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Martha Scott

Updated Feb 11, 2024
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Martha Scott
This is a photo of Martha Scott added by Amanda S. Stevenson on March 14, 2021.
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Martha Scott
Martha Scott - Movie Star Born September 22, 1912 in Jamesport, Missouri, USA Died May 28, 2003 in Van Nuys, California, USA (natural causes) Birth Name Martha Ellen Scott Martha Ellen Scott was born in Jamesport, Missouri, to Letha (McKinley) and Walter Alva Scott, an engineer and garage owner. She entered films in the early 1940s, following an initial appearance in stock. Her first film appearance was Our Town (1940), playing the same character as she played on the stage. She won an Academy Award nomination for her superb performance in the film. Martha Scott is remembered as a highly talented actress, however her work is often forgotten today as she was never seen as a truly bankable star by the major studios. A recent memorable performance for Martha was as Sister Beatrice in the camp disaster movie Airport 1975 (1974). She played a dominant experienced nun with Helen Reddy, in a cast of major stars facing disaster on the stricken Boeing 747 jetliner. She continued to work consistently throughout the 1970s and 1980s, often appearing in television movies and on the stage. She died at the age of 90 in May 2003 and is buried with her husband Mel Powell. Spouse (2) Mel Powell (23 July 1946 - 24 April 1998) ( his death) ( 2 children) Carlton W. Alsop (25 September 1940 - 23 July 1946) ( divorced) ( 1 child) Her second husband was a protege of Benny Goodman, and singer Peggy Lee is godmother to their first daughter. Has played Charlton Heston's mother twice - in Ben-Hur (1959) and The Ten Commandments (1956) and his wife twice on stage. Her mother - Letha McKinley Scott - was a second cousin to President William McKinley. Earned a degree in drama from the University of Michigan in 1934. She is survived by her son, Scott Alsopp, and two daughters, Mary Powell Harpel and Kathleen Powell. Studied drama at the University of Michigan She had previously played Charlton Heston's wife in a rather less celebrated period drama, a play called "Design for a Stained-Glass Window". She was hired for Ben-Hur (1959), at Heston's suggestion, when the original actress was sacked. A couple of years later a similar situation occurred when Heston was due to appear in the play "The Tumbler". The actress hired to play his wife was sacked and Heston again suggested Scott. "I could vouch for her absolutely, both as actress and pro," he said in his memoirs. Buried at Masonic Cemetery, Jamesport, Missouri, next to her husband, Mel Powell. After graduating with a degree in drama from the University of Michigan in 1934, she appeared in plays by William Shakespeare at the 1933-1934 Chicago World's Fair before coming to New York. Formed a partnership with actors Robert Ryan and Henry Fonda in 1968. They co-founded the theatrical production company Plumstead Playhouse in New York, later called the Plumstead Theatre Society. They co-produced the Broadway production of "First Monday in October" starring Fonda and Jane Alexander, as well as the movie version (First Monday in October (1981)) with Walter Matthau and Jill Clayburgh. She also produced an L.A. production of "Twelve Angry Men" in 1985. She was the second actress cast in the Broadway role of "Emily Webb" after the actress initially cast was dropped by producer/director Jed Harris for not making the difficult transition in character after Emily dies in childbirth. The role made Martha a theatre star. Ironically, when she took her part to film, the last act was rewritten to include a happier ending wherein Emily does not die. It was a huge misjudgment on the part of the producers and for this almost sacrilegious flaw, the film version, Our Town (1940), is not considered the classic it should be, even though it is beautifully rendered and interpreted in every other way. Son Carlton Scott Alsop was born in February, 1942. She was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Live Theatre at 6126 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California. She was survived by her brother, Charles Scott. Was offered the role of Mary Hatch Bailey in It's a Wonderful Life (1946) after Jean Arthur turned it down, but she also turned down the part. Donna Reed was cast instead and it went on to be one of her most famous performances. She was a member of Delta Gamma women's fraternity (Xi-Michigan chapter). She was a very active member of both the Hollywood Democratic Committee and The Hollywood Anti-Nazi League and donated her time and money to many liberal causes (such as the creation of the United Nations and the Civil Rights Movement) and political candidates (including Franklin D. Roosevelt, Henry Wallace, Adlai Stevenson, John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and Al Gore) during her lifetime. Her first husband, Carlton Alsop, was previously married to another movie star, Sylvia Sidney. Although she played Charlton Heston's mother in The Ten Commandments (1956) and Ben-Hur (1959), she was only eleven years his senior in real life. Although she played John Carradine's mother in The Ten Commandments (1956), she was six years his junior in real life. Although she played Olive Deering's mother The Ten Commandments (1956), she was only six years her senior in real life. Was in six Oscar Best Picture nominees: Our Town (1940), One Foot in Heaven (1941), The Ten Commandments (1956), Sayonara (1957), Ben-Hur (1959) and The Turning Point (1977). Ben-Hur is the only winner. First husband Carlton Alsop was a radio and film producer. She had one son, Scott Alsop, and later had two daughters with her second husband, composer Mel Powell -- Mary and Kathleen.
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Amanda S. Stevenson
For fifty years I have been a Document Examiner and that is how I earn my living. For over 50 years I have also been a publicist for actors, singers, writers, composers, artists, comedians, and many progressive non-profit organizations. I am a Librettist-Composer of a Broadway musical called, "Nellie Bly" and I am in the process of making small changes to it. In addition, I have written over 100 songs that would be considered "popular music" in the genre of THE AMERICAN SONGBOOK.
My family consists of four branches. The Norwegians and The Italians and the Norwegian-Americans and the Italian Americans.
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