In Remembrance: Martha Scott

     Martha Scott, best known for originating the role as Emily in the play Our Town and nominated for a best actress Oscar for reprising the role in the 1940 film version, died Wednesday May 28^th, 2003 of natural causes in a hospital in the San Fernando Valley. She was 90.

     Born in Jamesport, Mo., Scott earned a degree in drama from the University of Michigan in 1934. After a brief period doing acting work at Chicago’s Worlds Fair, she moved to New York City where she eventually landed the role of Emily in the original Broadway production of Thornton Wilder's Our Town in 1938. Her work in the film version brought her an Oscar nomination, but she lost to Ginger Rogers for Kitty Foyle.

     Scott appeared in more than 20 films, most remembered playing opposite Charlton Heston in The Ten Commandments (1956) and Ben-Hur (1959) as his mother in each film. Ironically, she would play Heston’s wife in the stage productions "Design for a Stained Glass Window" (1950) and "The Tumbler" (1960).

     Scott's other films include They Dare Not Love (1941) directed by James Whale, The Howards of Virginia (1940) with Cary Grant, and the film noir classic, The Desperate Hours (1955) with Humphrey Bogart. She is also appeared in the film Airport 1975 (1974), when she played alongside Helen Reddy as a nun. She also voiced the character of Mrs. Arable in the 1973 animated feature Charlotte’s Web and its 2003 direct-to-video sequel.

     Her earliest television experience came when she regularly appeared on a show for NBC before The Howdy Doody Show. Scott appeared in a number of television shows including recurring roles on Dallas and The Bionic Woman.

-John Gibbon