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Martha Vickers(1925-1971)

  • Actress
  • Soundtrack
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Martha Vickers
Official Trailer
Play trailer1:59
Murto yössä (1957)
5 Videos
99+ Photos
Lovely, auburn-haired Martha Vickers (nee Martha MacVicar) was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on May 28, 1925, the daughter of James S. and Frances MacVicar. After attending schools in various states - Florida, Texas and California - she and her family settled on the West Coast. A raving beauty, she broke into the entertainment field as a model for still photographer William Mortenson. This attracted the interest of David O. Selznick and she signed a starlet contract with him, but nothing came of it. Universal took over her contract where she was groomed in inauspicious bit parts such as her corpse/victim in Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943), and in such low-level entries as Captive Wild Woman (1943) and The Mummy's Ghost (1944). In between assignments, Martha earned WWII pin-up exposure in such magazines as "Yank: The Army Weekly."

RKO gave her some higher-level billing chances with Marine Raiders (1944) and Haukka Meksikossa (1944), but it was Warner Bros. that put her officially on the map. The enticing Martha earned celebrity status and a new stage moniker when she generated some real heat as Lauren Bacall's wild, thumb-sucking sister Carmen in the film noir classic Syvä uni (1946), which also starred Humphrey Bogart, playing the teenage nymphet "bad girl" for all it was worth. This major success quickly led to other "B" roles and not necessarily all "bad girl" parts. Highly appealing as the second femme lead in the pleasant musical Aika, paikka ja tyttö (1946), Martha looked radiant but was overlooked for bigger things. She continued on and disrupted the proceedings again in the atmospheric film noir Mies jota rakastan (1946) with Ida Lupino and finally earned leading lady status in Miljonääri huvittelee (1947) opposite Dane Clark.

Very much a part of the Hollywood dating scene, which included actor James Stewart and director Frederick De Cordova, Martha finally married producer A.C. Lyles in March of 1948, but the marriage was over within a couple of months. Post-war films included Love and Learn (1947), another film noir piece Häikäilemätön (1948), and the melodrama Vihan lapsi (1949), which was Audie Murphy's first starring role. She ended the decade top-lining the "Poverty-Row" drama Alimony (1949). Surprisingly, Martha's high-profiled second marriage in 1949 to film star Mickey Rooney (she was his third wife) did not advance her career. In fact, Martha was not seen in films at all during this period. Despite the couple having a son, Teddy Rooney, the next year (1950), Rooney had already hit the nadir of his career and had turned excessively to the bottle. Her marriage to Rooney would be short-lived as well.

Martha married a third time in 1954 to Chilean polo player-turned-actor Manuel Rojas, best known for his co-starring role in Kunniavelka (1955), and she finally returned to the screen in The Big Bluff (1955) co-starring with John Bromfield. The momentum, however, was gone and the movie did nothing to generate new interest. She did move, however, into TV and performed effectively in a number of dramatic showcases. She and Rojas had two children, Tina and Tessa. In 1960, Martha did her last filming with the western 4 pistoolin laki (1960) and after guesting on a couple of episodes of the TV series "The Rebel," ended her career. Not much was heard from this sultry beauty until her death from cancer in 1971 at age 46 in Hollywood, California.
BornMay 28, 1925
DiedNovember 2, 1971(46)
BornMay 28, 1925
DiedNovember 2, 1971(46)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank

Photos136

Tom Conway and Martha Vickers in Haukka Meksikossa (1944)
Ida Lupino and Martha Vickers in Mies jota rakastan (1946)
Ida Lupino and Martha Vickers in Mies jota rakastan (1946)
Barbara Brown, Craig Stevens, Otto Kruger, and Martha Vickers in Love and Learn (1947)
Jack Carson, Robert Hutton, Janis Paige, and Martha Vickers in Love and Learn (1947)
Robert Hutton and Martha Vickers in Love and Learn (1947)
Jack Carson, Janis Paige, and Martha Vickers in Love and Learn (1947)
Don McGuire and Martha Vickers in Love and Learn (1947)
Robert Hutton and Martha Vickers in Love and Learn (1947)
Robert Hutton and Martha Vickers in Love and Learn (1947)
Otto Kruger and Martha Vickers in Love and Learn (1947)
Robert Hutton and Martha Vickers in Love and Learn (1947)

