Mary Martin: Life Story and Fabulous Photos of Singer/Actress known for her work in Broadway musicals

Mary Martin was an American actress and Singer best known for starring in musicals such as “South Pacific” and “Peter Pan.” She was born on December 1, 1913, in Weatherford, Texas and began her career as a stage actress in the 1930s. She made her Broadway debut in the musical “Leave It to Me!” in 1938 and went on to star in several other Broadway productions, including “One Touch of Venus,” “Annie Get Your Gun,” and “The Sound of Music.” She was the first actress to play the role of Nellie Forbush in the original Broadway production of “South Pacific” in 1949 and went on to win the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance.

In the 1950s, Martin appeared in several films, including “Deep in My Heart” and “The Great White Hope.” However, she is best known for her stage roles and her television appearances, particularly her performances of “Peter Pan” on television.

Personal life

Martin was married twice. Her first husband was Richard Halliday, a writer and producer, whom she married in 1940. They were married until he died in 1973. They met while working on the Broadway show “Leave it to Me!”. They had one son, Larry Hagman, who later went on to become an actor. Martin’s second husband was Ben Hagman, Larry’s father.

Martin was known for being a devoted mother to her son Larry and was very close to him throughout her life. Despite her busy career, she spent time with her family and was often seen at Larry’s baseball games and other events. Martin was also known for being charitable and actively supporting various charitable organizations throughout her life. She also wrote her autobiography titled “My Heart Belongs”, which was published in 1976. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1969 by President Johnson.

Martin was a smoker and continued to smoke even after being diagnosed with lung cancer. She passed away on November 3, 1990, in Rancho Mirage, California, U.S. She was 77 years old.

#1 Mary Martin in costume for production of The Lute Song.

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#2 Mary Martin with Host Bing Crosby in the show Kraft Music Hall, 1942

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#3 Mary Martin with Host Bing Crosby in the show Kraft Music Hall, 1942

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#4 Mary Martini and Fred MacMurray in a scene from the movie “New York Town”

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#5 Mary Martin in Sexy Santa Costume

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#6 A photographer kneels down to snap Mary Martin, 1940

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#7 Mary Martin, 1940

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#8 Actress Mary Martin Leaning on Table

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#9 Actress Mary Martin in an Evening Gown

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#10 Mary Martin with the Cast of Rhythm on the River. Bing Crosby, and Oscar Levant sit together during a publicity shoot for the 1940 film Rhythm on the River.

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#11 Mary Martin and producer Richard Halliday attend an event in Los Angeles, California.

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#12 Mary Martin, vocalist and actress. Earlier in 1939, she sang regularly on The Tuesday Night Party, a CBS Radio music and variety program. New York, NY. November 27, 1939

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#13 Mary Martin in The Tuesday Night Party

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#14 Yankee baseball player Joe DiMaggio and Mary Martin, 1939

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#15 Frank Carroll, sportsman, drives the traditional Easter coach down Fifth Avenue accompanied by Judy Garland, screen and radio singing star; Mary Martin, of stage fame, and Vyvyan Donner,

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#16 Mary Martin in a scene from the movie “The Great Victor Herbert”

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#17 Mary Martin in a scene from the movie “The Great Victor Herbert”

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#18 Mary Martin in a scene from the movie “The Great Victor Herbert”

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#19 Mary Martin with Walter Connolly and Allan Jones in a scene from the movie “The Great Victor Herbert”

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#20 Mary Martin with the cast of ‘Great Victor Herbert’. From left to right, Allan Jones (1907 – 1992), Judith Barrett.

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#21 Mary Martin with Allan Jones performing a dance number from ‘The Great Victor Herbert’, 1939

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#22 Actress Mary Martin climbs a tree in the film ‘The Great Victor Herbert’, a biopic of the famous composer, directed by Andrew L Stone for Paramount.

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#23 Norman Foster and Carole Lombard.

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#24 Mary Martin

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#25 Mary Martin

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#26 Mary Martin

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#27 Mary Martin as Peter Pan, 1960

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#28 Mary Martin at Eleanor Roosevelt’s Diamond Jubilee Plus One

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#29 Mary Martin at Eleanor Roosevelt’s Diamond Jubilee Plus One

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#30 Mary Martin at Eleanor Roosevelt’s Diamond Jubilee Plus One

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#31 Mary Martin dances with Austrian actor Theodore Bikel in a scene from the musical ‘The Sound of Music’ at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, New York, 1959

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#32 Martha Graham and Mary Martin pose at the opening performance of the Moiseyev Dance Company at the Metropolitan Opera.

