Actors - Mary Martin

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	Actors - Mary Martin

Mary Virginia Martin (December 1, 1913 – November 3, 1990) born in Weatherford, Texas was an American star of (mainly stage) musicals. Amongst the roles originally created by her were those of Nellie Forbush in South Pacific
and Maria in The Sound of Music
.

Early life

Her life as a child, as Martin describes it in her autobiography My Heart Belongs, was secure and joyful. She had close relationships with both her mother and father, as well as her other siblings. Her autobiography details how the young actress had an instinctive ear for recreating the sounds heard in the musical world. Surprisingly, her trials and tribulations within the profession are real and seemingly nostalgic.

Career

Mary Martin struggled for nearly two years to break into show business. She was nicknamed "Audition Mary" because she auditioned so often. As a struggling young actress, Martin endured humorous and sometimes frightful luck trying to make it in the world, from car crashes leading to vocal instruction, unknowingly singing in front of Oscar Hammerstein II, to her final break on Broadway granted by the very prominent producer, Lawrence Schwab.

Mary Martin's career took off at a rapid pace. From Broadway opening to Broadway opening, to interview upon interview and eventually the ever coveted Hollywood contract, Ms. Martin exemplifies the strong and determined personality that all artists either possess or envy. She also delivers a clear and unique message through her success on both stage and screen: one remains the same regardless of the amount of success or exposure, one is always true to oneself.

Martin received the Donaldson Award and the New York Film Critics Circle Award in 1943 for One Touch of Venus. In 1954, she received an Emmy and a Tony Award for Peter Pan.

She also received Tony Awards for South Pacific
, and, in 1959, for The Sound of Music
.

Although she did a few films early in her career, she was generally passed over for the filmed version of the musical plays in which she starred. Listening to CD's of her performances suggests that her clear, powerful voice, which projected "to the back row" for theater and for television stage shows, might have been considered too strong for the somewhat more subtle voice techniques used in musical films.

Personal Life

In 1929 she married the lawyer Ben Hageman. They divorced in 1936. Their son is actor Larry Hagman of Dallas and I Dream of Jeannie fame, who once appeared with his mother in South Pacific
as a member of the chorus.

She married a second time in 1940 to Richard Halliday, and they had a daughter, Heller Halliday, who is Larry Hagman's half-sister.

She died of colon cancer in California in 1990, aged 76.

Trivia

Posthumously, through Boze Hadleigh it emerged that Martin had a long intimate relationship with Oscar winning actress Janet Gaynor
.

This is confirmed by ([, , , ).

According to Boze Hadleigh's 1994 book Hollywood Babble On, actor Robert Cummings
is quoted as saying, regarding Martin and actress Janet Gaynor
:

"Janet Gaynor's husband was Adrian, the MGM fashion designer. But her wife was Mary Martin..."

She was bitterly disappointed by not getting the role of "Nellie Forbush" in the film version of South Pacific (it went to Mitzi Gaynor
), despite her friendship with Joshua Logan, who said Mary was just not right for this role on screen.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Mary Martin ]

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Actors - Mary Martin

Early life

Career

Personal Life

Trivia

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