Martha Raye

Martha Raye was an American actress and singer born in Butte, Montana, in 1916, who died in Los Angeles in 1994. She came from a vaudeville family, an environment that brought her early into show business and gave her the grounding to sing with dance bands during her youth.

Her film debut came with Rhythm on the Range (1936), a picture starring Bing Crosby, and her vibrant stage presence allowed her to carve out a place among the leading female comedians of the cinema. She went on to appear in films including The Big Broadcast of 1937, Double or Nothing, The Big Broadcast of 1938 and Jumbo (1962). At the same time, she enjoyed success in nightclubs and theatres, and between 1954 and 1956 she hosted the television programme The Martha Raye Show.

Raye also performed for American troops as an entertainer during the Second World War, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. For this work she received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 1969, becoming the first woman to be awarded it, and in 1974 the Screen Actors Guild presented her with a lifetime achievement award. Her powerful voice and mastery of the belting style made her a celebrated performer, equally capable of delivering comic and sentimental songs.