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Tony Martin

Birthday: Born in 1913-12-25 in San Francisco, California, USA

Deathday: 2012-07-27

Alvin Morris, known professionally as Tony Martin, was an American actor and popular singer. His career spanned over seven decades, and he scored dozens of hits between the late-1930s and mid-1950s with songs such as "Walk Hand in Hand", "Stranger in Paradise" and "I Get Ideas". He was married to actress and dancer Cyd Charisse for 60 years, from 1948 until her death in 2008. In his grammar school glee club, he became an instrumentalist and singer. He formed his first band, named "The Red Peppers," when he was in high school. After college, he went to Hollywood to try films. It was at that time that he adopted the stage name of Tony Martin. On radio, Martin sang and was master of ceremonies on Tune-Up Time, with Andre Kostelanetz, on CBS in the early 1940s. NBC broadcast The Tony Martin Show, a 15-minute variety program. One of his guests was Dinah Shore. He was also a featured vocalist on the George Burns and Gracie Allen radio program. In films, Martin was first cast in a number of bit parts, including a role as a sailor in Follow the Fleet. He eventually signed with 20th Century-Fox and then Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in which he starred in a number of musicals. Between 1938 and 1942, he made a number of hit records for Decca. In 1941, Martin received equal billing with the Marx Brothers in their final film for MGM, The Big Store. Martin joined the United States Navy in 1942 as a chief specialist, the equivalent of a chief petty officer. He was dismissed from the service that year for "unfitness" after he testified at the court martial of a Naval procurement officer. He enlisted as a specialist after the officer twice failed to obtain a commission for him. Martin said that he had given the officer an auto worth $950 to "facilitate" his enlistment. At the time of his dismissal, the Navy said that removal for unfitness was not equivalent to a dishonorable discharge and "does not carry degradation." After the war, Martin signed with Mercury Records, then a small independent label run out of Chicago, Illinois. He cut 25 records in 1946 and 1947 for Mercury, including a 1946 recording of "To Each His Own," which became a million-seller. It was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA. This prompted RCA Victor to offer him a record contract, which he signed in 1947 after satisfying his contract obligations to Mercury. He continued to appear in film musicals during the 1940s and 1950s. His rendition of "Lover Come Back to Me" with Joan Weldon in Deep in My Heart – based on the music of Sigmund Romberg and starring José Ferrer - was one of the highlights of that film. He also starred as Gaylord Ravenal in the Show Boat segment from the 1946 film Till the Clouds Roll By. In 1958, he became the highest paid performer in Las Vegas, signing a five-year deal at the Desert Inn, earning $25,000 a week. In an unlikely pairing, Martin recorded for the Motown Records label in the mid-1960s, scoring a minor hit with the record "Talkin' To Your Picture." Martin was a stockholder in the Parvin-Dohrmann Corporation, a hotel and casino company that owned the Flamingo Las Vegas.

TV Credits

The Colgate Comedy Hour

Character: Self

The Colgate Comedy Hour is an American comedy-musical variety series that aired live on the NBC network from 1950 to 1955. The show starred many notable comedians and entertainers of the era, including Eddie Cantor, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, Fred Allen, Donald O'Connor, Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, Bob Hope, Jimmy Durante, Ray Bolger, Gordon MacRae, Ben Blue, Robert Paige, Tony Curtis, Burt Lancaster, Broadway dancer Wayne Lamb and Spike Jones and His City Slickers....

The Merv Griffin Show

Character: Self

The Merv Griffin Show is an American television talk show, starring Merv Griffin. The series ran from October 1, 1962 to March 29, 1963 on NBC, September 20, 1965 to August 15, 1969 in first-run syndication, from August 18, 1969 to February 11, 1972 at 11:30 PM ET weeknights on CBS and again in first-run syndication from February 14, 1972 to September 5, 1986....

Donny & Marie

Character: Self

Donny & Marie is an American variety show which aired on ABC from January 1976 to January 1979. The show stars brother and sister pop duo Donny Osmond and Marie Osmond. Donny had first become popular singing in a music group with his brothers, The Osmonds, and Marie was one of the youngest singers to reach #1 on the Billboard Country Music charts. The siblings were offered a weekly show by ABC-TV President Fred Silverman after he saw the duo co-host a week on The Mike Douglas Show which followe...

The Hollywood Palace

Character: Self - Singer

The Hollywood Palace is an hour-long American television variety show that was broadcast weekly on ABC from January 4, 1964 to February 7, 1970. Originally titled The Saturday Night Hollywood Palace, it began as a mid-season replacement for The Jerry Lewis Show, another variety show which had lasted only three months. It was staged in Hollywood at the former Hollywood Playhouse on Vine Street, which was renamed The Hollywood Palace during the show's duration and is today known as Avalon Hollywoo...

The Donna Reed Show

Character:

Revolves around typical family problems, such as firing a clumsy housekeeper, throwing a retirement bash for a colleague, and finding quality time away from the children....

