Martin Gabel

Martin Gabel
Born	June 19, 1912 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	May 22, 1986 New York City, New York, U.S.

Martin Gabel (June 19, 1912 – May 22, 1986) was an American actor, film director and film producer.

Life and career

Gabel was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Ruth (née Herzog) and Israel Gabel, who was a jeweler.^[1] He married Arlene Francis on May 14, 1946, and they had a son named Peter Gabel,^[2] former president of New College of California.

Gabel's most noted work was as narrator and host of the May 8, 1945 CBS radio broadcast of Norman Corwin's epic dramatic poem On a Note of Triumph, a commemoration of the fall of the Nazi regime in Germany and the end of World War II in Europe. The broadcast was so popular that the CBS, NBC, Blue and Mutual networks broadcast a second live production of the program on May 13. The Columbia Masterworks record label subsequently published an album of the May 13 production. The production became the title focus of the Academy Award-winning short film A Note of Triumph: The Golden Age of Norman Corwin in 2005, the 60th anniversary year of the broadcast.

Gabel won the 1961 Tony Award for Best Supporting or Featured Actor (Dramatic) for Big Fish, Little Fish;^[2] he was also noted for his performances in the Broadway productions of Baker Street, in which he played Professor Moriarty; The Rivalry, in which he played Stephen A. Douglas; and several Mercury Theatre productions directed by Orson Welles.

Gabel made few films over his career, usually in small roles. A notable large supporting part was as crime boss Tomas Rienzi in Richard Brooks's Deadline U.S.A. in 1952, starring Humphrey Bogart. Gabel played another mob figure in a Frank Sinatra private-detective film, Lady in Cement, and co-starred again with Sinatra in Contract on Cherry Street and The First Deadly Sin. He played a psychiatrist in the Billy Wilder remake of The Front Page with Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon.

He was also a frequent guest panelist on the popular CBS Sunday night game show What's My Line?, on which his wife Arlene Francis regularly appeared.

He died in New York City from a heart attack.^[2]

Filmography

• The First Deadly Sin (1980) ... as Christopher Langley
• Contract on Cherry Street (1977) ... as Baruch 'Bob' Waldman, Crime Boss
• The Front Page (1974) ... as Dr. Max J. Eggelhofer
• Smile, Jenny, You're Dead (1974) ... as Meade De Ruyter
• Harvey (1972) ... as Judge Omar Gaffney
• There Was a Crooked Man... (1970) .... as Warden LeGoff
• Lady in Cement (1968) ... as Al Munger
• Divorce American Style (1967) ... as Dr. Zenwinn
• Lord Love a Duck (1966) (uncredited) ... as T. Harrison Belmont
• Goodbye Charlie (1964) ... as Morton Craft
• Marnie (1964) ... as Sidney Strutt
• The Making of the President 1960 (1963) ... as Narrator
• The Power and the Glory (1961) ... as Chief of police
• The Crimebusters (1961) ... as George Vincent
• Tip on a Dead Jockey (1957) ... as Bert Smith
• The James Dean Story (1957) ... as Narrator
• The Thief (1952) ... as Mr. Bleek
• Deadline - U.S.A. (1952) ... as Tomas Rienzi
• M (1951) ... as Charlie Marshall, crime boss
• Pictura (1951) ... as Narrator
• Fourteen Hours (1951) ... as Dr. Strauss
• What's My Line? (1950s) ... Occasional panelist
• Smash-Up: The Story of a Woman (1947) (associate producer)
• The Lost Moment (1947) (director)

References

1. ^ Martin Gabel Biography (1912-1986)
2. ^ ^{a b c} "Martin Gabel, Actor, Director and Producer, is dead at 73". The New York Times. May 23, 1986. http://www.nytimes.com/1986/05/23/obituaries/martin-gabel-actor-director-and-producer-is-dead-at-73.html. Retrieved July 22, 2011. 

External links

Biography portal

• Martin Gabel at Find a Grave
• Martin Gabel at the Internet Broadway Database
• Martin Gabel at the Internet Movie Database

Persondata
Name	Gabel, Martin
Alternative names
Short description	Actor
Date of birth	June 19, 1912
Place of birth	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Date of death	May 22, 1986
Place of death	New York City, New York, U.S.