Martha Vickers (1925 - 1971)

Actress and Model, she is best remembered for her role of Carmen Sternwood, actress Lauren Bacall’s younger nymphet sister in “The Big Sleep” (1946). Born Martha MacVicar in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the daughter of James S. and Frances MacVicar. She attended schools in Florida, Texas, and California before her family settled on the west coast. […]

Martha Washington (1731 - 1802)

Martha Dandridge was born on June 2, 1731 on her parents’ plantation Chestnut Grove in the British colony, Province of Virginia. She was the oldest daughter of John Dandridge (1700–1756), a Virginia planter and English immigrant, and Frances Jones (1710–1785) of English, Welsh, and French descent. Martha had three brothers and four sisters: John (1733–1749), […]

Martha Wise (1882 - 1971)

Martha Wise was born in 1884 to Sophie Hasel and her husband, farmers in Hardscrabble, a town in Medina County, Ohio. Three brothers and a sister were also born to the family, although contemporary sources name only one, a brother named Fred. In 1906, Martha Hasel met the substantially older Albert Wise at a box […]

Martha Wright (1923 - 2016)

Actress, Singer. A coloratura soprano who performed mainly on Broadway, she is best remembered as actress and singer Mary Martin’s replacement in “South Pacific” and “The Sound of Music.” Born Martha Lucile Wiederrecht into a musical family, she was raised on a farm in Duvall Washington. After graduating from Franklin High School in Seattle, Washington, […]

Martin Gabel (1912 - 1986)

Gabel was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Ruth (née Herzog) and Israel Gabel, who was a jeweler. He married Arlene Francis on May 14, 1946, and they had a son named Peter Gabel, former president of New College of California.  Gabel’s most noted work was as narrator and host of the May 8, […]

Martin Azarow (1934 - 2003)

Actor. He appeared in the films, “The Jigsaw Murders” (1988), “Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling” (1986), “They Call Me Bruce?” (1982), “Mae West” (1982), “Some Kind of Hero” (1982), and “The Magnificent Magical Magnet of Santa Mesa” (1977). He also appeared in several television shows including, “Matlock,” “L.A. Law,” “The Twilight Zone,” and […]

Martin Balsam (1919 - 1996)

Actor. Born to parents of Jewish descent, he experienced his first taste of acting as a villain in an amateur production of “Pot Boiler” in 1935 and after his graduation from DeWitt Clinton High School, he toiled at several occupations. He decided to pursue a career in acting and went onto appear in several off-Broadway […]

Martin Benson (1918 - 2010)

He is remembered for his role as the Kralaholme in the original London production of The King and I, a role he recreated in the Oscar winning film version. Appearing in films for over six decades, Benson played mostly supporting characters or villains. His films include The Blind Goddess (1948), Wheel of Fate (1953), Interpol (1957), […]

Martin Branner (1888 - 1970)

Cartoonist. He was the creator behind the comic strip, “Winnie Winkle”, which ran in newspapers for 50 years, 1920 to 1970. The cartoon strip was not once but on several occasions considered to be “risque” because Winnie would romp around without her dress. The critics objected to the cartoon strip but the attention from her […]

Martin Brooks (1925 - 2015)

Martin Brooks was born Martin Baum in The Bronx. When he was 10, he moved with his family to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. After high school, he volunteered to serve in the U.S. Army, became a paratrooper with the 11th Airborne Division and was awarded a Purple Heart for injuries received during World War II. He attended […]

Martin Buber (1878 - 1965)

Martin Buber (Hebrew: מרטין בובר‎‎, German: Martin Buber, Yiddish: מארטין בובער‎; February 8, 1878 – June 13, 1965) was an Austrian-born Israeli Jewish philosopher best known for his philosophy of dialogue, a form of existentialism centered on the distinction between the I–Thou relationship and the I–It relationship. Born in Vienna, Buber came from a family […]

Martin Burton (1904 - 1976)

Actor. Born in Mitchell, Indiana, he began his career performing in road stage shows in the 1920s, before settling in Hollywood. In the 1930s, he appeared in the films, “Ladies’ Man” (1931), “Caught” (1931), “Broken Dreams” (1933), “When Ladies Meet” (1933) and “Hotel Variety” (1933). He died in Santa Monica, California. (bio by: John “J-Cat” […]

Martin Cahill (1949 - 1994)

At age 16, Martin Cahill was convicted of two burglaries and sentenced to an industrial school run by the Oblates of Mary Immaculate at Daingean, County Offaly. After his release, he met and married Frances Lawless, a girl from Rathmines, where his family was now living. With his brothers, he continued to commit multiple burglaries in […]

Martín Coronado (1850 - 1919)

Famed writer and journalist. Among his best works are “La Piedra del Escándalo,” “La Chacra de Don Lorenzo” and “Parientes Pobres.” (bio by: 380W)

Martin Dies (1870 - 1922)

Congressman. Born in Jackson Parish, Louisiana and the son of David Warren and Sarah Jane (Pyburn) Dies. Martin attended public school in Texas, and acquired his law degree at the law department of the University of Texas at Austin and was admitted to the bar in 1893, practicing in Woodville, Texas. He edited a newspaper […]

Martin E. Brooks (1925 - 2015)

Actor. He will be remembered for playing ‘Dr. Rudy Wells’ in the TV series “The Six Million Dollar Man” (1975 to 1978) and “The Bionic Woman” (1976 to 1978). Raised in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania, he served as a paratrooper with the United States Army Airborne Division in the South Pacific Theater during World War II […]

Martin Edmond (1970 - 2004)

Illustration Artist. His most famous work was the comic book “White Trash” series. He was the co-creator of “Accident Man,” and also worked on the Illicit clothing line. Other comic and illustration credits include “Toxic,” “Lobo,” “Heavy Metal” and “The Punisher.”  He was a writer for the “Piratenet” TV series.

