Martha Raye
Martha Raye
Born 27/08/1916 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.

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.

She was known for the size of her mouth, which was large in proportion to her face, earning her the nickname The Big Mouth. She later referred to this in a series of television commercials for Polident denture cleaner in the 1980s: "So take it from The Big Mouth: new Polident Green gets tough stains clean!" Her large mouth would relegate her motion picture work to supporting comic parts, and was often made up so it appeared even larger. In the Disney cartoon Mother Goose Goes Hollywood, she is caricatured while dancing alongside Joe E. Brown, another actor known for a big mouth. In the Warner Bros. cartoon The Woods Are Full Of Cuckoos (1937), she was caricatured as a jazzy scat-singing donkey named 'Moutha Bray'.

She often appeared as a guest on other programs, particularly those which often featured older performers as guest stars, such as ABC's The Love Boat, and also on variety programs, including the short-lived The Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Show. She appeared from the third to the ninth seasons as Carrie Sharples on Alice, making two or three appearances a season. She made guest appearances or did cameo roles in such series as Murder, She Wrote on CBS and The Andy Williams Show and McMillan & Wife, both on NBC. She appeared again as Agatha for the six-episode run of the retooled McMillan, taking over for Nancy Walker, who had left the series. Her last film appearance was as an incontinent airline passenger in the disaster film The Concorde ... Airport '79.

Later in her career, she made television commercials for Polident denture cleanser, principally during the 1970s and 1980s.

External links

IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/nm0713106

Wikipedia: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q435236

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Filmography (Movies)

Airports

Airports

Character:

Release Date:17/09/2025

Sid & Judy

Sid & Judy

Character:Self (archive footage)

Release Date:26/06/2019

Bing Crosby: Rediscovered

Bing Crosby: Rediscovered

Character:Self (archive footage)

Release Date:02/12/2014

The Adventures of Errol Flynn

The Adventures of Errol Flynn

Character:Self (archive footage)

Release Date:05/04/2005

Chaplin Today: Monsieur Verdoux

Chaplin Today: Monsieur Verdoux

Character:Self (archive footage)

Release Date:22/09/2003

Showbiz Goes to War

Showbiz Goes to War

Character:(archive footage)

Release Date:31/12/1982

Pippin

Pippin

Character:Bertha

Release Date:01/06/1981

The Gossip Columnist

The Gossip Columnist

Character:Georgia O'Hanlon

Release Date:21/03/1980

Skinflint: A Country Christmas Carol

Skinflint: A Country Christmas Carol

Character:The Ghost of Christmas Past

Release Date:18/12/1979

The Concorde... Airport '79

The Concorde... Airport '79

Character:Loretta

Release Date:17/08/1979

'Twas the Night Before Christmas

'Twas the Night Before Christmas

Character:

Release Date:07/12/1977

Pufnstuf

Pufnstuf

Character:Boss Witch

Release Date:13/05/1970

The Phynx

The Phynx

Character:Foxy

Release Date:06/03/1970

No Substitute for Victory

No Substitute for Victory

Character:Herself

Release Date:01/01/1970

Clown Alley

Clown Alley

Character:Washerwoman Clown

Release Date:09/11/1966

Billy Rose's Jumbo

Billy Rose's Jumbo

Character:Lulu

Release Date:06/12/1962

The All-Star Christmas Show

The All-Star Christmas Show

Character:Self

Release Date:01/12/1958

Monsieur Verdoux

Monsieur Verdoux

Character:Annabella Bonheur

Release Date:26/09/1947

Pin Up Girl

Pin Up Girl

Character:Molly McKay

Release Date:25/04/1944

Four Jills in a Jeep

Four Jills in a Jeep

Character:Martha Raye

Release Date:17/03/1944

Show-Business at War

Show-Business at War

Character:Self

Release Date:21/05/1943

Hellzapoppin'

Hellzapoppin'

Character:Betty Johnson

Release Date:25/12/1941

Keep 'Em Flying

Keep 'Em Flying

Character:Gloria Phelps / Barbara Phelps

Release Date:27/11/1941

Navy Blues

Navy Blues

Character:Lilibelle Bolton

Release Date:13/09/1941

The Boys from Syracuse

The Boys from Syracuse

Character:Luce

Release Date:30/07/1940

The Farmer's Daughter

The Farmer's Daughter

Character:Patience Bingham

Release Date:29/03/1940

$1,000 a Touchdown

$1,000 a Touchdown

Character:Martha Madison

Release Date:04/10/1939

Never Say Die

Never Say Die

Character:Mickey Hawkins

Release Date:08/03/1939

Give Me a Sailor

Give Me a Sailor

Character:Letty Larkin

Release Date:19/08/1938

Tropic Holiday

Tropic Holiday

Character:Midge Miller

Release Date:29/06/1938

College Swing

College Swing

Character:Mabel Grady

Release Date:29/04/1938

The Big Broadcast of 1938

The Big Broadcast of 1938

Character:Martha Bellows

Release Date:11/02/1938

Double or Nothing

Double or Nothing

Character:Liza Lou Lane

Release Date:17/09/1937

Artists & Models

Artists & Models

Character:Specialty

Release Date:04/08/1937

Mountain Music

Mountain Music

Character:Mary Beamish

Release Date:18/06/1937

Waikiki Wedding

Waikiki Wedding

Character:Myrtle Finch

Release Date:23/03/1937

College Holiday

College Holiday

Character:Daisy Schloggenheimer

Release Date:19/12/1936

Hideaway Girl

Hideaway Girl

Character:Helen Flint

Release Date:20/11/1936

The Big Broadcast of 1937

The Big Broadcast of 1937

Character:Patsy

Release Date:05/10/1936

Rhythm on the Range

Rhythm on the Range

Character:Emma

Release Date:01/07/1936

Television Appearances

Images

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