Martha Scott
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Biography
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Biography
An attractive, accomplished actress, Martha Scott began her professional career appearing in Shakespearean productions at the 1933-34 Chicago World's Fair. After further honing her craft in stock and on radio, she made her mark as Emily in the 1938 original Broadway production of Thornton Wilder's Pulitzer-winning "Our Town." Scott earned a 1940 Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for her film debut recreating the stage role. For much of her early feature career, the Missouri native generally playing characters much older than herself like the titular elderly woman reflecting on her life in Tay Garnett's "Cheers for Miss Bishop" or her loyal parson's wife in "One Foot in Heaven" (both 1941). Scott delivered a strong portrait of a greedy harridan married to a selfless newspaper editor (John Mills) in "So Well Remembered" (1947). In "The Desperate Hours" (1955), she was stalwart as the wife and mother of the family held hostage by Humphrey Bogart. The actress played the mother of Charlton Heston (nine years her junior) in two 50s Biblical epics, Cecil B. DeMille's "The Ten Commandments" (1955) and William Wyler's Oscar-winner "Ben-Hur" (1959). After an absence of a decade and a half, Scott returned to acting as a nun on board a distressed plane in the schlocky sequel "Airport 1975" (1975) and offered an astringent turn as a ballet company manager in Herbert Ross' "The Turning Point" (1977).
Scott began appearing on the small screen in the early 50s in such anthology series as "The Web" and "Teller of Tales." She hosted and narrated "Modern Romances" (NBC, 1954-58). For much of the 60s, she concentrated on stage work, making occasional guest appearances on shows ranging from "The F.B.I." to "Columbo." When she became more active in the 70s, it was often in character roles. Scott had the recurring role of Bob's mother on "The Bob Newhart Show" and also appeared as the mother of Sue Ellen Ewing (Linda Gray) on "Dallas" in 1979 and 1985. In the short-lived primetime soap "Secrets of Midland Heights" (1980-81), she was the matriarch of a wealthy but morally bankrupt family. In a fascinating episode of "Murder, She Wrote" in 1987, Scott, Jeffrey Lynn and Harry Morgan reprised their screen roles in 1949's "Strange Bargain." The plot presumed to find the real killer and incorporated scenes from the original film.
In addition to acting, Scott had a secondary career as a producer with both the (1978) Broadway and (1991) film versions of "First Monday in October," a comedy drama about the first woman appointed to the Supreme Court. The former paired Henry Fonda and Jane Alexander, the latter Walter Matthau and Jill Clayburgh.
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Producer (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1933
Made professional acting debut appearing in Shakespearean productions at the Chicago World's Fair
1938
Broadway debut as Emily in "Our Town"
1940
Screen debut, reprising role as Emily in "Our Town"; earned Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination
1955
Played Moses' mother in Cecil B DeMille's "The Ten Commandments"
1959
Last feature for over a decade, "Ben-Hur"; played the title character's mother
1960
Last TV appearance for over a decade, "You're Only Young Twice" (CBS)
1965
Co-starred on Broadway in "The Subject Was Roses"; also appeared in the national tour
1969
Helped form the Plumstead Playhouse production company
1972
Returned to features providing a voice in the animated "Charlotte's Web"
1973
Co-starred in the ABC TV-movie "The Devil's Daughter"
1975
Acted in the all-star 'disaster' film "Airport 1975"
1978
Was one of the producers of the Broadway play "First Monday in October"
1979
Played recurring role of Patricia Shepard, mother of Sue Ellen Ewing (Linda Gray) on the CBS primetime soap "Dallas"
1981
Co-produced the feature "First Monday in October"
1985
Reprised her role as Patricia Shepard on "Dallas"
1987
Was featured alongside former co-stars Jeffrey Lynn and Harry Morgan in an episode of the CBS drama series "Murder, She Wrote"; the actors recreated their roles from 1949's "Strange Bargain"
1988
Final feature, "Doin' Time on Planet Earth"
1990
Had last acting role in "Daughter of the Streets", an ABC TV-movie
1993
Received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
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