Martha Scott

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Martha Scott and husband Mel Powell (1947)

Martha Ellen Scott (born September 22, 1912 in Jamesport , Missouri , † May 28, 2003 in Van Nuys , California ) was an American actress .

life and career

Martha Scott became interested in acting in high school and later studied acting at the University of Michigan in Detroit . She made her professional stage debut in 1933/1934 in Shakespeare productions on the occasion of the World's Fair in Chicago . Then she went to New York City to play on Broadway theater. She was discovered for the film during a performance of Thornton Wilder's play Our Little Town , in which she played the leading female role as Emily Webb .

In Hollywood, she played the same role in the 1940 film adaptation of the play by Sam Wood and received an Oscar nomination for it. It remained the only one during her career. During her further career she shuttled between roles in the theater and in Hollywood. In the monumental film Ben Hur , which won several Academy Awards , she played Miriam , mother of the title character, played by Charlton Heston . Martha Scott had played the mother of Moses, also played by Charlton Heston, in The Ten Commandments in 1956 . In two stage productions she was also seen in the role of Heston's wife. In 1968 she joined the theater production company Plumstead Theater Company of Henry Fonda and Robert Ryan in.

Martha Scott was married to radio producer and announcer Carleton William Alsop from 1940 to 1946, with whom she had a son. From 1946 until his death in 1998 she was married to the jazz pianist and composer Mel Powell , with whom she had two daughters. After her death in 2003 at the age of 90, she was buried with her husband in her hometown of Jamesport.

Filmography (selection)

As a producer

  • 1970: The Front Page (TV movie)
  • 1981: A Monday in October (First Monday in October)

Web links

Commons : Martha Scott  - Collection of Images

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Douglas Martin: Martha Scott, Original Emily in 'Our Town,' Dies at 88 . In: The New York Times . May 31, 2003, ISSN  0362-4331 ( nytimes.com [accessed May 25, 2020]).
  2. ^ Martha Scott: Big screen actor famed for smalltown role , The Guardian, June 3, 2003
personal data
SURNAME Scott, Martha
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Scott, Martha Ellen
BRIEF DESCRIPTION US-american actress
DATE OF BIRTH September 22, 1912
PLACE OF BIRTH Jamesport , Missouri , United States
DATE OF DEATH May 28, 2003
Place of death Van Nuys , California , United States