Known for:

Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart in Syvä uni (1946)
Syvä uni
7.9
  • Carmen Sternwood
  • 1946
John Beal, Hillary Brooke, and Martha Vickers in Alimony (1949)
Alimony
5.3
  • Kitty Travers - aka Kate Klinger
  • 1949
Jayne Mansfield in Murto yössä (1957)
Murto yössä
6.6
  • Della
  • 1957
Tom Conway, Martha Vickers, and Joseph Vitale in Haukka Meksikossa (1944)
Haukka Meksikossa
6.1
  • Barbara Wade(as Martha MacVicar)
  • 1944

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Actress

  • Nick Adams in The Rebel (1959)
    The Rebel
    7.8
    TV Series
    • Agnes Boley
    • Bess Weed
    • 1960
  • Tähtireportteri (1960)
    Tähtireportteri
    8.0
    TV Series
    • Vicki Stanton
    • 1960
  • 4 pistoolin laki (1960)
    4 pistoolin laki
    6.1
    • Mary Hoag
    • 1960
  • Raymond Burr in Perry Mason yllättää (1957)
    Perry Mason yllättää
    8.3
    TV Series
    • Sheila Hayes
    • 1959
  • Rod Cameron in State Trooper (1956)
    State Trooper
    7.9
    TV Series
    • Constance Trayles
    • 1958
  • "Eighty Yard Run, The" (Playhouse 90) Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. 1957 CBS
    Playhouse 90
    8.4
    TV Series
    • 1957
  • Jayne Mansfield in Murto yössä (1957)
    Murto yössä
    6.6
    • Della
    • 1957
  • Frank McHugh and Marvin Miller in The Millionaire (1955)
    The Millionaire
    7.8
    TV Series
    • Ruth Murdock
    • 1956
  • The Big Bluff (1955)
    The Big Bluff
    5.7
    • Valerie Bancroft
    • 1955
  • Fireside Theatre (1949)
    Fireside Theatre
    7.6
    TV Series
    • Julie
    • Ellen Weston
    • 1955
  • The Whistler (1954)
    The Whistler
    7.9
    TV Series
    • Cora
    • Louise Collins
    • 1954–1955
  • The Indiscreet Mrs. Jarvis (1955)
    The Indiscreet Mrs. Jarvis
    8.2
    TV Short
    • 1955
  • The Ford Television Theatre (1952)
    The Ford Television Theatre
    7.4
    TV Series
    • Nancy
    • 1954
  • Ronald Reagan in Se parhaiten nauraa... (1953)
    Se parhaiten nauraa...
    6.9
    TV Series
    • Helen
    • Louise
    • 1953–1954
  • The Unexpected
    7.8
    TV Series
    • 1952

Soundtrack

  • John Beal, Hillary Brooke, and Martha Vickers in Alimony (1949)
    Alimony
    5.3
    • performer: "That's How Dreams Are Made", "You Are All the World to Me"
    • 1949
  • Jack Carson, Carmen Cavallaro, Dennis Morgan, Janis Paige, S.Z. Sakall, and Martha Vickers in Aika, paikka ja tyttö (1946)
    Aika, paikka ja tyttö
    5.9
    • performer: "Through a Thousand Dreams", "A Gal in Calico", "A Rainy Night in Rio" ("Oh, But I Do")
    • 1946

Videos5

Official Trailer
Trailer 2:15
Official Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 2:06
Official Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 2:23
Official Trailer
The Burglar
Trailer 1:59
The Burglar
The Big Sleep
Trailer 1:49
The Big Sleep

Personal details

Edit
  • Alternative name
    • Martha MacVicar
  • Height
    • 1.61 m
  • Born
    • May 28, 1925
    • Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
  • Died
    • November 2, 1971
    • Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA(esophageal cancer)
  • Spouses
      Manuel RojasOctober 1, 1954 - May 5, 1965 (divorced, 2 children)
  • Children
      Teddy Rooney
  • Other works
    In 1960, she co-starred with her son Teddy Rooney in a failed sitcom pilot called, "Man in the House".
  • Publicity listings
    • 5 Pictorials

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Enjoyed bowling on the side and taught daughter Tessa. Both daughters live in the Southern California area.

FAQ11

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