The Millstone Times October 2021

Interesting People throughout History Martha Raye,“Big Mouth” B Pam Teel

Martha Raye was a well-known actress, comedian, impressionist, and vocalist. She was the star of film, television, and stage, and was also one of the bravest performers to have traveled with the USO overseas to help entertain the troops in three different wars. With the outbreak of World War II, she took a break from filmmaking to focus on entertaining servicemen and wom- en 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." Her support of the military began in 1942 with a request to travel to England to entertain the troops. She kept up her morale-boosting tours throughout the Korean War, and had the troops in stitches during Vietnam. Though her Marine Corps and Army ranks, and membership in the Green Berets, were all honorary, she sometimes pulled rank so she could help out with the wounded soldiers. She was a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve Nurse Corps, though never for- merly trained as a registered nurse. She did, however, receive on-the-job training as a Special Forces medic, and at times, she helped out as a surgeon. She spent as much time tending to the wounded as she did entertaining them. Raye also got a flesh wound while visiting the troops in Vietnam. She had it bandaged up and went on with her shows.

Though the performer loved the boys as much as they loved her, she had a special bond with the Special Forces. “Mag- gie … helped everybody she could in Vietnam,” Tom Squier, a retired green beret veteran and a friend of Raye’s stated. “She told jokes and played cards with us, treated our wounds … She was one of us.” Another Vietnam veteran remembers seeing her in 1967 when she brought the whole production of Hello Dolly with her to perform before the troops. Other entertainers went to the big air bases and Navy bases, but they wouldn't go up the rivers and out into the jungle, where she went.'' “How many entertainers in this world would go to a country called Vietnam, where a war was going on, for nine straight years, four months a year, and spend three of those months out with isolated Special Forces detachments in camps all over the country?'' stated Jimmy Dean, executive secretary of the Special Forces Association in Fayetteville. Known as "The Big Mouth" because her mouth seemed too large for her face, 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. Both of her parents were vaudeville performers. She had Irish, German, and English ancestry. Raye made her acting debut, along with her brother Bud, at the age of 3, as they 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. She continued acting into the late 1980s, dividing her time between movies, TV guest spots, and occasional stage appearances. She passed away on Octo- ber 19, 1994 after a long battle from pneumonia. Raye was 78. She requested, several years before, to be buried at Fort Bragg, the home of the Green Berets. The Special Forces Association asked military brass to grant her wish, and they did. Her exemplary service to the Army and the Green Berets earned her a funeral with full military honors.'' Normally, only active duty and retired Army personnel are buried on post. But the Department of Defense granted an exception for Raye. Martha Rayes life was not all smooth sailing. She married seven times, had bouts of depression, and even attempted suicide once after her fifth marriage ended. . She had so little formal schooling that her scripts had to be read to her. She had one daughter named Melodye. Raye had a falling out with her daughter and left her estate to her 7th husband, whom she was with for only a month before her death. She also left money to Peta. She was a big animal advocate. Raye was so beloved by members of the Army Special Forces that President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1966 made her an honorary lieutenant colonel in the Special Forces. Raye already was a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve Nurse Corps. Raye receivedThe Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 1969 for her work with charities and entertaining U.S. troops; her estate gave it to the Friars Club in 1997, where she was its first female honorary member. She also received the Women's International Center (WIC) Living Legacy Award in 1988 She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her support of the Army in 1993 by President Bill Clinton. Raye has two stars on the Hollywood walk of Fame, one for her work in movies, and one for her work in television. Raye was a Spokesperson for Polident denture cleanser in the 1970s and 1980s. Raye's career was highlighted in "The Slapstick Queens" by James Robert Parish, published by A. S. Barnes in 1973. Martha Raye was one of the great humanitarians of her time, risking her life not only entertaining the troops, but out there on the front lines tending to their wounds. Martha was truly an unsung Hero. Thank you for your service!

8 The Millstone Times

October 2021