---
name: "Martin Spellman"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/martin-spellman"
roles: []
born: "1 October 1925"
died: "6 May 2020"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
average_over: 1
updated: "2026-09-19T23:46:30.441188+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Martin Spellman

Actor. Born 1 October 1925 in Des Moines, Iowa, USA. Died 6 May 2020.

## Details

- **Born:** 1 October 1925, Des Moines, Iowa, USA
- **Died:** 6 May 2020
- **Also known as:** Martin Joseph Spellman Jr.
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Spellman, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q18211517, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0817692/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/932305

## Biography

Martin Spellman was an American child actor. Born in Des Moines, Iowa, his family moved to California, where as a boy he worked as a newsboy at MGM Studios. He made his screen debut with an uncredited role in the 1938 film *Test Pilot*, arranged as a Christmas gift by Clark Gable and Carole Lombard.

Spellman played Skinny in *Boys Town* (1938), alongside Spencer Tracy and Mickey Rooney. His other credits include *Beau Geste* (1939) as Digby Geste as a child, *Streets of New York* (1939) with Jackie Cooper, and *Son of the Navy* (1940). He appeared in around a dozen films between 1938 and 1941. After his acting career, he served in the United States Army Air Corps during the Second World War.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, catalog.afi.com.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *Boys Town* (1938), Fi1m 65, as Skinny — [page](https://film.one/film/boys-town.md)

## Complete filmography (12)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Hold That Woman!* (1940), as Mike Mulvaney
- *Son of the Navy* (1940), as Tommy
- *Beau Geste* (1939), as Digby Geste (as a Child)
- *Law of the Wolf* (1939), as Johnny
- *Streets of New York* (1939), as William McKinley 'Gimpy' Smith
- *Let Us Live* (1939), as Jimmy Dugan
- *Fangs of the Wild* (1939), as Buddy
- *I Am a Criminal* (1938), as Bobby
- *Santa Fe Stampede* (1938), as Billy Carson
- *Sharpshooters* (1938), as Prince Michael Martin
- *Gang Bullets* (1938), as Young Boy (uncredited)
- *Boys Town* (1938), as Skinny — Fi1m 65, [page](https://film.one/film/boys-town.md)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/martin-spellman