Martha Raye

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Martha Raye (around 1943)

Martha Raye (* 27. August 1916 in Butte , Montana as Margaret Teresa Yvonne Reed ; † 19th October 1994 in Los Angeles , California ) was an American actress and singer .

Career

Raye's career as a singer and actress began as a child; together with her parents, Irish immigrants, she performed in local vaudeville theaters such as the Reed and Hooper . After her brief schooldays in New York City , she began as a band singer with Paul Ash and Boris Morros in the early 1930s . In 1934 she made her first film appearance in A Nite in the Nite Club .

She made her film debut alongside Bing Crosby in 1936 in Rhythm on the Range . However, she received her first leading role in the Abbott and Costello film Parachute Acrobats in 1941 . In the same year she played Betty Johnson in In Hell's Going Out! (including a swing dance scene with Dean Collins ). Raye also had great success in 1947 at the side of Charles Chaplin in Monsieur Verdoux - The Woman Killer of Paris . In later years Raye appeared almost exclusively in television productions, such as the series Love Boat and Murder is her hobby . She played her last role in the 1985 television film Alice in Wonderland .

Awards

Raye was nominated for an Emmy in 1953, 1954 and 1976 and a 1963 Golden Globe nomination. November 2, 1993 Raye received by US President Bill Clinton awarded and Roy Benavidez handed Presidential Medal of Freedom (Freedom medal).

Private

Raye has been married seven times. From 1937 to 1938 with the stylist Bud Westmore, from 1938 to 1941 with the composer David Rose , from 1941 to 1944 with Neal Lang, from 1944 to 1953 with the actor Nick Condos , from 1954 to 1956 with the actor Ed Begley , from 1956 until 1960 with Robert O'Shea and from 1991 until her death in 1994 with the 33 years younger actor Mark Harris . She had her only child, daughter Melodye Condos, on July 16, 1944; the father was her fourth husband, Nick Condos.

She died of pneumonia in 1994 .

Web links

Commons : Martha Raye  - Collection of Images