Tony Martin

Born: 1913-12-25

Alvin Morris, known professionally as Tony Martin, was an American actor and popular singer. His career spanned over seven decades, and he scored dozens of hits between the late-1930s and mid-1950s with songs such as "Walk Hand in Hand", "Stranger in Paradise" and "I Get Ideas". He was married to actress and dancer Cyd Charisse for 60 years, from 1948 until her death in 2008. In his grammar school glee club, he became an instrumentalist and singer. He formed his first band, named "The Red Peppers," when he was in high school. After college, he went to Hollywood to try films. It was at that time that he adopted the stage name of Tony Martin. On radio, Martin sang and was master of ceremonies on Tune-Up Time, with Andre Kostelanetz, on CBS in the early 1940s. NBC broadcast The Tony Martin Show, a 15-minute variety program. One of his guests was Dinah Shore. He was also a featured vocalist on the George Burns and Gracie Allen radio program. In films, Martin was first cast in a number of bit parts, including a role as a sailor in Follow the Fleet. He eventually signed with 20th Century-Fox and then Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in which he starred in a number of musicals. Between 1938 and 1942, he made a number of hit records for Decca. In 1941, Martin received equal billing with the Marx Brothers in their final film for MGM, The Big Store. Martin joined the United States Navy in 1942 as a chief specialist, the equivalent of a chief petty officer. He was dismissed from the service that year for "unfitness" after he testified at the court martial of a Naval procurement officer. He enlisted as a specialist after the officer twice failed to obtain a commission for him. Martin said that he had given the officer an auto worth $950 to "facilitate" his enlistment. At the time of his dismissal, the Navy said that removal for unfitness was not equivalent to a dishonorable discharge and "does not carry degradation." After the war, Martin signed with Mercury Records, then a small independent label run out of Chicago, Illinois. He cut 25 records in 1946 and 1947 for Mercury, including a 1946 recording of "To Each His Own," which became a million-seller. It was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA. This prompted RCA Victor to offer him a record contract, which he signed in 1947 after satisfying his contract obligations to Mercury. He continued to appear in film musicals during the 1940s and 1950s. His rendition of "Lover Come Back to Me" with Joan Weldon in Deep in My Heart – based on the music of Sigmund Romberg and starring José Ferrer - was one of the highlights of that film. He also starred as Gaylord Ravenal in the Show Boat segment from the 1946 film Till the Clouds Roll By. In 1958, he became the highest paid performer in Las Vegas, signing a five-year deal at the Desert Inn, earning $25,000 a week. In an unlikely pairing, Martin recorded for the Motown Records label in the mid-1960s, scoring a minor hit with the record "Talkin' To Your Picture." Martin was a stockholder in the Parvin-Dohrmann Corporation, a hotel and casino company that owned the Flamingo Las Vegas.


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Clash by Night

as Singer of 'I Hear a Rhapsody' (voice) (uncredited)
Released: 1952-05-30

An embittered woman seeks escape in marriage, only to fall for her husband’s best friend.

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That's Entertainment!

as (archive footage)
Released: 1974-06-21

Various MGM stars from yesterday present their favorite musical moments from the studio's 50...

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The Big Store

as Tommy Rogers
Released: 1941-06-20

A detective is hired to protect the life of a singer, who has recently inherited a department...

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Meet Me in Las Vegas

as Tony Martin (uncredited)
Released: 1956-03-09

Chuck Rodwell is a gambling cowboy who discovers that he's lucky at the roulette wheel if he...

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Till the Clouds Roll By

as Gaylord Ravenal / Tony Martin
Released: 1946-12-05

Light bio-pic of American Broadway pioneer Jerome Kern, featuring renditions of the famous songs...

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Deep in My Heart

as Performer in New Moon
Released: 1954-12-09

Biographic movie about the American composer Sigmund Romberg.

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Ziegfeld Girl

as Frank Merton
Released: 1941-04-25

Discovery by Flo Ziegfeld changes a girl's life but not necessarily for the better, as three...

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Follow the Fleet

as Sailor (uncredited)
Released: 1936-02-20

When the US Navy fleet docks at San Francisco, sailor Bake Baker tries to rekindle the flame...

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That's Entertainment! III

as (archive footage)
Released: 1994-07-01

Some of MGM'S musical stars review the studios history of musicals. From The Hollywood Revue of...

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Two Tickets to Broadway

as Dan Carter
Released: 1951-11-20

A young woman (Janet Leigh) leaves her small hometown in Vermont and travels to New York City...

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Poor Little Rich Girl

as Radio Baritone Soloist (uncredited)
Released: 1936-07-18

Cossetted and bored, Barbara Barry is finally sent off to school by her busy if doting widowed...

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Dear Mr. Wonderful

as Himself
Released: 1982-08-24

Ruby Dennis is an middle-aged man with an unfulfilled ambition as a singer. As he begins to...

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Sing, Baby, Sing

as Tony Renaldo
Released: 1936-08-21

The "Caliban-Ariel" romance of fiftysomething John Barrymore and teenager Elaine Barrie is...

