- Born
- Died
- Birth nameAlvin Morris
- Height5′ 11″ (1.80 m)
- Born Alvin Morris, the son of immigrants from Poland, Tony Martin received a soprano saxophone on his tenth birthday. In his grammar school glee club, he became an instrumentalist and soprano pop singer. When in high school, he then formed his first band called "The Red Peppers", eventually joining a local orchestra leader, Tom Gerun, as a reed instrument specialist, sitting along with a future band leader, Woody Herman.
In the mid-1930s, Martin left Gerun to go to Hollywood, where he would go under his stage name, "Tony Martin". in 1937, Martin married Alice Faye. After their divorce, he married Cyd Charisse in 1948 - a marriage which lasted sixty years.
Martin starred in hit movies such as Follow the Fleet (1936), The Farmer in the Dell (1936), Pigskin Parade (1936), The Holy Terror (1937), Ali Baba Goes to Town (1937), The Big Store (1941), Till the Clouds Roll By (1946), Casbah (1948), Clash by Night (1952), where he is heard on the soundtrack singing "I Hear A Rhapsody", and Hit the Deck (1955). His numerous signature standard hits include "Kiss Of Fire", "I Get Ideas", "Some Day", "Fools Rush In" and "There's No Tomorrow", for which he is possibly best remembered. From 1954-56, he hosted a weekly 15 minute variety series on NBC-TV. Over the next 40 years, he was a guest on the TV variety series of Jack Benny, Dinah Shore, Milton Berle, Merv Griffin, Dean Martin, Nat 'King' Cole, David Frost, Barbara McNair, Johnny Carson and Ed Sullivan. He has had many TV acting roles, as well.- IMDb Mini Biography By: rocknrollunderdawg/efffee@aol.com
- SpousesCyd Charisse(May 15, 1948 - June 17, 2008) (her death, 1 child)Alice Faye(September 4, 1937 - March 26, 1941) (divorced)
- Children
- ParentsEdward Clarence MorrisHattie Smith
- One son with his second wife, Cyd Charisse: Tony Martin Jr. He adopted Charisse's son Nicholas from her first marriage.
- Tony was at a Friar's Club Roast for Lucille Ball/Desi Arnaz in November, 1958, when Harry Einstein, having just completed his comedy routine and returning to his seat, collapsed into Milton Berle's lap. Berle, hoping to divert the audience from Harry's distress, urged Tony to sing something. His unfortunate song choice was "There's No Tomorrow." Parke died of a heart attack.
- Classic pop singer and occasional actor (Hit the Deck (1955), Here Come the Girls (1953), Casbah (1948)) whose career peaked in the 1950s. His biggest hit was "There's No Tomorrow" (RCA Victor, 1950), which was adapted from the traditional Neapolitan ballad "O Solo Mio" (Elvis Presley later had one of the biggest hits of his career by adapting the same song as "It's Now or Never"). Happily married for sixty years to actress/dancer Cyd Charisse.
- His parents, Edward and Hattie Morris, were Jewish immigrants from Poland who divorced when he was young, and he considered his stepfather, tailor Myer Myers, his father.
- His parents wanted him to be a lawyer. He briefly attended St. Mary's, a Christian Brothers college, CA. He says he left college in 1931 when "one of the brothers told me I was flunking everything and should stick to music.".
- The war and all my service-connected problems did me one good turn. When I came out I was pretty humble. I had been chopped down to size.
- [on Cyd Charisse] She stepped out of a dream.
- [on being Alice Faye's husband] To many people around town, I was Mr. Alice Faye.
- I think I sound like a fella who's always making a plea through his music. Sort of a plea of sincerity.
- Casbah (1948) - $50,000
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