Martha Raye Biography
Margaret Teresa Yvonne O'Reed, 27 August 1916, Butte, Montana, USA, d. 19 October 1994, Los Angeles, California, USA. On stage from the age of three with the family act, at 13 Raye sang with a band and in 1936 made her first film, Rhythm On The Range, with Bing Crosby. Through the late 30s she played comic roles in The Big Broadcast Of 1937 (1936, singing "Vote For Mr Rhythm" and "Here Comes The Bride"), Waikiki Wedding (1937, with Crosby and Shirley Ross), Double Or Nothing (1937, with Crosby), and The Big Broadcast Of 1938 (1938, singing "The Greeks Have No Word For It" and "Sing For Your Supper'). She starred in College Swing, Give Me A Sailor (both 1938) and Never Say Die (1939), all with Bob Hope. In the 40s Raye was in The Boys From Syracuse (1940), the film version of the Broadway hit, with Allan Jones; she also played a dual role in Abbott And Costello's Keep "Em Flying, and was in Olsen And Johnson's Hellzapoppin (both 1941). In 1944 Raye was in Four Jills In A Jeep and Pin Up Girl and in 1947 was with Charlie Chaplin in Monsieur Verdoux, but thereafter made few films although she did appear in Billy Rose's Jumbo (1962), in which she sang with Doris Day and Jimmy Durante.
In the early 40s Raye continued to perform in cabaret and from the 50s was on television, notably in The Martha Raye Show (1955/6). On Broadway in 1967 she was replacement lead in Hello, Dolly!, and in 1972 took over the lead in the revival of No, No, Nanette. For her tireless touring of US troops during World War II, the Korean police action and in Vietnam, Raye received presidential praise and a special Academy Award. She brought unsuccessful legal action against the makers of the Bette Midler film For The Boys (1991), claiming that its central character and storyline were based on her and her war work. Although Raye adopted a zany face-pulling personality, her vocal skills were notable. Although confined to a wheelchair in her later years, Raye retained her vitality.
Source: The Encyclopedia of Popular Music by Colin Larkin. Licensed from Muze.
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