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Banjo on My Knee

as Chick Bean
Released: 1936-12-11

A young husband leaves his river shantyboat community in Pecan Point, Tennessee and travels to...

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You Can't Have Everything

as Bobby Walker
Released: 1937-08-02

Starving playwright Judith Wells meets playboy writer of musicals, George Macrae, over a plate...

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You're the Top: The Cole Porter Story

as Self
Released: 1990-07-23

Biographical portrait of one of Broadway's most brilliant songwriters. Told through the use of...

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Ali Baba Goes to Town

as Yusuf/Tony Martin
Released: 1937-10-29

While visiting Hollywood a starstruck movie fan (Eddie Cantor) fantasizes about himself cast in...

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Casbah

as Pepe Le Moko
Released: 1948-04-01

Pepe Le Moko leads a gang of jewel thieves in the Casbah of Algiers, where he has exiled himself...

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Music in My Heart

as Robert Gregory
Released: 1940-01-04

A young woman engaged to a millionaire falls for the understudy in a Broadway musical.

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Pigskin Parade

as Tommy Barker
Released: 1936-10-23

Bessie and Winston "Slug" Winters are married coaches whose mission is to whip their college...

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Here Come the Girls

as Allen Trent
Released: 1953-10-22

Bob Hope stars as an inept member of the chorus boy in a turn of the century stage show. After...

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Easy to Love

as Barry Gordon
Released: 1953-11-26

Two men vie for the heart of a Cypress Gardens swimming star.

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Sally, Irene and Mary

as Tommy Reynolds
Released: 1938-03-04

Manicurists Sally, Irene and Mary hope to be Broadway entertainers. When Mary inherits an old...

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Quincannon, Frontier Scout

as Linus Quincannon
Released: 1956-05-01

A young woman hires a frontier scout to help her discover if her brother died in an Indian...

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Life Begins in College

as Band Leader
Released: 1937-10-01

When a wealthy Indian student endows the college so they can keep the football coach rumor has...

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Thanks for Everything

as Tommy Davis
Released: 1938-12-23

Promoters set up a radio contest to find the average American and use him to sell food, apparel...

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Let's Be Happy

as Stanley Smith
Released: 1957-05-07

On receiving an inheritance from her grandfather, Canadian Jeannie MacLean decides to visit the...

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Hit the Deck

as Chief Boatswain's Mate Wm. F. Clark
Released: 1955-02-24

Sailors on leave in San Francisco get mixed up in love and show business.

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Back to Nature

as Tom Williams
Released: 1936-08-14

The Jones family goes to a convention traveling in a trailer. The oldest daughter gets involved...

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The Holy Terror

as Danny Walker
Released: 1937-02-05

Corky is the daughter of an officer in the Naval Air Service who, while putting on musical shows...

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Kentucky Moonshine

as Jerry Wade
Released: 1938-05-20

The Ritz Brothers pretend to be Kentucky hillbillies in order to get a booking on a radio show.

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Sing and Be Happy

as Buzz Mason
Released: 1937-06-25

Rival advertising firms compete for a radio show's pickle manufacturing account.

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Up the River

as Tommy Grant
Released: 1938-12-09

A group of prison inmates pass the time playing football and romancing ladies in this prison...

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Winner Take All

as Steve Bishop
Released: 1939-03-29

When a waiter makes a lucky hit and wins a benefit prizefight, gamblers rig some fights for him;...

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The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

as Self
First aired: 1962-10-01

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is a talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under The Tonight...

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The Merv Griffin Show

as Self
First aired: 1962-10-01

The Merv Griffin Show is an American television talk show, starring Merv Griffin. The series ran...

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The Steve Allen Show

as Self - Singer
First aired: 1956-06-24

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The Donna Reed Show

as uncredited
First aired: 1958-09-24

Revolves around typical family problems, such as firing a clumsy housekeeper, throwing a...

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The Colgate Comedy Hour

as Self
First aired: 1950-09-10

The Colgate Comedy Hour is an American comedy-musical variety series that aired live on the NBC...

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What's My Line?

as Self - Mystery Guest
First aired: 1950-02-02

Four panelists must determine guests' occupations - and, in the case of famous guests, while...

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The Oscars

as Self
First aired: 1953-03-19

An annual American awards ceremony honoring cinematic achievements in the film industry. The...

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The Dinah Shore Chevy Show

as Self
First aired: 1956-10-05

The Dinah Shore Chevy Show is an American variety series hosted by Dinah Shore, and broadcast on...

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The Ed Sullivan Show

as Self
First aired: 1948-06-20

The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June...

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Startime

as uncredited
First aired: 1959-10-06

Startime is an anthology show of drama, comedy, and variety, and was one of the first American...

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Donny & Marie

as Self
First aired: 1976-01-23

Donny & Marie is an American variety show which aired on ABC from January 1976 to January 1979....

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The Hollywood Palace

as Self - Singer
First aired: 1964-01-04

The Hollywood Palace is an hour-long American television variety show that was broadcast weekly...

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Jessica

as uncredited
First aired: 2004-07-18

Set in the Australian outback at the turn of the twentieth century, this family based drama...

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