Job Film, television and stage actress
Years active 1940-1990
Top Roles Yochabel, Catherine Elizabeth Allen, Eleanor 'Ellie' Hilliard, Jane Peyton, Emily Webb
Top GenresDrama, Romance, War, Historical, Western, Comedy
Top TopicsBook-Based, Romance (Drama), Religious
Top Collaborators (Director), (Director), ,
Shares birthday with Paul Muni, John Houseman, Erich von Stroheim  see more..

Martha Scott Overview:

Legendary character actress, Martha Scott, was born Martha Ellen Scott on Sep 22, 1912 in Jamesport, MO. Scott died at the age of 90 on May 28, 2003 in Van Nuys, CA and was laid to rest in Jamesport Masonic Cemetery in Jamesport, Daviess County, MO.

MINI BIO:

Appealing strawberry blonde American actress who always seemed to be required to age in her films: ironically, her youthful looks faded fast and she had a very short star career, although she continued to crop up through the years in mother roles. She received an Oscar nomination for Our Town.

(Source: available at Amazon Quinlan's Film Stars).

HONORS and AWARDS:

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Although Scott was nominated for one Oscar, she never won a competitive Academy Award.

Academy Awards

YearAwardFilm nameRoleResult
1940Best ActressOur Town (1940)Emily WebbNominated
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She was honored with one star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the category of Live Performance.

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Martha Scott Quotes:

[Looking at hat check girl]
Senator Simpson: You know, I've seen that girl somewhere before.
Liza Prescott: She's a very particular friend of the director who's making this picture. He sticks her in every scene he can.
Janie Prescott: Mother, shh! Somebody might hear you.


Joshua: Let the old woman loose!
Egyptian guard: She'll stay where she is, and you'll die in the lion pit!
Lilia: Joshua!
Yochabel: Run to the prince and beg mercy!
Lilia: Mercy from Rameses?
Yochabel: No. From Prince Moses, there on the pavilion.


Ella Bishop: [Slowly rising from her seat] President Corcoran, do you mean... Well, of course I know you couldn't mean... But I can't help thinking that you might mean... President Corcoran, do you mean I...
James Corcoran, Midwestern U. President: Oh dear dear dear. There's a heap of repetition in that sentence... for a teacher of freshman English!
Ella Bishop: Oh...
James Corcoran, Midwestern U. President: I take it you're going to accept?
Ella Bishop: Accept? Accept? Well, if I could... If I could only... Well, President Corcoran!
[Kisses him on the forehead then runs away]


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Martha Scott Facts
Was offered the role of Mary Hatch Bailey in It's a Wonderful Life (1946) after Jean Arthur turned it down, but she also turned down the part. Donna Reed was cast instead and it went on to be one of her most famous performances.

She was the second actress cast in the Broadway role of "Emily Webb" after the actress initially cast was dropped by producer/director Jed Harris for not making the difficult transition in character after Emily dies in childbirth. The role made Martha a theatre star. Ironically, when she took her part to film, the last act was rewritten to include a happier ending wherein Emily does not die. It was a huge misjudgment on the part of the producers and for this almost sacrilegious flaw, the film version, Our Town (1940), is not considered the classic it should be, even though it is beautifully rendered and interpreted in every other way.

Her mother - Letha McKinley Scott - was a second cousin to President William McKinley.

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