Martin Gabel (1912 - 1986)

Actor, Film Director. He is probably best remembered as the narrator and host of the May 8, 1945 CBS Radio broadcast of writer Norman Corwin’s epic dramatic poem “On a Note of Triumph,” a commemoration of the fall of the Nazi regime in Germany and the end of World War II in Europe. The broadcast […]

Martin Garner (1927 - 2001)

Actor. A native of Brooklyn, New York, his work includes the films, “Hester Street” (1975), “The Big Fix” (1978), “The Frisco Kid” (1979), “My Favorite Year” (1982), “Airplane II: The Sequel” (1982), “Twilight Zone: The Movie” (1983), “Oh God! You Devil” (1984), “Chances Are” (1989), “NYPD Mounted” (1991), and the television programs, “The Nurses,” “The […]

Martin Garralaga (1894 - 1981)

Actor. Born in Barcelona, Spain, he was prolific character performer who appeared in more than 200 roles in film and television. For feature films he probably was best known for his portrayal as Pancho in the early “Cisco Kid” movies. His other credits included “Casablanca” (1942), “The Gay Cavalier” (1946), “The Feathered Serpent” (1948), “The […]

Martin Gendron (1973 - 2004)

Actor. Gendron is best known for his roles on Canadian television shows. He appeared in the shows “Watatow” as ‘Fred Francoeur’ in 1990, “Virginie” as ‘Stephane Pouliot’ in 1996, “Si La Tendance Se Maintient” as ‘Voleur’ in 2001, and “Mon Meilleur Ennemi” as ‘Louis Montour’ in 2001.  (bio by: K)

Martin Goldstein (2024 - 1941)

Organized Crime Figure. Born Meyer Goldstein, he was a member of a murder-for-hire gang made up of low-level Jewish and Italian gangsters working out of Brooklyn, New York City, New York during the 1930s. This gang came to be known in the news media as “Murder Inc.”, and carried out gangland murders in the New […]

Martin Grossman (1965 - 2010)

Martin Grossman Grossman, an only child, grew up having to care for his mentally and physically ill father and uncle, a full-time responsibility which led to his dropping out of the ninth grade. His father died when he was 15 years old, followed shortly by his uncle, grandfather and other relatives. Grossman experienced severe depression […]

Martin Heidegger (1889 - 1976)

Martin Heidegger (/ˈhaɪdɛɡər, -dɪɡər/; German: [ˈmaɐ̯tiːn ˈhaɪdɛɡɐ]; 26 September 1889 – 26 May 1976) was a German philosopher and a seminal thinker in the Continental tradition and philosophical hermeneutics. According to the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, he is “widely acknowledged to be one of the most original and important philosophers of the 20th century”. Martin […]

Martin Johnson Heade (1819 - 1904)

Artist. Born and reared in Lumberville, a small rural community near Doylestown, in Buck’s County, Pennsylvania. He was the eldest son in the large family of Joseph Cowell Heed, the owner of a farm and a lumber mill. The youth’s first lessons in art were provided locally by Edward Hicks and probably also by Thomas […]

Martin Landau (1928 - 2017)

Martin Landau Martin Landau, the tall, intense, sometimes mischievously sinister actor best known for his role in the television series “Mission: Impossible” and his Oscar-winning portrayal of Bela Lugosi in the film “Ed Wood,” died on Saturday in Los Angeles. He was 89. His death was confirmed by his publicist. Mr. Landau starred in “Mission: […]

Martin Litton (1917 - 2014)

Clyde Martin Litton (February 13, 1917 – November 30, 2014) was a Grand Canyon river runner and a longtime conservationist, best known as a staunch opponent of the construction of Glen Canyon Dam and other dams on the Colorado River.  Litton grew up in Gardena, California. Although not a well-known environmental activist until the 1950s, […]

Martin Luther King Jr (1929 - 1968)

Martin Luther King Jr Martin Luther King, Jr. (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American pastor, activist, humanitarian, and leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for his role in the advancement of civil rights using nonviolent civil disobedience based on his Christian beliefs. He was born Michael […]

Martin Milner (1931 - 2015)

Martin Milner was born on December 28, 1931, to film distributor Sam Gordon Milner and Paramount Theater circuit dancer Mildred (née Martin) in Detroit, Michigan. The family left Detroit when he was a young child and moved frequently before settling in Seattle, Washington, by the time he was nine. There he became involved in acting, […]

Martin Ritt (1914 - 1990)

Unable to work in the television industry, Martin Ritt returned to the theater for several years. By 1956, the Red Scare had decreased in intensity, and he turned to film directing. His first film as director was Edge of the City (1957), an important film for Ritt and an opportunity to give voice to his […]