Martha Raye (born Margy Reed; August 27, 1916 – October 19, 1994) was an American comic actress and singer whose career spanned six decades across film, theater, and television. Her wide smile and energetic comedic style earned her the nickname "The Big Mouth."
Born to vaudevillian parents in Butte, Montana, Raye began performing in her family's stage act at age three. She began performing on Broadway at age eighteen, before making her feature film debut in Rhythm on the Range (1936). As a contract player for Paramount Pictures, she starred in numerous films for the studio over the following decade, including Waikiki Wedding, Mountain Music, Double or Nothing (all 1937), Never Say Die (1939), and The Farmer's Daughter (1940).
In 1942, she joined the United Service Organizations during World War II and became a frequent performer for U.S. troops. Raye returned to acting with performances in films such as Pin Up Girl (1944) and Charlie Chaplin's Monsieur Verdoux (1947). In the 1950s, Raye continued to occasionally perform in stage productions, as well as hosting her own television show, The Martha Raye Show. Ray also had a recurring guest role on the sitcom Alice (1979–1984), playing Carrie Sharples. She made her final feature film appearance in The Concorde... Airport '79 (1979).
She was honored in 1969 at the Academy Awards as the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award recipient for her volunteer efforts and services to the troops.
Early life
Raye was born Margy Reed on August 27, 1916 at St. James Hospital in Butte, Montana, the eldest of three children born to vaudeville performers Maybelle Hazel ( Hooper) and Peter F. Reed Jr.. Her father was an Irish immigrant, while her mother, a native of Great Falls, Montana, was of English heritage. At the time of her birth, Raye's parents were performing in local vaudeville theatre, billed as "Reed and Hooper."
Raye had a peripatetic childhood, and began performing at age three as part of her parents' touring stage act. Her younger brother, Douglas "Buddy" Reed, was born shortly before her second birthday, while the family was performing in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The siblings eventually became a regular part of their family's stage act.
Raye starred in an ensemble cast alongside Bob Burns in The Big Broadcast of 1937 (1936). This was followed by a lead role opposite Burns and Bing Crosby in the musical comedy film Waikiki Wedding (1937). Raye was paired again with Burns the same year in Mountain Music, and with Crosby in Double or Nothing. The following year, she starred in the musical comedy Give Me a Sailor opposite Bob Hope and Betty Grable. Raye next appeared opposite Hope in the romantic comedy Never Say Die (1939), directed by Elliott Nugent.
She returned to Broadway in a starring role in Yip Harburg's Hold On to Your Hats (1940), and starred in the comedy film The Farmer's Daughter the same year. In 1941, she starred opposite comedy duo Abbott and Costello in the Arthur Lubin-directed comedy Keep 'Em Flying, and opposite Ann Sheridan and Jack Oakie in Navy Blues.
thumb|right|upright|Raye performing for troops in Africa, 1943
In 1942, Raye joined the United Service Organizations (USO), soon after the US entered World War II, and became a regular international performer for American troops over the following two years. marked by alcoholism as well as a cocaine addiction. Following the demise of her TV variety show, the breakup of her fifth marriage, and a series of other personal and health problems, Raye attempted suicide by overdosing on sleeping pills on August 14, 1956.
Following her suicide attempt, well-wishers and fans gifted her a St. Christopher's medal, a St. Genesius medal, and a Star of David. After her recovery, she wore these amulets faithfully, though she was neither Catholic nor Jewish. At the conclusion of each episode of her TV show, she would thank the nuns at the Sisters of St. Francis Hospital in Miami, Florida, where she had recovered. She always said "Goodnight, Sisters" as a sign of appreciation and gratitude. Raye was a devout Methodist who regularly attended church, read the Bible daily, and also taught Sunday school.
Politically, Raye was Republican, commenting: "I believe in the constitution, strength in national defense, limited government, individual freedom, and personal responsibility. [Republicans] reinforce the resolve that the United States is the greatest country in the world, and we can all be eternally grateful to our founding fathers for the beautiful legacy they left us."
Relationships
Raye was married seven times. Her engagement to orchestra leader Johnny Torrence was announced in June 1936. Less than two months later she commented, "They tell me I've gone Hollywood already because I got engaged to Johnny Torrence one day and broke it off the next."
