Martha Hyer facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Martha Hyer
Hyer in 1954
Born	(1924-08-10)August 10, 1924 Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.
Died	May 31, 2014(2014-05-31) (aged 89) Santa Fe, New Mexico, U.S.
Alma mater	Northwestern University
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1946–1974
Spouse(s)	C. Ray Stahl ​ ​ (m. 1951; div. 1954)​ Hal B. Wallis ​ ​ (m. 1966; died 1986)​

Martha Hyer (born August 10, 1924 – died May 31, 2014) was an American actress. She was famous for her role as Gwen French in the movie Some Came Running (1958). For this role, she was nominated for a special award called the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She also wrote a book about her life in Hollywood called Finding My Way: A Hollywood Memoir, which came out in 1990.

Early Life and Family

Martha Hyer was born in Fort Worth, Texas. Her family was quite well-off. Her father, Julien Capers Hyer, was a lawyer and a judge. Her mother was Agnes Rebecca. Martha was the middle child, with two sisters named Agnes Ann and Jeanne.

Her family was very involved in the Methodist church. Martha went to Arlington Heights High School and then studied drama at Northwestern University. While there, she joined a sorority (a social club for college women) called Pi Beta Phi, where she was friends with another actress, Patricia Neal. After college, Martha moved to California to study acting at the Pasadena Playhouse. Soon after, she got a movie contract with RKO.

Martha was married two times. First, she married a producer named C. Ray Stahl. Later, she married another producer, Hal B. Wallis. After marrying Hal, Martha became Jewish, which was his religion. They stayed together until Hal passed away in 1986. Martha and Hal helped fund the building of The Hal and Martha Hyer Wallis Theatre at Northwestern University. Martha did not have any children.

Movies and TV Shows

Hyer in a movie trailer for Battle Hymn (1957)

Martha Hyer's first movie role was a small part in The Locket (1946). For the next few years, she mostly appeared in small roles in "B-movies" (movies made with smaller budgets). She also worked on television sometimes. By 1954, she started getting bigger and better roles. She became a popular actress in Hollywood for about ten years.

She had a supporting role in the movie So Big (1953), which starred Jane Wyman. She also appeared as Janie in Abbott and Costello Go To Mars (1953). Martha then acted in Western movies like Wyoming Renegades (1954) and The Battle of Rogue River (1954). She was also in a musical comedy called Lucky Me (1954) with Doris Day.

A big role for her was Elizabeth Tyson in the Oscar-winning movie Sabrina (1954). In this film, her character almost loses her fiancé (played by William Holden) to Audrey Hepburn's character. She then starred with Donald O'Connor in the comedy Francis in the Navy (1955). In 1956, she played the main role of Julie in a TV version of Jezebel for a show called Lux Video Theatre.

Martha Hyer with Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra at the premiere of Some Came Running (1958)

Martha had supporting roles in the war movie Battle Hymn (1957) with Rock Hudson. She was also in the drama Mister Cory (1957) with Tony Curtis. She appeared in Kelly and Me, a comedy with Van Johnson, and as Cornelia Bullock in the 1957 movie My Man Godfrey with David Niven.

In 1958, Martha was in a TV show called Playhouse 90. She also appeared in Paris Holiday (1958) with Bob Hope and Houseboat (1958) with Cary Grant. She also worked with future TV stars Dan Rowan and Dick Martin in the Western film Once Upon a Horse... (1958). For her role in the 1958 drama Some Came Running, Martha Hyer was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. This is a very important award in the movie industry.

After this, she had supporting roles in The Big Fisherman (1959) and The Best of Everything (1959) with Joan Crawford. In 1959, she also played Hannah Haley in an episode of the TV series Rawhide (TV series).

In the 1960s, Martha was in Ice Palace (1960) with Richard Burton, and The Last Time I Saw Archie (1961) with Robert Mitchum. She also appeared in A Girl Named Tamiko (1962), Wives and Lovers, and The Carpetbaggers (1964).

By 1964, Martha was 40 years old. After a successful decade, it became harder for her to find big roles. She mostly worked in television and in smaller European and American movies. She was in two episodes of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (in 1962 and 1965). Also in 1965, she was in The Sons of Katie Elder, a Western movie with John Wayne and Dean Martin.

In 1966, she was in The Chase, which starred Marlon Brando and Robert Redford. On TV, she was a guest star on The Beverly Hillbillies in an episode called "The Richest Woman." In the late 1960s, she starred in the drama Some May Live, the comedy The Happening, and the suspense film Crossplot. In 1967, she was a guest star on Family Affair in the episode "Star Dust," playing a movie star named Carol Haven.

Her last movie role was in The Day of the Wolves (1971). Her last TV role was in an episode of McCloud in 1974. When she was 50, she stopped acting. However, she later wrote the story for the 1975 Western movie Rooster Cogburn, which starred John Wayne and Katharine Hepburn.

Later Life and Passing

Martha Hyer lived a quiet life after she retired from acting in the 1980s and 1990s. She passed away on May 31, 2014, at the age of 89. She died from natural causes in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where she had lived for many years.

Selected Movies

See also

In Spanish: Martha Hyer para niños