Martha Hyer | |
|---|---|
 Hyer in 1954 | |
| Born | (1924-08-10)August 10, 1924 Fort Worth, Texas, U.S. |
| Died | May 31, 2014(2014-05-31) (aged 89) Santa Fe, New Mexico, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Northwestern University |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1946–1974 |
| Spouses | |
Martha Hyer (August 10, 1924 – May 31, 2014) was an American actress who played Gwen French inSome Came Running (1958), for which she was nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Her autobiography,Finding My Way: A Hollywood Memoir, was published in 1990.[1]
Martha Hyer was born inFort Worth, Texas, into a wealthy family, the daughter of Julien Capers Hyer, an attorney and judge, and Agnes Rebecca (née Barnhart). She was the middle of three sisters, with Agnes Ann and Jeanne. The Hyers were active in theMethodist church, where her father was a highly respectedSunday school teacher.[2] Hyer graduated fromArlington Heights High School and then fromNorthwestern University with a degree in drama. She was in the sororityPi Beta Phi with actressPatricia Neal. She then moved to California to study at thePasadena Playhouse, and soon after was signed to a film contract withRKO.
Hyer was married twice, first to producer C. Ray Stahl and later to producerHal B. Wallis. She converted to Judaism, Wallis' religion, after their marriage.[3] Wallis and Hyer remained together until his death in 1986. They contributed funds towards the construction of The Hal and Martha Hyer Wallis Theatre, ablack box theater, at Northwestern University.[4] She did not have any children.[5][6][7]
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Hyer's first film appearance was an uncredited speaking part inThe Locket (1946). She appeared in uncredited and bit roles in B-movies for the next few years, occasionally working on television, as well. Eventually, she moved up the ranks, and starting in 1954, began receiving better roles, becoming a popular actress in Hollywood for the next decade.
Hyer had a supporting role in the dramaSo Big (1953), which starsJane Wyman, and was directed byRobert Wise. She appeared as Janie inAbbott and Costello Go To Mars (also 1953). Hyer followed this with Westerns,Wyoming Renegades (1954) andThe Battle of Rogue River (1954), and a musical comedy,Lucky Me (1954), which starsDoris Day. She then played Elizabeth Tyson, a socialite who almost loses her fiancé (William Holden) to Audrey Hepburn, in the Oscar-winning filmSabrina (1954). She next starred oppositeDonald O'Connor in the comedyFrancis in the Navy (1955) and in a 1956 televised version ofJezebel forLux Video Theatre in which she played the lead role of Julie.
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She had supporting roles in the war storyBattle Hymn (1957) withRock Hudson and in the dramaMister Cory (1957) withTony Curtis, directed byBlake Edwards. She was featured inKelly and Me, a comedy withVan Johnson, and as Cornelia Bullock in the 1957 remake ofMy Man Godfrey withDavid Niven. In 1958, Hyer appeared in aPlayhouse 90 televised version ofReunion byMerle Miller, along withFrances Farmer. She next appeared inParis Holiday (1958) withBob Hope andHouseboat (1958) withCary Grant. Hyer was the foil for soon-to-be TV iconsDan Rowan andDick Martin ofRowan & Martin's Laugh-In fame in theirOnce Upon a Horse... (1958)Western film byHal Kanter. For the 1958 dramaSome Came Running, directed byVincente Minnelli, Hyer was nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Soon after, she had supporting roles inThe Big Fisherman (1959) andThe Best of Everything (1959) withJoan Crawford. Also in 1959, Martha played the role of Hannah Haley inRawhide S1Ep 8 "Incident West of Lano".
Hyer started the 1960s with a supporting role inIce Palace (1960), a drama withRichard Burton, andThe Last Time I Saw Archie (1961), a comedy withRobert Mitchum. Next, she was inA Girl Named Tamiko (1962),Wives and Lovers (1963), andThe Carpetbaggers (1964).
By 1964, Hyer had turned 40 and after a decade of success, began having trouble finding good roles, and worked mainly in television and in European and American B-films. She did appear in two episodes ofThe Alfred Hitchcock Hour, ('"A Piece of Action" in 1962 and "Crimson Witness" in 1965). Also in 1965, she was inThe Sons of Katie Elder, a Western withJohn Wayne and Dean Martin. She guest-starred on the television seriesBewitched as Margaret Marshall, a wealthy, seductive woman.
In 1966, she was inThe Chase, directed byArthur Penn and starringMarlon Brando andRobert Redford. On television, she guest-starred onThe Beverly Hillbillies in the episode "The Richest Woman", in which she plays Tracy Richards, the world's richest woman. In the late 1960s, she starred in the film dramaSome May Live, the crime comedyThe Happening, and the suspense filmCrossplot. In 1967, she guest-starred onFamily Affair in the episode "Star Dust", in which she plays Carol Haven, a movie star.
Her final film role was inThe Day of the Wolves (1971) and her final television role was in a 1974 episode ofMcCloud. At age 50, she retired from acting, although she later wrote the screenplay to the 1975 WesternRooster Cogburn, starringJohn Wayne andKatharine Hepburn.