She was married to make-up artist Hamilton "Buddy" Westmore from May 30, 1937, until September 1937, filing for divorce on the basis of extreme cruelty; to composer-conductor David Rose from October 8, 1938, to May 19, 1941; and to Neal Lang from May 25, 1941, to February 3, 1944.
Raye was married to Nick Condos from February 22, 1944, to June 17, 1953. She had one child—a daughter, Melodye, born in July 1944—with Condos. Melodye was named after Raye's recently-deceased younger sister.
She was later married to Edward T. Begley from April 21, 1954, to October 6, 1956; and to Robert O'Shea from November 7, 1956, to December 1, 1960.
Raye married her seventh and final husband, Mark Harris, on September 25, 1991, three weeks after they first met. Though Raye was a Methodist, the couple were married by a rabbi, as Harris was Jewish. followed by her right leg in February 1994. After her death, the statuette was displayed for many years in a specially constructed lighted niche at the Friars Club in Beverly Hills.
On November 2, 1993, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Bill Clinton for her service to her country.
Legacy
Raye was known for the size of her mouth, which was large in proportion to her face, earning her the nickname "The Big Mouth". She referred to this in a series of television commercials for Polident denture cleaner in the 1980s: "So take it from The Big Mouth: new Polident Green gets tough stains clean!" Her large mouth would relegate her motion picture work to supporting comic parts, and was often made up so it appeared even larger. In the Disney cartoon Mother Goose Goes Hollywood, she is caricatured while dancing with Joe E. Brown, another actor known for a big mouth. In the Warner Bros. cartoon The Woods Are Full of Cuckoos (1937), she was caricatured as a jazzy scat-singing donkey named 'Moutha Bray'.
Appreciation of her work with the USO during World War II and subsequent wars led to her being named both an honorary colonel in the U.S. Marines and an honorary lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army, and earned special consideration to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery. Upon her death it was instead requested that she be buried with full military honors in the Fort Bragg Main Post cemetery at Spring Lake, North Carolina, home of her loving and beloved United States Army Special Forces; the Fifth Special Forces Group (Airborne) made her an honorary Green Beret for her USO work in Vietnam,
Raye has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame—one for motion pictures at 6251 Hollywood Boulevard and the other for television at 6547 Hollywood Blvd.
The moving image collection of Martha Raye is held at the Academy Film Archive. The collection consists of an audio tape and home movies.
Filmography
Film
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" style="margin-right: 0; width:60%"
|-
! style="width:2%"| Year
! style="width:23%"| Title
! style="width:20%"| Role(s)
! style="width:10%"| Notes
! style="width:1%" class="unsortable"|
|-
! scope="row"| 1934
| '
| Herself
| Short film
| style=text-align:center|
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="4"| 1936
| Rhythm on the Range
| Emma Mazda
|
| style=text-align:center|
|-
| '
| Patsy
|
| style=text-align:center|
|-
| Hideaway Girl
| Helen Flint
|
| style=text-align:center|
|-
| College Holiday
| Daisy Schloggenheimer
|
| style=text-align:center|
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="5"| 1937
| Waikiki Wedding
| Myrtle Finch
|
| style=text-align:center|
|-
| Mountain Music
| Mary Beamish
|
| style=text-align:center|
|-
| Artists and Models
| Speciality
|
| style=text-align:center|
|-
| Double or Nothing
| Liza Lou Lane
|
| style=text-align:center|
|-
| Cinema Circus
| Herself
| Archive footage
| style=text-align:center|
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="4"| 1938
| '
| Martha Bellows
|
| style=text-align:center|
|-
| College Swing
| Mabel Grady
|
| style=text-align:center|
|-
| Tropic Holiday
| Midge Miller
|
| style=text-align:center|
|-
| Give Me a Sailor
| Letty Larkin
|
| style=text-align:center|
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="2"| 1939
| Never Say Die
| Mickey Hawkins
|
| style=text-align:center|
|-
| $1,000 a Touchdown
| Martha Madison
|
| style=text-align:center|
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="2"| 1940
| '
| Patience Bingham
