Nan Martin

Nan Martin ( born July 15, 1927 in Decatur, Illinois, USA, † March 4, 2010 in Malibu, California ) was an American film, television and theater actress.

Biography

Theater

Nan Martin studied some time at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA ), where she also appeared in the local theater group in the play " The Gentle People". Subsequently, she worked as a model for fashion designer Adrian. Your actual acting career began in 1950 in a supporting role in the short running play " A Story for a Sunday Evening" and received first major attention on Broadway with her appearances 1958-1959 in the drama " JB " by Archibald MacLeish, directed by Elia Kazan for which she received a Tony Award nomination. In the following theater season she appeared 1960-1961 in the play " Under the Yum - Yum Tree " by Lawrence Roman. In the early 1960s, she was also one of the leading actresses in the so-called "Shakespeare in the Park" productions of Joseph Papp in New York Cities Central Park. After that, she worked for many decades in stage productions in theaters of Southern California. In 1976, she again had success on Broadway in the play "The Eccentricities of a Nightingale " by Tennessee Williams

In 1986 she again played mother roles in both " Buried Child " ( "Buried Child" ) by Sam Shepard with the South Coast Repertory (SCR ) Theatre Group in Costa Mesa and at the same time at the Theatre Center in Los Angeles in "All My Sons " by Arthur Miller.

One of her other roles in the SCR theater group was the role of Miss Helen in the three- man play " The Road to Mecca " of South African playwright Athol Fugard 1989. For the same representation on the side of Fugard as a preacher at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington DC she received the Helen Hayes Award. For her starring role in " Odd Jobs " in the production of SCR theater group in 1992 also received a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award.

Film and Television

Later, she began a career as an actress in films such as " Toys in the Attic " (1963, starring Dean Martin and Geraldine Page ) and " For Love of Ivy " (1968, starring Sidney Poitier and Abbey Lincoln).

In the film comedy " To hell with the innocence " ( "Goodbye, Columbus " ) by Philip Roth she played in 1969 on the side of Jack Klugman as Mrs. Ben Patimkin the unflattering, snobbish, nouveau riche mother of Ali MacGraw, the non- ambitious despises the new boyfriend of her daughter, who is represented by Richard Benjamin.

This representation also minted its commitment to maternal roles in more than two dozen films, television movies and television series such as the dying mother of the lawyer Douglas Brackman ( Alan Rachins ) in "LA Law - Star lawyers, tricks, processes " in 1986 and the devilish mother of Freddy Krueger, Amanda Krueger in " Nightmare III - Freddy Krueger lives " in 1987.

Nan Martin had in addition also appeared in the television series " The Untouchables " ( "The Untouchables "), " Twilight Zone", " New York Cops - NYPD Blue " and " CSI: Crime Scene Investigation ". In the " Drew Carey Show" she played between 1995 and 2000 Mrs. Louder in a supporting role.

Your last film role was in 2001 in " Shallow Hal " alongside Gwyneth Paltrow and Jack Black.

Nan Martin was married in first marriage with the film composer Robert E. Dolan. After the divorce from that she was married to the architect Harry Gesner. From this marriage came out of the film and television actor Zen Gesner.