Tony Martin, 1913-2012

Tony Martin in Ziegfeld Girl (1941)

Tony Martin, who sang in a bunch of Hollywood musicals in the late 1930s and early 1940s, died at the end of last week aged 98. I don't think the announcement of his death hit the news until yesterday evening, which is why I didn't see it until now. Martin's best remembered work might be singing the song "You Stepped Out of a Dream" in the 1941 MGM musical Ziegfeld Girl, in which he sings to several of MGM's beauties of the day, most notably Lana Turner, and a staircase. I believe there's a "Word of Mouth" piece that shows up on TCM from time to time in which Tony Martin talks about being selected for The Ziegfeld Girl and doing that particular number.

Martin had a much longer career as a singer than he did as an actor, continuing to perform into his 90s. Martin was also well-known for his 60-year marriage to actress/dancer Cyd Charisse, who died back in 2008.