The Dinah Shore Chevy Show

Character: Self

The Dinah Shore Chevy Show is an American variety series hosted by Dinah Shore, and broadcast on NBC from October 1956 to June 1963. The series was sponsored by the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors and its theme song, sung by Shore, was "See the U.S.A. in Your Chevrolet", which continued to be used in Chevrolet advertising for several more years after the cancellation of the show....

The Steve Allen Show

Character: Self - Singer

...

Jessica

Character:

Set in the Australian outback at the turn of the twentieth century, this family based drama follows a young woman who is unjustly institutionalised....

The Oscars

Character: Self

An annual American awards ceremony honoring cinematic achievements in the film industry. The various category winners are awarded a copy of a statuette, officially the Academy Award of Merit, that is better known by its nickname Oscar....

Startime

Character:

Startime is an anthology show of drama, comedy, and variety, and was one of the first American television shows broadcast in color. The program was aired Tuesday nights in the United States on the NBC Television network in the 1959-60 television season....

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

Character: Self

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is a talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under The Tonight Show franchise from 1962 to 1992. It originally aired during late-night. For its first ten years, Carson's Tonight Show was based in New York City with occasional trips to Burbank, California; in May 1972, the show moved permanently to Burbank, California. In 2002, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson was ranked #12 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time....

The Ed Sullivan Show

Character: Self

The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the CBS Sunday Night Movie, which ran only one season and was eventually replaced by other shows. In 2002, The Ed Sullivan Show was ranked #15 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time....

What's My Line?

Character: Self - Mystery Guest

Four panelists must determine guests' occupations - and, in the case of famous guests, while blindfolded, their identity - by asking only "yes" or "no" questions....


Movie Credits

Clash by Night

Character: Singer of 'I Hear a Rhapsody' (voice) (uncredited)

An embittered woman seeks escape in marriage, only to fall for her husband’s best friend....

The Big Store

Character: Tommy Rogers

A detective is hired to protect the life of a singer, who has recently inherited a department store, from the store's crooked manager....

Follow the Fleet

Character: Sailor (uncredited)

When the US Navy fleet docks at San Francisco, sailor Bake Baker tries to rekindle the flame with his old dancing partner, Sherry Martin, while Bake's buddy Bilge Smith romances Sherry's sister, Connie. But it's not all smooth sailing—Bake has a habit of losing Sherry's jobs for her and, despite Connie's dreams, Bilge is not ready to settle down....

Easy to Love

Character: Barry Gordon

Two men vie for the heart of a Cypress Gardens swimming star....

Casbah

Character: Pepe Le Moko

Pepe Le Moko leads a gang of jewel thieves in the Casbah of Algiers, where he has exiled himself to escape imprisonment in his native France....

Till the Clouds Roll By

Character: Gaylord Ravenal / Tony Martin

Light bio-pic of American Broadway pioneer Jerome Kern, featuring renditions of the famous songs from his musical plays by contemporary stage artists, including a condensed production of his most famous: 'Showboat'....

Pigskin Parade

Character: Tommy Barker

Bessie and Winston "Slug" Winters are married coaches whose mission is to whip their college football team into shape. Just in time, they discover a hillbilly farmhand and his sister. The hillbilly farmhand's ability to throw melons enables him to become their star passing ace....

Ali Baba Goes to Town

Character: Yusuf/Tony Martin

While visiting Hollywood a starstruck movie fan (Eddie Cantor) fantasizes about himself cast in an Arabian adventure. Director David Butler's comedy--with many songs--also features Tony Martin, Roland Young, Gypsy Rose Lee (billed as Rose Hovick), John Carradine, June Lang, Virginia Field, Charles Lane, The Peters Sisters and many big-name guest stars playing themselves....

Quincannon, Frontier Scout

Character: Linus Quincannon

A young woman hires a frontier scout to help her discover if her brother died in an Indian attack on a remote fort....

Two Tickets to Broadway

Character: Dan Carter

A young woman (Janet Leigh) leaves her small hometown in Vermont and travels to New York City with hopes of becoming a Broadway star....

Hit the Deck

Character: Chief Boatswain's Mate Wm. F. Clark

Sailors on leave in San Francisco get mixed up in love and show business....

Music in My Heart

Character: Robert Gregory

A young woman engaged to a millionaire falls for the understudy in a Broadway musical....

Here Come the Girls

Character: Allen Trent

Bob Hope stars as an inept member of the chorus boy in a turn of the century stage show. After being fired, he finds himself starring acting as a decoy when a killer goes after the real star....

Dear Mr. Wonderful

Character: Himself

Ruby Dennis is an middle-aged man with an unfulfilled ambition as a singer. As he begins to pursue that ambition, his family falls apart....

Let's Be Happy

Character: Stanley Smith

On receiving an inheritance from her grandfather, Canadian Jeannie MacLean decides to visit the family's Scottish roots. On the plane she meets businessman Stanley Smith, and romance blossoms in Edinburgh. The complications begin when Stanley breaks a date with Jeannie to woo voluptuous redhead Helene, and Jeannie is flattered by the attentions of the impoverished Lord McNairn; he's heard about her good fortune, and gallantly offers to show her the city....

