Nan Martin (July 15, 1927 – March 4, 2010) was an American actress who starred in movies and on television.
Life and career
Early life
Born in Decatur, Illinois
Decatur ( ) is the largest city and the county seat of Macon County in the U.S. state of Illinois, with a population of 70,522 as of the 2020 Census. The city was founded in 1829 and is situated along the Sangamon River and Lake Decatur in C ...
, and raised in Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...
, she attended Santa Monica High School.
Acting career
Her first film role was '' The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit'' (1956). Her other film roles included ''The Mugger
''The Mugger'' is a 1958 American film noir crime film about a police psychiatrist who is attempting to catch a mysterious mugger that has been attacking women in his city, stealing their purses and slashing their left cheek. The film is a polic ...
'' (1958), '' For Love of Ivy'' (1968), '' Goodbye Columbus'' (1969), '' Doctor Detroit'' (1983), '' All of Me'' (1984), and Chuck Russell
Charles Russell (born May 9, 1958) is an American filmmaker and actor known for his work on several genre films.
Some of Russell's best known films include the slasher fantasy film '' A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors'', the 1988 re ...
's cult film
A cult film or cult movie, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a cult following. Cult films are known for their dedicated, passionate fanbase which forms an elaborate subculture, members of which engage i ...
'' A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors'' (1987) where she played the role of Amanda Krueger, the mother of killer Freddy Krueger.Buck James
''Buck James'' is an American medical drama television series created by Paul F. Edwards that aired on ABC from September 27, 1987 until May 5, 1988.
Premise
Buck James is a middle-aged surgeon at a hospital in Texas who also has a passion for r ...
''soap opera
A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio drama ...
'' Santa Barbara''. She had a recurring role on '' The Drew Carey Show'' as Mrs. Louder. She made many guest appearances on various television series, including '' Ben Casey'', '' The Untouchables'', ''Mannix
''Mannix'' is an American detective television series that ran from 1967 to 1975 on CBS. It was created by Richard Levinson and William Link, and developed by executive producer Bruce Geller. The title character, Joe Mannix, is a private in ...
'', '' Hart to Hart'', ''The Twilight Zone
''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, sup ...
'', two episodes of '' The Fugitive'', '' The Invaders'', the first-season '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' episode " Haven", and in the ''Columbo
''Columbo'' () is an American crime drama television series starring Peter Falk as Lieutenant Columbo, a homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. After two pilot episodes in 1968 and 1971, the show originally aired on NBC fr ...
'' television movie, ''Murder, Smoke and Shadows''. In 1965, she played co-murderer Beth Fuller in the '' Perry Mason'' episode " The Case of the Fatal Fortune".
She appeared on two episodes of ''The Golden Girls
''The Golden Girls'' is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris that aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning seven seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Bea Arthur, Betty Wh ...
'': first as the mean-spirited and nasty Frieda Claxton, who was told to drop dead by Rose Nylund, after which she did. She also portrayed Philomena, a friend of Sophia Petrillo
Sophia Petrillo is a character from the sitcom television series '' The Golden Girls'' and its spin-offs '' The Golden Palace and'' '' Empty Nest.'' She also appeared in episodes of the series ''Blossom'' and '' Nurses''. Her character was playe ...
's from Sicily, who claimed that Dorothy was really her daughter and not Sophia's. One month after her appearance on ''The Golden Girls'', she appeared as Valerie's mean chain-smoking Aunt Josephine on '' The Hogan Family''. She also briefly appeared as a cranky woman in the ''Curb Your Enthusiasm
''Curb Your Enthusiasm'' is an American television sitcom produced and broadcast by HBO since October 15, 2000, and created by Larry David, who stars as a semi-fictionalized version of himself. It follows David's life as a semi-retired televi ...
'' episode " Porno Gil".
Martin's Broadway credits include ''The Eccentricities of a Nightingale'' (1976), ''Summer Brave'' (1975), ''Come Live With Me'' (1967), ''Under the Yum-Yum Tree'' (1960), ''Henry IV, Part I'' (1960), ''Lysistrata'' (1959), ''The Great God Brown'' (1959), ''J.B.'' (1958), ''Makropoulos Secret'' (1957), ''The Constant Wife'' (1951), and ''A Story for a Sunday Evening'' (1950).
Personal life
Her first husband was musical composer Robert Emmett Dolan
Robert Emmett Dolan (August 3, 1908 - September 26, 1972) was a Broadway conductor, composer, and arranger beginning in the 1920s. He moved on to radio in the 1930s and then went to Hollywood in the early 1940s as a musical director for Paramo ...
, whom she married on March 17, 1948; they had one son, Casey Martin Dolan. Her second husband, Harry Gesner
Harry Harmer Gesner (April 28, 1925 – June 10, 2022) was an American architect from California. Gesner principally designed houses in the Los Angeles area, especially along the coast in Malibu.
Following service in the US Army during World ...
, is the father of her younger son, actor Zen Gesner.
Death
Martin died March 4, 2010, at her Malibu home, aged 82. She suffered from emphysema
Emphysema, or pulmonary emphysema, is a lower respiratory tract disease, characterised by air-filled spaces ( pneumatoses) in the lungs, that can vary in size and may be very large. The spaces are caused by the breakdown of the walls of the alv ...
.
Filmography
Film
Television
References
External links
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Nan
1927 births
2010 deaths
Actresses from Illinois
Actresses from Greater Los Angeles
American film actresses
American soap opera actresses
American stage actresses
American television actresses
Deaths from emphysema
People from Decatur, Illinois
21st-century American women