Nan Martin (July 15, 1927 – March 4, 2010) was an American actress who starred in movies and on television.
Life and career
Early life
Born in Decatur, Illinois
Decatur ( ) is the largest city and the county seat of Macon County in the U.S. state of Illinois, with a population of 70,522 as of the 2020 Census. The city was founded in 1829 and is situated along the Sangamon River and Lake Decatur in ...
, and raised in Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...
, she attended Santa Monica High School
Santa Monica High School, officially abbreviated to SaMoHi, is located in Santa Monica, California. Founded in 1891, it changed location several times in its early years before settling into its present campus at 601 Pico Boulevard. It is a part o ...
.
Acting career
Her first film role was '' The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit'' (1956). Her other film roles included '' The Mugger'' (1958), '' For Love of Ivy'' (1968), '' Goodbye Columbus'' (1969), '' Doctor Detroit'' (1983), '' All of Me'' (1984), and Chuck Russell
Charles Russell (born May 9, 1958) is an American filmmaker and actor known for his work on several genre films.
Some of Russell's best known films include the slasher fantasy film '' A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors'', the 1988 re ...
's cult film
A cult film or cult movie, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a cult following. Cult films are known for their dedicated, passionate fanbase which forms an elaborate subculture, members of which engage i ...
'' A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors'' (1987) where she played the role of Amanda Krueger
The ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' series, created by Wes Craven, focuses on several characters who survive attacks by Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund), the spirit of a child murderer who gains the ability to stalk and kill people in their dreams ( ...
, the mother of killer Freddy Krueger
Freddy Krueger () is a fictional character and the primary antagonist in the ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' film series. He was created by Wes Craven and made his debut in Craven's '' A Nightmare on Elm Street'' (1984) as the malevolent spiri ...
.The Thorn Birds
''The Thorn Birds'' is a 1977 novel by Australian author Colleen McCullough. Set primarily on Drogheda – a fictional sheep station in the Australian Outback named after Drogheda, Ireland, the story focuses on the Cleary family and spans 1 ...
'' and the soap opera
A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...
'' Santa Barbara''. She had a recurring role on ''The Drew Carey Show
''The Drew Carey Show'' is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC from September 13, 1995 to September 8, 2004. Set in Cleveland, Ohio, the series revolved around the retail office and home life of "everyman" Drew Carey, a fictionali ...
'' as Mrs. Louder. She made many guest appearances on various television series, including ''Ben Casey
''Ben Casey'' is an American medical drama series that aired on ABC from 1961 to 1966. The show was known for its opening titles, which consisted of a hand drawing the symbols "♂, ♀, ✳, †, ∞" on a chalkboard, as cast member Sam Jaff ...
'', '' The Untouchables'', ''Mannix
''Mannix'' is an American detective television series that ran from 1967 to 1975 on CBS. It was created by Richard Levinson and William Link, and developed by executive producer Bruce Geller. The title character, Joe Mannix, is a private in ...
'', ''Hart to Hart
''Hart to Hart'' is an American mystery television series that premiered on August 25, 1979, on ABC. The show stars Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers as Jonathan and Jennifer Hart, respectively, a wealthy couple who lead a glamorous jetset li ...
'', ''The Twilight Zone
''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology series, anthology television program, television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dysto ...
'', two episodes of '' The Fugitive'', ''The Invaders
''The Invaders'' is an American science-fiction television series created by Larry Cohen that aired on ABC for two seasons, from 1967 to 1968. Roy Thinnes stars as David Vincent, who after stumbling across evidence of an in-progress invas ...
'', the first-season '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' episode "Haven
Haven or The Haven may refer to:
* Harbor or haven, a sheltered body of water where ships can be docked
Arts and entertainment
Fictional characters
* Haven (Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter), from the novel series
* Haven (comics), from the ''X-Men ...
", and in the ''Columbo
''Columbo'' () is an American crime drama television series starring Peter Falk as Lieutenant Columbo, a homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. After two pilot episodes in 1968 and 1971, the show originally aired on NBC f ...
'' television movie, ''Murder, Smoke and Shadows''. In 1965, she played co-murderer Beth Fuller in the '' Perry Mason'' episode " The Case of the Fatal Fortune".
She appeared on two episodes of ''The Golden Girls
''The Golden Girls'' is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris that aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning seven seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Bea Arthur, Betty W ...
'': first as the mean-spirited and nasty Frieda Claxton, who was told to drop dead by Rose Nylund, after which she did. She also portrayed Philomena, a friend of Sophia Petrillo
Sophia Petrillo is a character from the sitcom television series ''The Golden Girls'' and its spin-offs ''The Golden Palace and'' ''Empty Nest.'' She also appeared in episodes of the series ''Blossom'' and ''Nurses''. Her character was played by ...
's from Sicily, who claimed that Dorothy was really her daughter and not Sophia's. One month after her appearance on ''The Golden Girls'', she appeared as Valerie's mean chain-smoking Aunt Josephine on '' The Hogan Family''. She also briefly appeared as a cranky woman in the ''Curb Your Enthusiasm
''Curb Your Enthusiasm'' is an American television sitcom produced and broadcast by HBO since October 15, 2000, and created by Larry David, who stars as a semi-fictionalized version of himself. It follows David's life as a semi-retired televis ...
'' episode " Porno Gil".
Martin's Broadway credits include ''The Eccentricities of a Nightingale'' (1976), ''Summer Brave'' (1975), ''Come Live With Me'' (1967), ''Under the Yum-Yum Tree'' (1960), ''Henry IV, Part I'' (1960), ''Lysistrata'' (1959), ''The Great God Brown'' (1959), ''J.B.'' (1958), ''Makropoulos Secret'' (1957), ''The Constant Wife'' (1951), and ''A Story for a Sunday Evening'' (1950).
Personal life
Her first husband was musical composer Robert Emmett Dolan
Robert Emmett Dolan (August 3, 1908 - September 26, 1972) was a Broadway conductor, composer, and arranger beginning in the 1920s. He moved on to radio in the 1930s and then went to Hollywood in the early 1940s as a musical director for Paramo ...
, whom she married on March 17, 1948; they had one son, Casey Martin Dolan. Her second husband, Harry Gesner, is the father of her younger son, actor Zen Gesner.
Death
Martin died March 4, 2010, at her Malibu home, aged 82. She suffered from emphysema
Emphysema, or pulmonary emphysema, is a lower respiratory tract disease, characterised by air-filled spaces ( pneumatoses) in the lungs, that can vary in size and may be very large. The spaces are caused by the breakdown of the walls of the a ...
.
Filmography
Film
Television
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Nan
1927 births
2010 deaths
Actresses from Illinois
Actresses from Greater Los Angeles
American film actresses
American soap opera actresses
American stage actresses
American television actresses
Deaths from emphysema
People from Decatur, Illinois
21st-century American women