Martha Ellen Scott (September , â€" May , ) was an American actress.
She was featured in major films such as Cecil B. DeMille's The Ten
Commandments (), and William Wyler's Ben-Hur (), playing the mother of
Charlton Heston's character in both films. She originated the role of
Emily Webb in Thornton Wilder's Our Town on Broadway in and later
recreated the role in the film version for which she was nominated
for the Academy Award for Best Actress.Scott was born in Jamesport,
Missouri, the daughter of Letha (née McKinley) and Walter Alva Scott,
an engineer and garage owner. Her mother was a second cousin of U.S.
President William McKinley. The Scott family remained in Jamesport
until Martha was thirteen years old when they moved to Kansas City,
Missouri and eventually to Detroit, Michigan. Scott became interested
in acting in high school, an interest she furthered by attending the
University of Michigan, earning a teaching certificate and a Bachelor
of Arts degree in drama in .Scott received a career boost right out of
college when she appeared with the Globe Theatre Troupe in a series of
Shakespeare productions at the Century of Progress world's fair in
Chicago in . Following that she moved to New York City, where she
found steady work both in stock stage productions and in radio dramas.
In she made her Broadway debut in the original staging of Thornton
Wilder's play Our Town as Emily Webb, the tragic young woman who dies
in childbirth.Two years later Scott reprised the role of Emily in her
film debut when Our Town was made into a movie. Her critically
acclaimed performance earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best
Actress.
She was featured in major films such as Cecil B. DeMille's The Ten
Commandments (), and William Wyler's Ben-Hur (), playing the mother of
Charlton Heston's character in both films. She originated the role of
Emily Webb in Thornton Wilder's Our Town on Broadway in and later
recreated the role in the film version for which she was nominated
for the Academy Award for Best Actress.Scott was born in Jamesport,
Missouri, the daughter of Letha (née McKinley) and Walter Alva Scott,
an engineer and garage owner. Her mother was a second cousin of U.S.
President William McKinley. The Scott family remained in Jamesport
until Martha was thirteen years old when they moved to Kansas City,
Missouri and eventually to Detroit, Michigan. Scott became interested
in acting in high school, an interest she furthered by attending the
University of Michigan, earning a teaching certificate and a Bachelor
of Arts degree in drama in .Scott received a career boost right out of
college when she appeared with the Globe Theatre Troupe in a series of
Shakespeare productions at the Century of Progress world's fair in
Chicago in . Following that she moved to New York City, where she
found steady work both in stock stage productions and in radio dramas.
In she made her Broadway debut in the original staging of Thornton
Wilder's play Our Town as Emily Webb, the tragic young woman who dies
in childbirth.Two years later Scott reprised the role of Emily in her
film debut when Our Town was made into a movie. Her critically
acclaimed performance earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best
Actress.
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