Martha Scott

Martha Scott’s first marriage was to radio producer and announcer Carleton William Alsop from 1940 to 1946. The union produced a son.

She married the jazz pianist and composer Mel Powell in 1946 and remained together until his death in 1998. The couple had two daughters.

She died on May 28, 2003, at the age of 90.

Martha Ellen Scott was born on September 22, 1912, in Jamesport, Missouri, U.S. to Walter Scott, an engineer and garage owner, and Letha McKinley.

She became interested in acting while in high school. Her parents were against this idea, but the young girl managed to convince an aunt to lend her $2,500 so that she could study acting at the University of Michigan. She earned a teaching certificate and a Bachelor of Arts degree in drama in 1934.

Martha Scott embarked on an acting career right out of college as a part of the Globe Theatre Troupe and appeared in a series of Shakespeare productions at the Century of Progress world's fair in Chicago in 1934. This marked the beginning of her successful stage career and she went on to feature in several other stage productions over the ensuing years.

In 1938, she made her Broadway debut in the role of Emily Webb in the original staging of Thornton Wilder's play ‘Our Town,’ in which she portrayed a young woman who dies in childbirth.

She soon ventured into Hollywood and reprised her role as Emily in the motion picture adaptation of the play ‘Our Town’ in 1940. Her debut was a successful one and she earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for her poignant portrayal of the tragic young woman.

She appeared in a series of films in the 1940s, often taking up unglamorous roles that several other actresses of her era were unwilling to play. She played an aged woman in ‘Cheers for Miss Bishop’ (1941) in which she wore a grey wig and wrinkle makeup, portraying a spinster schoolmistress who devotes five decades of her life to her profession.

She played Olivia Channing Boswell in the 1947 film ‘So Well Remembered’ co-starring John Mills and Trevor Howard. Her role as the ambitious wife of a man who is not much interested in materialistic pursuits was well-received.

Her portrayal of Emily Webb in her film debut ‘Our Town’ is considered one of her most memorable roles. Having already played the character on stage, she reprised her role in the film which earned her much critical praise for her empathic acting.