’Brien’s life.
She had married him in 1974 and remained his wife through nearly 44 years of family life, Hollywood appearances, retirement and their daughter’s adulthood.
Margaret continued to be remembered as one of Hollywood’s legendary child performers.
But Roy had been beside her for a far greater portion of her adult life than most movie fans may realize.
Why People Still Search for Roy Thorsen
Roy’s name often appears when people begin exploring Margaret O’Brien beyond her childhood movies.
Fans know her as Tootie.
Then they ask who she married.
They discover Roy.
Next come the questions:
Was he an actor?
What did he do?
Did they have children?
How long were they married?
When did he die?
The answers reveal someone far more interesting than a simple “celebrity husband.”
Roy was a West Point graduate.
A respected businessman.
An industrial executive.
A father.
And, in retirement, a man who learned a completely new technology just to preserve old photographs.
Final Thoughts on Roy Thorsen
Roy Thorsen lived a life that connected several very different worlds.
He was born Roy Thorvald Thorsen in Brooklyn on November 13, 1930.
He graduated from West Point with the Class of 1955 and eventually built a respected business career.
Then his life became connected with Hollywood.
He met Margaret O’Brien, one of MGM’s most beloved former child stars, and married her in June 1974. Sources disagree by two days on the precise wedding date, but all agree that the marriage lasted until Roy’s death in 2018.
Their daughter, Mara Tolene Thorsen, was born in July 1976, becoming Margaret’s only child. Contemporary reporting confirms Roy was with Margaret at the time of the birth.
The family appeared together at Hollywood events over the following decades.
But Roy continued to maintain an identity of his own.
After retirement around 2000, he began learning digital photo restoration because Margaret’s childhood pictures were fading. He eventually became skilled enough to restore photographs not only for his wife but for other veteran entertainers.
That detail may tell us more about Roy than any net-worth estimate ever could.
He saw something valuable disappearing and decided to learn how to save it.
Roy died on June 4, 2018, at age 87.
West Point classmates remembered him as warm, generous and respected.
Margaret lost a husband of nearly 44 years.
And Hollywood history lost someone who had quietly helped preserve part of its visual past.
FAQs About Roy Thorsen
Who was Roy Thorsen?
Roy Thorsen was an American businessman, West Point graduate and steel-industry executive best known as the longtime husband of actress Margaret O’Brien.
What was Roy Thorsen’s full name?
His full name was Roy Thorvald Thorsen.
When was Roy Thorsen born?
He was born on November 13, 1930.
Where was Roy Thorsen born?
He was born in Brooklyn, New York.
Did Roy Thorsen attend West Point?
Yes. He was a member of the United States Military Academy Class of 1955.
What did Roy Thorsen do for a living?
He was a businessman and is widely described as a steel-industry executive. Contemporary reporting also connected him with manufacturing.
Was Roy Thorsen an actor?
No professional Hollywood acting career is reliably documented.
Who was Roy Thorsen’s wife?
His wife was Academy Award-winning former child actress Margaret O’Brien.
Was Roy Margaret O’Brien’s first husband?
No. Roy was her second husband.
When did Roy Thorsen marry Margaret O’Brien?
They married in June 1974. Sources differ between June 6 and June 8.
How long were Roy and Margaret married?
They were married for nearly 44 years, until Roy’s death in 2018.
Did Roy Thorsen and Margaret O’Brien have children?
Yes. They had one daughter, Mara Tolene Thorsen.
Who is Mara Tolene Thorsen?
Mara is Roy Thorsen and Margaret O’Brien’s only daughter.
When was Mara Tolene Thorsen born?
The strongest evidence points to July 12, 1976, although some reference pages incorrectly use 1977.
Did Roy attend Hollywood events with Margaret?
Yes. Photo archives document Roy accompanying Margaret to numerous Hollywood events from the 1970s onward.
Did Roy and Margaret appear publicly with their daughter?
Yes. Getty’s archive includes several photographs of Roy, Margaret and Mara together at celebrity events.
When did Roy Thorsen retire?
Roy wrote that he retired around 2000.
What did Roy do after retirement?
He learned digital photo restoration and restored many of Margaret O’Brien’s damaged or faded childhood photographs.
Did Roy restore photographs for other celebrities?
Yes. He wrote about restoring old photographs for performers including Rose Marie.
Was Roy Thorsen a photographer?
He is better described as a photo restorer rather than a professional photographer.
When did Roy Thorsen die?
He died on June 4, 2018.
How old was Roy Thorsen when he died?
He was 87 years old.
What was Roy Thorsen’s cause of death?
A specific cause of death is not publicly stated in the strongest memorial records reviewed for this article.
What did Roy’s West Point classmates say about him?
A classmate remembered him as kind, respected, thoughtful and someone who enjoyed dancing and entertaining people.
What was Roy Thorsen’s net worth?
His exact net worth was never publicly verified.
Why is Roy Thorsen famous?
He is best known as Margaret O’Brien’s husband, but he is also remembered as a West Point graduate, businessman, father and skilled photo restorer.
For more celebrity biographies, Hollywood family stories and personality profiles, visit Topper Magazine.
