Martha Raye was an American comic actress and standards singer who performed in movies, and later on television. She was honored in 1969 with an Academy Award as the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award recipient for her volunteer efforts and services to the troops. Raye's life as a singer and comedic performer began very early in her childhood. She was born at St. James Hospital, in Butte, Montana as Margy Reed, where her Irish immigrant parents, Peter F. Reed and Maybelle Hooper, were performing at a local vaudeville theatre as "Reed and Hooper." Two days after Martha was born, her mother was... already back on stage, and Martha first appeared in their act when she was three years old. She performed with her brother, Bud, and soon the two children became such a highlight that the act was renamed "Margie and Bud." Some show business insiders speculated that the Judy Garland song from A Star Is Born, "I was born in a trunk in the Princess Theater in Pocatello, Idaho" was inspired by Raye's beginnings.
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| Birthdate: | August 27, 1916 |
| Birthplace: | Butte, Montana |
| Date of death: | October 19, 1994 |
| Height: | 5' 3" |
| Religion: | Methodist |
| Also known as: | Margaret Teresa Yvonne Reed, Raye, Martha, The Big Mouth |