Known as "The Big Mouth" and considered the female equivalent to Bob
Hope, Martha Raye was an American icon in her own right.
She was born Margy Reed in Butte, Montana, to Maybelle Hazel (Hooper) and Peter Reed, Jr., vaudeville performers. She had Irish, German, and English ancestry. Raye made her acting debut before the age
of 10 as she toured the nation with her parents variety show "Reed and
Hopper". In her late teens she was hired by band-leader Paul Ash as his
lead vocalist and was spotted by a Hollywood talent scout during a New
York City concert in 1934. She soon relocated to Hollywood were she
began making a name for herself appearing in a string of successful
screwball comedies alongside the likes of
Bing Crosby,
Jimmy Durante,
W.C. Fields, and
Joe E. Brown.
With the outbreak of World War II she took a break from film making to
focus on entertaining servicemen and women traveling with the USO on
many tour stops. She soon became even more famous for her dedication to
America, its values, and its soldiers which helped earn her the beloved
nickname "Colonel Maggie".
She continued acting into the late 1980s dividing her time between
movies, TV guest spots, and occasional stage appearances. She passed
away on October 19, 1994 after a long battle from pneumonia and was
buried with full military honors at the Fort Bragg Main Post Cemetery,
Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Martha "Colonel Maggie" Raye was 78 years
old.
Four Jills in a Jeep(1944)
Alice in Wonderland(1985)as The Duchess
Murder, She Wrote(1984)as Sadie Winthrope
Alice(1976)as Carrie Sharples
Pippin: His Life and Times(1982)as Berthe
The Love Boat(1977)as Irene Austin, Zelda
That's Hollywood(1976)
The Gossip Columnist(1980)
The Howard Stern Show(1990)as Self
Carole Landis: Hollywood's Glamorous Patriot(2025)as Self
Sid & Judy(2019)as Self
American Masters(1985)as Self
And the Oscar Goes to...(2014)as Self
