Spoiler : Born in St. Louis, Missouri 7/23/1909; died 3/25/2000 of a heart attack at her home in Monterey, California. Raised in Nashville, Tennessee where she performed in local theater groups and singing with a band she helped start. She attended Fisk University for two years, then moved to Chicago, later New York to build a career in show business. Martin was one of the original members of Harlem's American Negro Theater and one of the first African- American actresses to make her mark on Broadway stage. On screen in The Phenix City Story (1955); Beverly Hills Cop III (1994). Last movie was Something To Sing About (to be released in 2000).

Spoiler : Character actress on television from the late 1960's until 1996. Luzelle Carter on Baby, I'm Back for CBS-TV (1978). Occasional role of Pearl Shay on 227 for NBC-TV (1985-1990). Inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame in 1992.