Kentucky Moonshine

Character: Jerry Wade

The Ritz Brothers pretend to be Kentucky hillbillies in order to get a booking on a radio show....

Life Begins in College

Character: Band Leader

When a wealthy Indian student endows the college so they can keep the football coach rumor has it the Indian has played professionally and can't be on the team....

Sally, Irene and Mary

Character: Tommy Reynolds

Manicurists Sally, Irene and Mary hope to be Broadway entertainers. When Mary inherits an old ferry boat, they turn it into a successful supper club....

You Can't Have Everything

Character: Bobby Walker

Starving playwright Judith Wells meets playboy writer of musicals, George Macrae, over a plate of stolen spaghetti. He persuades producer Sam Gordon to buy her ridiculous play "North Winds" just to improve his romantic chances, and even persuades her to sing in the sort of show she pretends to despise. But just when their romance is going well, Gordon's former flame Lulu reveals the ace up her sleeve......

Ziegfeld Girl

Character: Frank Merton

Discovery by Flo Ziegfeld changes a girl's life but not necessarily for the better, as three beautiful women find out when they join the spectacle on Broadway: Susan, the singer who must leave behind her ageing vaudevillian father; vulnerable Sheila, the working girl pursued both by a millionaire and by her loyal boyfriend from Flatbush; and the mysterious European beauty Sandra, whose concert violinist husband cannot endure the thought of their escaping from poverty by promenading her glamor in...

Poor Little Rich Girl

Character: Radio Baritone Soloist (uncredited)

Cossetted and bored, Barbara Barry is finally sent off to school by her busy if doting widowed soap manufacturer father. When her nurse is injured en route, Barbara finds herself alone in town, ending up as part of radio song-and-dance act Dolan and Dolan sponsored by a rival soap company....

Banjo on My Knee

Character: Chick Bean

A young husband leaves his river shantyboat community in Pecan Point, Tennessee and travels to New Orleans in search of his runaway wife....

You're the Top: The Cole Porter Story

Character: Self

Biographical portrait of one of Broadway's most brilliant songwriters. Told through the use of archival material and interviews with the rich and famous that knew him, this portrait concentrates on his career and his public life events....

That's Entertainment!

Character: (archive footage)

Various MGM stars from yesterday present their favorite musical moments from the studio's 50 year history....

Deep in My Heart

Character: Performer in New Moon

Biographic movie about the American composer Sigmund Romberg....

Winner Take All

Character: Steve Bishop

When a waiter makes a lucky hit and wins a benefit prizefight, gamblers rig some fights for him; but a reporter arranges for a real boxer to put him in his place....

Sing and Be Happy

Character: Buzz Mason

Rival advertising firms compete for a radio show's pickle manufacturing account....

Thanks for Everything

Character: Tommy Davis

Promoters set up a radio contest to find the average American and use him to sell food, apparel and notions. All goes well until he falls in love with a girl who upsets things....

Meet Me in Las Vegas

Character: Tony Martin (uncredited)

Chuck Rodwell is a gambling cowboy who discovers that he's lucky at the roulette wheel if he holds hands with dancer Marie. However, Marie doesn't like to hold hands with him, at least not in the beginning......

Sing, Baby, Sing

Character: Tony Renaldo

The "Caliban-Ariel" romance of fiftysomething John Barrymore and teenager Elaine Barrie is spoofed in this delightful 20th Century Fox musical. Adolphe Menjou plays the Barrymore counterpart, a loose-living movie star with a penchant for wine, women, and more wine. Alice Faye plays a nightclub singer hungry for publicity. Her agent (Gregory Ratoff) arranges a "romance" between Faye and Menjou. Eventually Faye winds up with Michael Whalen, allowing Menjou to continue his blissful, bibulous bachel...

That's Entertainment! III

Character: (archive footage)

Some of MGM'S musical stars review the studios history of musicals. From The Hollywood Revue of 1929 to Brigadoon, from the first musical talkies to Gene Kelly in Singin' in the Rain....

Back to Nature

Character: Tom Williams

The Jones family goes to a convention traveling in a trailer. The oldest daughter gets involved with a convict, the oldest son has a love affair, and the youngest son gets into photography....

Up the River

Character: Tommy Grant

A group of prison inmates pass the time playing football and romancing ladies in this prison escape crime musical screwball comedy that was apparently a wacky spoof of the crime movies that were so popular in the 1930s. It seems to be completely forgotten today, except by major film buffs....

The Holy Terror

Character: Danny Walker

Corky is the daughter of an officer in the Naval Air Service who, while putting on musical shows for the troops, uncovers a group of spies....

Murder on a Bridle Path

Character: Man with Violet (uncredited)

When the body of Violet Feverel is discovered on the Central Park bridle path, Inspector Oscar Piper is about to declare her death accidental from a thrown horse, until his friend and amateur detective Hildegarde Withers locates the horse and discovers blood on the horse....


Made by Yusuf Kıtlık