|
| style=text-align:center|
|-
| '
| Luce
|
| style=text-align:center|
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="3"| 1941
| Navy Blues
| Lilibelle Bolton
|
| style=text-align:center|
|-
| Keep 'Em Flying
| Gloria Phelps / Barbara Phelps
|
| style=text-align:center|
|-
| Hellzapoppin
| Betty Johnson
|
| style=text-align:center|
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="2"| 1944
| Four Jills in a Jeep
| Herself
|
| style=text-align:center|
|-
| Pin Up Girl
| Molly McKay
|
| style=text-align:center|
|-
! scope="row"| 1947
| Monsieur Verdoux
| Annabella Bonheur
|
| style=text-align:center|
|-
! scope="row"| 1962
| Billy Rose's Jumbo
| Lulu
|
| style=text-align:center|
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="3"| 1970
| No Substitute for Victory
| Herself
| Documentary film
| style=text-align:center|
|-
| '
| Foxy
|
| style=text-align:center|
|-
| Pufnstuf
| Boss Witch
|
| style=text-align:center|
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="2"| 1979
| '
| Loretta
|
| style=text-align:center|
|-
| Skinflint: A Country Christmas Carol
| Ghost of Christmas Past
| Television film
| style=text-align:center|
|-
! scope="row"| 1980
| '
| Georgia O'Hanlon
| Television film
| style=text-align:center|
|-
! scope="row"| 1981
| Pippin: His Life and Times
| Berthe
| Television film
| style=text-align:center|
|-
! scope="row"| 1985
| Alice in Wonderland
| The Duchess
| Television film
| style=text-align:center|
|-
|}
Television
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" style="margin-right: 0; width:60%"
|-
! style="width:9%"| Year
! style="width:23%"| Title
! style="width:20%"| Role(s)
! style="width:10%"| Notes
! style="width:1%" class="unsortable"|
|-
! scope="row"| 1951–1953
| Four Star Revue
| Herself
| Host
| style=text-align:center|
|-
! scope="row"| 1954–1956
| '
| Herself
|
| style=text-align:center|
|-
! scope="row"| 1955
| What's My Line?
| Herself
| Mystery guest
| style=text-align:center|
|-
! scope="row"| 1958
| Club Oasis
| Herself
|
| style=text-align:center|
|-
! scope="row"| 1962
| '
| Herself
| Episode: "Circus"
| style=text-align:center|
|-
! scope="row"| 1963
| '
| Herself
|
| style=text-align:center|
|-
! scope="row"| 1964
| '
| Herself
|
| style=text-align:center|
|-
! scope="row"| 1965
| Password
| Herself
| 1 episode
| style=text-align:center|
|-
! scope="row"| 1966
| '
| Herself
| 1 episode
| style=text-align:center|
|-
! scope="row"| 1967–1970
| '
| Herself
| 3 episodes
| style=text-align:center|
|-
! scope="row"| 1970–1972
| '
| Benita Bizarre
|
| style=text-align:center|
|-
! scope="row"| 1976–1977
| McMillan
| Agatha
|
| style=text-align:center|
|-
! scope="row"| 1977
|Twas the Night Before Christmas
| Nellie's mother
| Television special
| style=text-align:center|
|-
! scope="row"| 1979–1984
| Alice
| Carrie Sharples
|
| style=text-align:center|
|-
! scope="row"| 1985
| Murder, She Wrote
| Sadie Winthrope
|
| style=text-align:center|
|-
|}
Stage credits
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" style="margin-right: 0; width:60%"
|-
! style="width:2%"| Year
! style="width:22%"| Title
! style="width:20%"| Role(s)
! style="width:22%"| Notes
! style="width:1%" class="unsortable"|
|-
! scope="row"| 1934
| Calling All Stars
| Performer
| Hollywood Theatre
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
! scope="row"| 1940
| Hold On to Your Hats
| Mamie
| Shubert Theatre
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
! scope="row"| 1962
| Wildcat
| Wildcat Jackson
| Touring production
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
! scope="row"| 1963
| Call Me Madam
| Cosmo Constantine
| Touring production
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
! scope="row"| 1964
| '
|
| Regional production
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
! scope="row"| 1967
| Hello Dolly!
| Mrs. Dolly Gallagher Levi
| 46th Street Theatre
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
! scope="row"| 1988
| Everybody Loves Opal
|
|
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
|}
References
Sources
External links
;Papers
- Martha Raye papers, 1916–2000, Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
;Websites
- Vets tribute with veteran pictures and stories. - Colonel Maggie .com
- Colonel Maggie - Truth or fiction
;Metadata
- All Star Revue episode guide at Classic TV Info.
- The Martha Raye Show episode guide at Classic TV Info.