Tony Martin (1913-2012)

I promised myself that I would write a non-obituary entry this week, but we just found out that singer Tony Martin died on Friday evening! Mr. Martin is one of our favorites, and he is one of the five singers who Sarah has classified as having a 'Disney Prince'-type voice. He died at his home in Los Angeles on Friday night at 98 years old.

In 1948, Mr. Martin married dancer Cyd Charisse. They remained devoted to each other, even co-writing their autobiography, The Two of Us. She passed away in 2008, after sixty years of marriage. Their son, Tony Jr., died in 2011. Mr. Martin is survived by his step-son, Nicky Charisse.

He appeared in many films during the 1930s-50s, including The Big Store with the Marx Bros., Easy To Love with Esther Williams, Deep In My Heart, and Till The Clouds Roll By. His voice was clear and smooth, with a very gentle quality. This is the passing of an era.

There is one time in a film where Tony and Cyd appeared together. At the very end of Easy To Love, he is walking along a lane when a girl drops her hat in front of him. That girl is Mrs. Tony Martin. :o)

To read his full obituary at the San Francisco Chronicle, click here.

Here is his section of the finale from the 1946 film, Till the Clouds Roll By. This is one of his best musical moments. He is singing the fabulous Jerome Kern song, "All the Things You Are".