Martha Raye
Actor
Born August 27, 1916 in Butte, Montana, USA
Martha Raye (born Margy Reed), nicknamed The Big Mouth, was an American comic actress and singer who performed in movies, and later on television. She also acted in plays, including Broadway. 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. In the early 1930s, Raye was a band vocalist with the Paul Ash and Boris Morros orchestras. She made her first film appearance in 1934 in a band short titled A Nite in the Nite Club. In 1936, she was signed for comic roles by Paramount Pictures, and made her first picture for Paramount. Her first feature film was Rhythm on the Range with crooner Bing Crosby. She was a featured cast member in 39 episodes of Al Jolson's weekly CBS radio show, The Lifebuoy Program, also called Cafe Trocadero. In addition to comedy, Martha sang both solos and duets with Jolson. Over the next quarter century, she would appear with many of the leading comics of her day, including Joe E. Brown, Bob Hope, W. C. Fields, Abbott and Costello (in Keep 'Em Flying), Charlie Chaplin (in Monsieur Verdoux), and Jimmy Durante. She joined the USO in 1942, soon after the US entered World War II.
Filmography
A Christmas Child
Regina Wlison-Washington/Ghost Of Christmas Past
Amara:The Statue
Martha
Airports
Sid & Judy
Self (archive footage)
Bing Crosby: Rediscovered
Self (archive footage)
The Adventures of Errol Flynn
Self (archive footage)
Chaplin Today: Monsieur Verdoux
Self (archive footage)
The 13th Year
( Self )
Alice in Wonderland
Duchess
Murder, She Wrote
Sadie Winthrope
Showbiz Goes to War
(archive footage)
Pippin
Bertha
The Gossip Columnist
Georgia O'Hanlon
Skinflint: A Country Christmas Carol
The Ghost of Christmas Past
The Concorde... Airport '79
Loretta
'Twas the Night Before Christmas
The Love Boat
Irene Austin
Alice
McMillan & Wife
Agetha
The Bugaloos
Benita Bizarre
Pufnstuf
Boss Witch
The Phynx
Foxy
No Substitute for Victory
Self
The Dick Cavett Show
Self - Guest
The Carol Burnett Show
Self - Guest
Clown Alley
Washerwoman Clown
The Hollywood Palace
Self
The Judy Garland Show
Self
Burke's Law
Beulah Brothers
Billy Rose's Jumbo
Lulu
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self
The Mike Douglas Show
Self
The All-Star Christmas Show
Self
The Steve Allen Show
Self
The Oscars
Self
This Is Your Life
Self
The Red Skelton Show
The Colgate Comedy Hour
Self
The Bob Hope Show
Self
What's My Line?
Self
Monsieur Verdoux
Annabella Bonheur
Pin Up Girl
Molly McKay
Four Jills in a Jeep
Martha Raye
Show-Business at War
Self
Hellzapoppin'
Betty Johnson
Keep 'Em Flying
Gloria Phelps / Barbara Phelps
Navy Blues
Lilibelle Bolton
The Boys from Syracuse
Luce
The Farmer's Daughter
Patience Bingham
$1,000 a Touchdown
Martha Madison
Never Say Die
Mickey Hawkins
Give Me a Sailor
Letty Larkin
Tropic Holiday
Midge Miller
College Swing
Mabel Grady
The Big Broadcast of 1938
Martha Bellows
Double or Nothing
Liza Lou Lane
Artists & Models
Specialty
Mountain Music
Mary Beamish
Waikiki Wedding
Myrtle Finch
College Holiday
Daisy Schloggenheimer
Hideaway Girl
Helen Flint
The Big Broadcast of 1937
Patsy
Rhythm on the Range
Emma