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#33 Noel Coward and American actress Mary Martin rehearse for an episode of the live performance anthology series ‘Ford Star Jubilee,’ New York, October 10, 1955.

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#34 Noel Coward, Mary Martin Singin and Bathing

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#35 Mary Martin and Heller Halliday on Set

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#36 Mary Martin and Heller Halliday on Set. Rehearsal For Television Peter Pan.

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#37 Mary Martin With Young Daughter in Theatrical Costumes

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#38 Mary Martin in a Television Show

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#39 Mary Martin flys through the air as Peter Pan on the television program Producer’s Showcase.

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#40 Mary Martin Flies Through the Air

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#41 Mary Martin getting a hug from lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II at a party given in her honour on the occasion of the 5th anniversary of South Pacific.

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#42 Mary Martin, star of “South Pacific”, applies make-up in her dressing room, 1952

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#43 Mary Martin, star of “South Pacific”, applies make-up in her dressing room, 1952

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#44 Mary Martin with Wilbur Evans star as Nellie Forbush and Emile de Becque in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical ‘South Pacific’ at the Drury Lane Theatre, London, 1st December 1951.

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#45 Mary Martin with Russell Downing, president of Radio City Music Hall, and agent Leland Hayward stand together at a benefit performance of ‘The Spirit Of St. Louis’ at Radio City Music Hall, 1957

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#46 Mary Martin with her husband producer Richard Halliday, 1950s

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#47 Mary Martin with Theodore Bikel, Kurt Kaszner, and others portray the von Trapp family in a scene from the Broadway play, ‘The Sound of Music,’ at the Lunt-Fontanne Theater, New York City, 1959

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#48 Mary Martin leads a group of children and actor Theodor Bikel up a slope as nuns look on in the scene where the von Trapp family flees Austria in Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Broadway play, ‘The Sound of Music,’ 1959

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#49 Mary Martin and Theodore Bikel stand at a stage altar in wedding attire as a group of nuns and children look on in the wedding scene from the Broadway play, ‘The Sound of Music,’ 1959

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#50 Mary Martin takes a shower in a scene from the Broadway musical ‘South Pacific’, 1949.

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#51 Mary Martin in straw hat singing w. actor Myron McCormack and other sailors during performance of South Pacific

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#52 Norman Foster as Rodney Martin and Carole Lombard as Mary Grayson in the 1931 film It Pays to Advertise

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#53 Mary Martin with Allan Jones cycle down a country lane in a scene from ‘The Great Victor Herbert’.

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#54 Mary Martin in the film ‘The Great Victor Herbert’, 1939

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#55 Mary Martin prior to her motion picture debut in the 1939 movie The Great Victor Herbert.

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#56 Mary Martin Sitting Next to a Bicycle

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#57 Mary Martin in 1939, she sang regularly on The Tuesday Night Party, a CBS Radio music and variety program.

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#58 Mary Martin dressed as a saucy Santa Claus, 1940

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#59 Mary Martin and her daughter Mary Heller Halliday in a scene from the musical “Peter Pan”.

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#60 Mary Martin, 1940

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#61 Mary Martin around the time of her appearance in the 1941 movie Kiss the Boys Goodbye.

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#62 Mary Martin with her five-week old baby daughter Mary Heller Halliday, December 1941.

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#63 Mary Martin as she appeared in the show “One Touch of Venus.”

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#64 Dick Powell as Pete Hamilton, Mary Martin as Marjory Stuart, and Rudy Vallee as Alfred Monroe in the 1943 musical comedy Happy Go Lucky.

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#65 Actress Mary Martin in costume & holding lute for production of The Lute Song..

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#66 Mary Martin in costume & holding lute as troupe of costumed performers stand on stage for production of The Lute Song.

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#67 Mary Martin in a scene from the stage musical ‘Pacific 1860’

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#68 Mary Martin in Noel Coward’s ‘Pacific’, at The Drury Lane Theatre.

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#69 Mary Martin in straw hat singing alone during performance of South Pacific.

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#70

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