Mary Martin

Mary Martin
Mary Martin in 1947
Born	Mary Virginia Martin December 1, 1913 Weatherford, Texas, U.S.
Died	November 3, 1990(1990-11-03) (aged 76) Rancho Mirage, California U.S.
Cause of death	Colorectal cancer
Resting place	Greenwood Cemetery, Weatherford, Texas
Nationality	American
Occupation	Actress, singer
Years active	1938–1985
Spouse(s)	Benjamin Jackson "Ben" Hagman (1930–1936; divorced), Richard Halliday (1940–1973; his death)
Children	Larry Hagman, Heller Halliday
Awards	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries 1955 Peter Pan Best Leading Actress in a Musical 1950 South Pacific 1955 Peter Pan 1960 The Sound of Music 1989 Kennedy Center Honors

Mary Virginia Martin (December 1, 1913 – November 3, 1990) was an American actress, singer, and Broadway star. A muse of Rodgers and Hammerstein, she originated many leading roles over her career, including Nellie Forbush in South Pacific and Maria von Trapp in The Sound of Music. She was named a Kennedy Center Honoree in 1989. She was the mother of actor Larry Hagman.

Martin was born in Weatherford, Texas. Her life as a child, as she describes it in her autobiography My Heart Belongs, was secure and happy. She had close relationships with both her mother and father, as well as her siblings. Her autobiography details how the young actress had an instinctive ear for recreating musical sounds.

Martin's father, Preston Martin, was a lawyer, and her mother, Juanita Presley, was a violin teacher. Although the doctors told Juanita that she would risk her life if she attempted to have another baby, she was determined to have a boy. Instead, she had Mary, who became quite a tomboy.

Her family had a barn and orchard that kept her entertained. She played with her elder sister Geraldine (whom she called "Sister"), climbing trees and riding ponies. Martin adored her father. "He was tall, good-looking, silver-haired, with the kindest brown eyes. Mother was the disciplinarian, but it was Daddy who could turn me into an angel with just one look." (p. 19) Martin, who said "I’d never understand the law" (p. 19), began singing outside the courtroom where her father worked every Saturday night at a bandstand where the town band played. She sang in a trio of little—herself, her sister, and Marion Swofford, dressed in bellhop uniforms. "Even in those days without microphones, my high piping voice carried all over the square. I have always thought that I inherited my carrying voice from my father." (p. 19)

She remembered having a photographic memory as a child, making it easy to memorize songs, as well as get her through school tests. She got her first taste of singing solo at a fire hall, where she soaked up the crowd's appreciation. "Sometimes I think that I cheated my own family and my closest friends by giving to audiences so much of the love I might have kept for them. But that's the way I was made; I truly don't think I could help it." (p. 20) Martin's craft was developed by seeing movies and becoming a mimic. She would win prizes for looking, acting and dancing like Ruby Keeler and singing exactly like Bing Crosby. "Never, never, never can I say I had a frustrating childhood. It was all joy. Mother used to say she never had seen such a happy child—that I awakened each morning with a smile. I don't remember that, but I do remember that I never wanted to go to bed, to go to sleep, for fear I'd miss something." (p. 20)