Biography
Martha Raye (born Margy Reed) was an American comic actress and singer. Born in Butte, Montana, she began performing in her family's vaudeville act at the age of three. She made her feature film debut in Rhythm on the Range (1936) and appeared in numerous Paramount comedies during the late 1930s and early 1940s, including Hellzapoppin' (1941).
Raye played Annabella Bonheur in Charlie Chaplin's Monsieur Verdoux (1947). She performed extensively for US troops through the USO during the Second World War, the Korean War and the Vietnam War, receiving the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 1969. Later credits include guest roles in television series such as The Love Boat and Murder, She Wrote, and she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1993.