Hyer enjoyed a quiet retirement through the 1980s and 1990s. She died on May 31, 2014, at the age of 89 from natural causes inSanta Fe, New Mexico, where she had lived for many years.[8][9][10]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1946 | The Locket | Bridesmaid | Uncredited |
| 1947 | Born to Kill | Maid | Uncredited |
| Thunder Mountain | Ellie Jorth | ||
| The Woman on the Beach | Mrs. Barton | Uncredited | |
| The Judge Steps Out | Catherine Bailey Struthers III | ||
| 1948 | The Velvet Touch | Helen Adams | |
| Gun Smugglers | Judy Davis | ||
| 1949 | Rustlers | Ruth Abbott | |
| Roughshod | Marcia | ||
| The Clay Pigeon | Miss Harwick, Wheeler's Receptionist | ||
| 1950 | Outcast of Black Mesa | Ruth Dorn | |
| Salt Lake Raiders | Helen Thornton | ||
| The Lawless | Caroline Tyler | ||
| Frisco Tornado | Jean Martin | ||
| The Kangaroo Kid | Mary Corbett | ||
| 1951 | Oriental Evil | Cheryl Banning | |
| 1952 | Wild Stallion | Caroline Cullen | |
| Geisha Girl | Peggy Burnes | ||
| Yukon Gold | Marie Briand | ||
| 1953 | Abbott and Costello Go to Mars | Janie Howe | |
| So Big | Paula Hempel | ||
| 1954 | Riders to the Stars | Dr. Jane Flynn | |
| The Scarlet Spear | Christine | ||
| The Battle of Rogue River | Brett McClain | ||
| Lucky Me | Lorraine Thayer | ||
| Down Three Dark Streets | Connie Anderson | ||
| Sabrina | Elizabeth Tyson | ||
| Cry Vengeance | Peggy Harding | ||
| 1955 | Wyoming Renegades | Nancy Warren | |
| Francis in the Navy | Betsy Donevan | ||
| Kiss of Fire | Felicia | ||
| Paris Follies of 1956 | Ruth Harmon | ||
| 1956 | Red Sundown | Caroline Murphy | |
| Showdown at Abilene | Peggy Bigelow | ||
| 1957 | Kelly and Me | Lucy Castle | |
| Battle Hymn | Mary Hess | ||
| Mister Cory | Abby Vollard | ||
| The Delicate Delinquent | Martha Henshaw | ||
| My Man Godfrey | Cornelia Bullock | ||
| 1958 | Paris Holiday | Ann McCall | |
| Once Upon a Horse... | Miss Amity Babb | ||
| Houseboat | Carolyn Gibson | ||
| Some Came Running | Gwen French | Nominated -Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress | |
| 1959 | The Big Fisherman | Herodias | |
| The Best of Everything | Barbara Lamont | ||
| 1960 | Ice Palace | Dorothy Wendt Kennedy | |
| Mistress of the World | Karin Johansson | ||
| Desire in the Dust | Melinda Marquand | ||
| 1961 | The Right Approach | Anne Perry | |
| The Last Time I Saw Archie | Peggy Kramer | ||
| 1962 | A Girl Named Tamiko | Fay Wilson | |
| The Alfred Hitchcock Hour | Alice Marsden | Season 1 Episode 1: "A Piece of the Action" | |
| 1963 | The Man from the Diner's Club | Lucy | |
| Wives and Lovers | Lucinda Ford | ||
| 1964 | Pyro... The Thing Without a Face | Laura Blanco | |
| The Carpetbaggers | Jennie Denton | ||
| First Men in the Moon | Kate / Kate Callender | ||
| Bikini Beach | Vivien Clements | ||
| Blood on the Arrow | Nancy Mailer | ||
| 1965 | The Sons of Katie Elder | Mary Gordon | |
| Bewitched | Margaret Marshall | Season 1 Episode 18: "The Cat's Meow" | |
| War, Italian Style | Lieutenant Inge Schultze | ||
| The Alfred Hitchcock Hour | Judith 'Judy' Mullett | Season 3 Episode 12: "Crimson Witness" | |
| 1966 | The Chase | Mary Fuller | |
| The Night of the Grizzly | Angela Cole | ||
| Cuernavaca en primavera | Segment "El nido de amor" | ||
| Picture Mommy Dead | Francene Shelley | ||
| 1967 | The Happening | Monica | |
| The House of 1,000 Dolls | Rebecca | ||
| Another's Wife | Ana María | ||
| Some May Live | Kate Meredith | ||
| Catch as Catch Can | Luisa Chiaramonte | ||
| Family Affair | Carol Haven | Season 2 Episode 14: "Star Dust" | |
| 1969 | Once You Kiss a Stranger | Lee | |
| Crossplot | Jo Grinling | ||
| 1971 | The Day of the Wolves | Maggie Anderson | Final film role |
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