Martha Vickers

Martha Vickers (born Martha MacVicar; May 28, 1925 – November 2, 1971) was an American model and actress.

Martha Vickers
Vickers in 1947
Born	Martha MacVicar (1925-05-28)May 28, 1925 Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.
Died	November 2, 1971(1971-11-02) (aged 46) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting place	Valhalla Memorial Park
Occupations	Actress model
Years active	1943–1960
Spouses	A. C. Lyles ​ ​ (m. 1948; div. 1948)​ Mickey Rooney ​ ​ (m. 1949; div. 1951)​ Manuel Rojas ​ ​ (m. 1954; div. 1965)​
Children	3

Early life

Vickers was born Martha MacVicar in Ann Arbor, Michigan; her father was an automobile dealer. She began her career as a model^[1][2] and cover girl. Her family moved to Hollywood when her father assumed control of an agency in Burbank, California. Vickers was 15 at that time.^[1]

Film

Martha Vickers pin-up in
Yank (1945)

Vickers' first film role was a small uncredited part in Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943).^[3]

She played minor roles in several films during the early 1940s, working first at Universal Studios and then at RKO Pictures. She next went to Warner Bros., where "they gave her the star push, rearranging her surname to 'Vickers.'"^[2] Her work there included the role of Carmen Sternwood, the promiscuous, drug-addicted younger sister of Lauren Bacall's character in The Big Sleep (1946). She also featured in a musical, The Time, the Place and the Girl (also 1946), followed by two Warner Bros. comedies, Love and Learn and That Way with Women (both 1947).

During the 1950s Vickers worked more often in television than in films, with her final performances in either medium released in 1960.

Television

Vickers's TV appearances included the 1959 Perry Mason episode, "The Case of the Jaded Joker", in which she played Sheila Hayes. Her final two performances, in 1960, were on The Rebel, starring Nick Adams.

Personal life

Vickers was married three times, to A.C. Lyles (March 15, 1948 – September 28, 1948),^[4] Mickey Rooney (June 3, 1949 – September 25, 1951),^[5] and actor Manuel Rojas (September 1, 1954 – May 5, 1965).^[6] Each marriage ended in divorce. Vickers had one son with Mickey Rooney, and two daughters with Rojas.^[7]

Death

Vickers died, aged 46, of esophageal cancer ^{[citation needed]} at Valley Presbyterian Hospital in Los Angeles on November 2, 1971.^[1] She is buried in Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery in North Hollywood, California.^{[citation needed]}

Filmography

Film
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1943	Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man	Margareta	Uncredited
	Captive Wild Woman	Dorothy Colman	Credited as Martha MacVicar
	Top Man	High school girl	Uncredited Alternative title: Man of the Family
	Hi'ya, Sailor	Hostess	Uncredited
1944	This Is the Life	Girl	Uncredited
	Marine Raiders	Sally Parker	Credited as Martha MacVicar
	The Mummy's Ghost	Miss McLean, a student	Uncredited
	The Falcon in Mexico	Barbara Wade	Credited as Martha MacVicar
1946	The Big Sleep	Carmen Sternwood
	The Time, the Place and the Girl	Victoria Cassel
1947	The Man I Love	Virginia "Ginny" Brown
	That Way with Women	Marcia Alden
	Love and Learn	Barbara Wyngate
1948	Ruthless	Susan Duane
1949	Daughter of the West	Lolita Moreno
	Bad Boy	Lila Strawn	Alternative title: The Story of Danny Lester
	Alimony	Kitty Travers aka Kate Klinger
1955	The Big Bluff	Valerie Bancroft	Alternative title: Worthy Detectives
1957	The Burglar	Della
1960	Four Fast Guns	Mary Hoag
Television
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1952	The Unexpected		1 episode
1953-1951	General Electric Theater	Louise Helen	2 episodes
1954	Ford Theatre	Nancy	2 episodes
	The Whistler	Louise	1 episode
1955	Fireside Theater	Ellen Weston Julie	2 episodes
1956	The Millionaire	Ruth Murdock	1 episode
1957	Playhouse 90		1 episode
1959	Perry Mason	Sheila Hayes	1 episode
1960	The Rebel	Bess Weed Agnes Boley	2 episodes

See also

• Pin-ups of Yank, the Army Weekly