Tony Martin, Acting - KorPlix:Korean Person Archives

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Tony Martin
Acting

Tony Martin
Known For
Acting
Birthday
1913-12-25,San Francisco, California, USA
Gender
Male
Biography
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.

Filmography

6.7

Clash by Night
1952-05-30

6.2

The Big Store
1941-06-20

Follow the Fleet

6.84

Follow the Fleet
1936-02-20

6.056

Easy to Love
1953-11-26

5.941

Casbah
1948-04-01

Till the Clouds Roll By

5.724

Till the Clouds Roll By
1946-12-05

6.156

Pigskin Parade
1936-10-23

Ali Baba Goes to Town

6

Ali Baba Goes to Town
1937-10-29

Quincannon, Frontier Scout

5.2

Quincannon, Frontier Scout
1956-05-01

Two Tickets to Broadway

4.583

Two Tickets to Broadway
1951-11-20

5

Hit the Deck
1955-02-24

Music in My Heart

6.5

Music in My Heart
1940-01-04

Here Come the Girls

4.556

Here Come the Girls
1953-10-22

0

Foolish Hearts
1935-12-27

Dear Mr. Wonderful

5

Dear Mr. Wonderful
1982-08-24

5.375

Let's Be Happy
1957-05-07

Kentucky Moonshine

5.2

Kentucky Moonshine
1938-05-20

Life Begins in College

8

Life Begins in College
1937-10-01

Some of Manie's Friends

0

Some of Manie's Friends
1959-03-10

Sally, Irene and Mary

6.75

Sally, Irene and Mary
1938-03-04

You Can't Have Everything

6.5

You Can't Have Everything
1937-08-02

6.7

Ziegfeld Girl
1941-04-25

Poor Little Rich Girl

6.6

Poor Little Rich Girl
1936-07-18

Banjo on My Knee

5.75

Banjo on My Knee
1936-12-11

You're the Top: The Cole Porter Story

0

You're the Top: The Cole Porter Story
1990-07-23

That's Entertainment!

7.4

That's Entertainment!
1974-06-21

Deep in My Heart

6.737

Deep in My Heart
1954-12-09

Winner Take All

10

Winner Take All
1939-03-29

Sing and Be Happy

10

Sing and Be Happy
1937-06-25

Thanks for Everything

6.667

Thanks for Everything
1938-12-23

Meet Me in Las Vegas

4.462

Meet Me in Las Vegas
1956-03-09

Sing, Baby, Sing

6

Sing, Baby, Sing
1936-08-21

That's Entertainment! III

7

That's Entertainment! III
1994-07-01

9

Back to Nature
1936-08-14

10

Up the River
1938-12-09

The Holy Terror

5

The Holy Terror
1937-02-05

Murder on a Bridle Path

5.364

Murder on a Bridle Path
1936-04-17

The All-Star Christmas Show

6

The All-Star Christmas Show
1958-12-01

The Colgate Comedy Hour

6.9

The Colgate Comedy Hour
1950-09-10

The Merv Griffin Show

6.6

The Merv Griffin Show
1962-10-01

7.125

Donny & Marie
1976-01-23

The Hollywood Palace

5

The Hollywood Palace
1964-01-04

The Donna Reed Show

6.474

The Donna Reed Show
1958-09-24

The Dinah Shore Chevy Show

6.4

The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
1956-10-05

The Steve Allen Show

6.167

The Steve Allen Show
1956-06-24

5.429

Jessica
2004-07-18

The Barbara McNair Show

0

The Barbara McNair Show
1969-09-13

7

The Oscars
1953-03-19

The Tony Martin Show

10

The Tony Martin Show
1954-04-26

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

7.533

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
1962-10-01

The Ed Sullivan Show

6.848

The Ed Sullivan Show
1948-06-20

What's My Line?

7.034

What's My Line?
1950-02-02

9

MGM Parade
1955-09-14

6.75

Startime
1959-10-06