Donna Martell

Donna Martell
Martell in The Lineup
Born (1927-12-24) December 24, 1927 (age 96)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Alma materLos Angeles City College
OccupationActress
Years active1947–1963, 1983
SpouseGene Corso (1953–1996) (his death)
Children3[1]

Donna Kay Martell (born December 24, 1927) is an American former actress who starred in film and television during the Golden Age Era in the 1950s and 1960s.

Early years

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Born on December 24, 1927, in Los Angeles, California, to Louis and Margaret de Maria,[2] Martell was active in athletics in high school and attended Los Angeles City College.[3]

Career

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Martell began her film career in 1947 when she was cast in the Republic Pictures western Apache Rose, starring Roy Rogers and Dale Evans. She continued making appearances throughout the late 1940s, signing a contract with Universal Studios.[4] In 1951, Columbia Pictures signed her to play the female lead opposite Gene Autry in The Hills of Utah.[5]

By the time the 1950s arrived, Martell's career shifted towards television. She portrayed Marie DiPaolo in The Bob Cummings Show[6] and appeared in shows such as Shotgun Slade,[3] Cavalcade of America, The Range Rider, Bat Masterson and Cheyenne.[7]

Martell was also in Project Moonbase (also known as Project Moon Base), a 1953 black-and-white science-fiction film directed by Richard Talmadge. The film is unusual for its time in both attempting to portray space travel in a "realistic" manner, and for depicting a future in which women hold positions of authority and responsibility equal to men; in the script Martell's character, Briteis (pronounced “bright-eyes”), is a colonel who has made the first orbital flight around the Earth four years earlier and outranks her fellow male astronaut, a major. Colonel Briteis' given name is never stated.

Martell's acting career officially ended in 1963, but made a brief comeback in the 1983 TV movie Grace Kelly, playing the part of Mrs. Edie Austin, a friend of the Kelly family who, along with her husband Russell Austin, was instrumental in advancing the real-life relationship between Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier III of Monaco.[8][9] Donna Martell appeared in a television episode of Hopalong Cassidy as a Mexican sister trying to save her wrongfully accused brother.

Personal life

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Martell married professional baseball player[3] Gene Edgar Corso on June 27, 1953.[10] The couple had three children.[11] Corso pre-deceased his wife in 1996.

Awards

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Martell was presented with one of the 2002 Golden Boot Awards for her contributions to western television and cinema.[12]

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes
1947 Apache Rose Rosa Vega
Twilight on the Rio Grande 1st telephone operator Uncredited
Robin Hood of Monterey Lolita
The Lost Moment Pretty Girl Uncredited
Secret Beyond the Door Young Mexican girl Uncredited
1948 The Woman from Tangier Flo-Flo
The Saxon Charm Flower girl Uncredited
Mexican Hayride Girl Uncredited
1949 Illegal Entry Maria
Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff Betty Crandall
1950 I Was a Shoplifter Sales clerk Uncredited
Peggy Contestant
Kim Haikun Uncredited
1951 The Hills of Utah Nola French
Elephant Stampede Lola
1952 Last Train from Bombay Nawob's daughter
The Golden Hawk Emilie Savonez
1953 Project Moonbase Colonel Briteis
Give a Girl a Break Janet Hallson
1954 The Egyptian Lady in waiting Uncredited
1955 Ten Wanted Men Maria Segura
Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing Suchen
Last of the Desperados Felice
1957 Hell on Devil's Island Giselle Renault
House of Numbers Lois Uncredited

Television

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References

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  1. ^ Parla, Paul; Mitchell, Charles P. (2000). Screen Sirens Scream!: Interviews with 20 Actresses from Science Fiction, Horror, Film Noir, and Mystery Movies, 1930s to 1960s. McFarland. ISBN 9780786407019.
  2. ^ "1930 U.S. Census". Familysearch.org. Retrieved May 29, 2016.
  3. ^ a b c "Not Only is Donna Martell Good Actress But She's an Expert at Handling Horses". The Miami Herald. Florida, Miami. June 12, 1960. p. 173. Retrieved May 27, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Interview with Donna Martell". Western Clippings. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
  5. ^ "Donna Martell Wins Autry Lead". Valley Times. California, North Hollywood. April 16, 1951. p. 10. Retrieved May 27, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010 (2nd ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. pp. 630–631. ISBN 978-0-7864-6477-7.
  7. ^ "Donna Martell". Republic Pictures. Archived from the original on December 2, 2013. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
  8. ^ Wilkerson, Tichi; Borie, Marcia (1984). The Hollywood Reporter: The Golden Years. New York City, NY: Coward-McCann. p. 290. ISBN 0698112504.
  9. ^ Taraborrelli, J. Randy (John Randall Anthony) (2003). Once Upon a Time: Behind the Fairy Tale of Princess Grace and Prince Rainier. New York City, NY: Grand Central Publishing. ISBN 0759527903.
  10. ^ "Certificate of Registry of Marriage". Familysearch.org. Retrieved May 29, 2016.
  11. ^ "Gene Corso". Baseball Reference.com. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
  12. ^ "The Golden Boot Awards". b-westerns.com. Archived from the original on May 27, 2020. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
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