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Overview
The first book-length biography of a theater icon
South Pacific. The Sound of Music. Peter Pan. As the star of these classic Broadway musicals, Mary Martin captivated theater audiences with her impish persona and magnificent voice. Now Ronald L. Davis fills a major gap in theater history, moving beyond Martin’s own 1976 memoir to provide a complete picture of her life and career.
Lively and engaging, Davis’s biography is the first book-length portrait of the theater icon, spanning her lifetime to reveal facts about her childhood, marriages, and friendships—as well as artistic collaborations that included the likes of Rodgers and Hammerstein, Cole Porter, and Elia Kazan.
Born in Weatherford, Texas, and mother to the future actor Larry Hagman, Martin went to California after the failure of her first marriage. There, she auditioned for every studio without success. “Audition Mary” finally had her big break when she won a talent contest, leading to her breakthrough 1938 performance in Leave It to Me—in which she wowed audiences singing “My Heart Belongs to Daddy.” Davis traces Martin’s numerous appearances on Broadway, in touring productions, and on television, showing how—through hard work and persistent optimism—she built a career that lasted nearly fifty years and earned her the adoration and respect of fans and colleagues alike.
Because Martin’s life was entwined with many luminaries of the stage, this biography offers rich insights into theater history, including accounts of how various productions were developed. No other book tells her story in such detail—it is must reading for fans and an essential resource for theater aficionados everywhere.
Editorials
Dave Itzkoff
Davis…fashions a lively and informative narrative out of a rare performer's life that was mercifully short on controversy and tragedy…his accounts of Martin's lucky breaks and missed opportunities—her distinctively innocent take on Cole Porter's "My Heart Belongs to Daddy"; her passing on the lead role in a show called "Away We Go," later rechristened "Oklahoma!"—should be manna to any striving performer famished for a bit of inspiration in his or her career.—The New York Times
School Library Journal
The label "legend" is sometimes overused, but never has there been a more appropriate figure to receive this accolade than Mary Martin. As with his earlier works, this one demonstrates biographer Davis's (history, emeritus, Southern Methodist Univ.; Duke: The Life and Image of John Wayne) talent for weaving documentation and personal anecdotes into a thoroughly enjoyable and highly detailed account. Mary Martin's life is chronicled from her early years in Texas through her Hollywood career to her successes on the Broadway stage. Never quite comfortable before a movie camera, Martin blossomed on the Broadway stage, originating some of the most famous roles in the history of American musicals, including The Sound of Music's Maria von Trapp, Nellie Forbush of South Pacific, and, Martin's own personal favorite, Peter Pan. She later learned to appreciate the intimacy of the television camera, spreading her fan base across the world. During her 50-year career, Martin retained a genuine appreciation for those around her, from star to stagehand, and a remarkable resilience in times of both personal and professional difficulty. Highly recommended for theater and biography collections.
—Laura A. Ewald
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