Tony Martin

Tony Martin (born Alvin Morris, December 25, 1913 – July 27, 2012) was an American actor and singer who was married to performer Cyd Charisse for 60 years.

Tony Martin
Martin in 1953
Background information
Birth name	Alvin Morris
Born	(1913-12-25)December 25, 1913 San Francisco, California
Died	July 27, 2012(2012-07-27) (aged 98) Los Angeles, California
Genres	Big band music Traditional pop music
Occupation(s)	Singer, actor
Years active	1933–2009
Labels	Decca Records, Mercury Records, RCA Victor, Motown Records

Biography

Early life

Martin was born as Alvin Morris in San Francisco, California,^[1] the son of Hattie (née Smith) and Edward Clarence Morris.^[2][3]

Career

In movies, he was first cast in a number of bit parts, including a role as a sailor in the movie Follow the Fleet (1936), starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. 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 Records. Martin was featured in the 1941 Marx Brothers film The Big Store, in which he played a singer and performed the now infamous (at least with Marx Brothers fans) Tenement Symphony, which was written by Hal Borne, who became his long-time musical director.^[4]

Personal life

In 1937 he married Alice Faye, with whom he had starred in several films. They divorced in 1941. Martin remarried, to actress and dancer Cyd Charisse in 1948. They remained married until her death in 2008. They had one son together, Tony Martin, Jr. (August 28, 1950 – April 10, 2011), who predeceased his father. Martin adopted Charisse's son, Nicky, from her first marriage

Death

Martin died on the evening of July 27, 2012, of natural causes.^[5][6][7] He was 98.

Movies

• Foolish Hearts (1936)
• Follow the Fleet (1936)
• The Farmer in the Dell (1936)
• Murder on a Bridle Path (1936)
• The Witness Chair (1936) (scenes deleted)
• Poor Little Rich Girl (1936)
• Back to Nature (1936)
• Sing, Baby, Sing (1936)
• Pigskin Parade (1936)
• Banjo on My Knee (1936)
• The Holy Terror (1937)
• Sing and Be Happy (1937)
• You Can't Have Everything (1937)
• Life Begins in College (1937)
• Ali Baba Goes to Town (1937)
• Sally, Irene and Mary (1938)
• Kentucky Moonshine (1938)
• Up the River (1938)
• Thanks for Everything (1938)
• Winner Take All (1939)
• Music in My Heart (1940)
• Ziegfeld Girl (1941)
• The Big Store (1941)
• Till the Clouds Roll By (1946)
• Casbah (1948)
• Hollywood Goes to Bat (1950) (short subject)
• Two Tickets to Broadway (1951)
• Clash by Night (1952) (Cameo)
• Here Come the Girls (1953)
• Easy to Love (1953)
• Deep in My Heart (1954)
• Hit the Deck (1955)
• Meet Me in Las Vegas (1956) (Cameo)
• Quincannon – Frontier Scout (1956)
• Let's Be Happy (1957)
• Dear Mr. Wonderful (1982)