Editing Martha Raye (section)

==Career==
As a teenager in the early 1930s, Raye began her career as a vocalist with the Paul Ash and [[Boris Morros]] orchestras. She made her first film appearance in a band short titled ''A Nite in the Nite Club'' (1934). In 1936, she was signed for comic roles by [[Paramount Pictures]]; her first feature film was ''[[Rhythm on the Range]]'' with [[Bing Crosby]]. She made her [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] debut in the [[Harry Akst]] musical ''[[Calling All Stars (1934 musical)|Calling All Stars]]'' in 1934, and later returned to Broadway in starring roles in [[E. Y. Harburg|Yip Harburg]]'s ''[[Hold On to Your Hats]]'' (1941), [[Jerry Herman]]'s ''[[Hello, Dolly! (musical)|Hello, Dolly!]]'' (1967), and [[Vincent Youmans]]'s ''[[No, No, Nanette]]'' (1972).

From 1936 to 1939, she was a featured cast member in 39 episodes of [[Al Jolson]]'s weekly CBS radio show, ''The Lifebuoy Program'', also called ''Cafe Trocadero.'' In addition to comedy, Raye sang both solos and duets with Jolson. Over the next quarter century, she would appear in films with many of the leading comics of her day, including [[Joe E. Brown]], [[Bob Hope]], [[W.C. Fields]], [[Abbott and Costello]], [[Charlie Chaplin]] and [[Jimmy Durante]]. She joined the [[United Service Organizations|USO]] in 1942, soon after the US entered World War II.<ref name="rayeMT">{{cite web|url=https://www.uso.org/stories/1804-martha-raye-healing-through-humor|title=Martha Raye: Healing Through Humor|last=Quigley|first=Samantha|date=April 26, 2013|publisher=United Service Organizations|work=USO.org|access-date=October 26, 2016}}</ref><ref name="SI"/>

She was known for the size of her mouth, which was large in proportion to her face, earning her the nickname "The Big Mouth". She later referred to this in a series of television commercials for [[Polident]] denture cleaner in the 1980s: "So take it from The Big Mouth: new Polident Green gets tough stains clean!" Her large mouth would relegate her motion picture work to supporting comic parts, and was often made up so it appeared even larger. In the [[Disney]] cartoon ''[[Mother Goose Goes Hollywood]]'', she is caricatured while dancing with [[Joe E. Brown]], another actor known for a big mouth. In the [[Warner Bros.]] cartoon ''[[The Woods Are Full of Cuckoos]]'' (1937), she was caricatured as a jazzy scat-singing donkey named 'Moutha Bray'.<ref>{{cite book|last=Pittrone|first=Jane Maddern|page=216|title=Take It from the Big Mouth: The Life of Martha Raye|publisher=University of Kentucky Press|year=1999}}</ref>

In 1969, she was awarded the [[Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award]] in the form of an Oscar at the [[41st Academy Awards]]. She was the first woman to receive this award.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Martha Raye receives the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award: 1969 Oscars |url=https://www.oscars.org/videos-photos/41st-oscars-highlights?fid=14431 |website=[[Oscars.org]]}}</ref> After her death, the statuette was displayed for many years in a specially constructed lighted niche at the Friars Club in Beverly Hills. On November 2, 1993, she was awarded the [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]] by President [[Bill Clinton]] for her service to her country.<ref name=rayeMT /><ref name="SI"/> The citation reads:

{{blockquote|A talented performer whose career spans the better part of a century, Martha Raye has delighted audiences and uplifted spirits around the globe. She brought her tremendous comedic and musical skills to her work in film, stage, and television, helping to shape American entertainment. The great courage, kindness, and patriotism she showed in her many tours during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War earned her the nickname Colonel Maggie. The American people honor Martha Raye, a woman who has tirelessly used her gifts to benefit the lives of her fellow Americans.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.war-veterans.org/Maggie.htm|title=Col Martha Maggie Raye|website=War-veterans.org}}</ref>}}

===Television career===
She was a television star very early in its history. She starred in the short-lived (28 episodes) ''The Martha Raye Show'' (1954–1956), opposite retired [[middleweight]] boxer [[Rocky Graziano]], who played her boyfriend.  The writer and producer was future ''[[The Phil Silvers Show]]'' creator [[Nat Hiken]].

Some of the guest stars on the show were [[Zsa Zsa Gabor]], [[Cesar Romero]], and Broadway dancer [[Wayne Lamb]]. She also appeared on other TV shows in the 1950s, such as ''[[What's My Line?]]''

Following the demise of her TV variety show, the breakup of her fifth marriage, and a series of other personal and health problems, she attempted suicide by overdosing on sleeping pills on August 14, 1956. Well-wishers gave her a [[St. Christopher]]'s medal, a [[Genesius of Rome|St. Genesius]] medal, and a [[Star of David]]. After her recovery, she wore these amulets faithfully, but she was neither Catholic nor Jewish. At the conclusion of each episode of her TV shows, she would thank the nuns at the Sisters of St. Francis Hospital in Miami, Florida, where she had recovered. She always said "Goodnight, Sisters" as a sign of appreciation and gratitude.

Later in her career, she made television commercials for [[Polident]] denture cleanser, principally during the 1970s and 1980s.

===Later career===
In 1970, she portrayed Boss Witch, the "Queen of all Witchdom", in the feature film ''[[Pufnstuf (film)|Pufnstuf]]'' for [[Sid and Marty Krofft]]. This role led to her being cast as villainess Benita Bizarre in ''[[The Bugaloos]]'' (1970), which the Kroffts produced the same year.

She often appeared as a guest on other programs, particularly those which often featured older performers as guest stars, such as ''[[The Love Boat]]'', and on variety programs, including the short-lived ''[[The Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Show]]''. She appeared from the third to the ninth seasons as Carrie Sharples, Mel's mother on ''[[Alice (American TV series)|Alice]]'', making two or three appearances per season. She made guest appearances or did cameos in series such as ''[[Murder, She Wrote]]'', ''[[The Andy Williams Show]]'', and ''[[McMillan & Wife]]''. She appeared again as Agatha for the six-episode run of the retooled ''McMillan'', taking over for [[Nancy Walker]], who had left the series. Her last film appearance was as an airline passenger in the disaster film ''[[The Concorde... Airport '79]]'' (1979).

{{Anchor|Mark Harris}}