Martha Raye Dies

LOS ANGELES - Martha Raye, the comedian whose cavernous mouth and exclamation "Oh boyyy!" became trademarks on Broadway, the silver screen and wartime stages overseas, has died after a long illness. She was 78.

Miss Raye joined her parents' vaudeville act at age 3 and never quit entertaining. Most recently, she appeared as the "Big Mouth" pitchwoman in television ads for a dental adhesive.

Miss Raye died yesterday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center after being admitted Monday. She had a stroke in 1990, and circulatory problems forced the amputation of her left leg below the knee a year ago.

She was one of the first Hollywood figures to entertain troops overseas during World War II, and continued her service in Korea and Vietnam. Her citations for those efforts included a special Academy Award in 1969 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom last year.

"She was always bigger than life," said Bob Hope., who shared many stages with her. "She was more popular with the GIs than a weekend pass. They loved her in Vietnam. She was a Florence Nightingale, Dear Abby and the only singer who could be heard over the artillery fire."

Miss Raye appeared in more than two dozen films. Her most notable role was in the 1947 classic black comedy "Monsieur Verdoux" with Charlie Chaplin.

Her TV work included the 1950s variety series "The Martha Raye Show," "McMillan" and "Alice." In 1967, she did "Hello, Dolly" on Broadway, and in 1972 starred in "No, No, Nanette."

Miss Raye was born Margaret Teresa Yvonne Reed on Aug. 27, 1916, in the charity ward of a hospital in Butte, Mont., where her vaudevillian parents, Pete Reed and Betty Hooper, had been stranded.

At 16, Martha left the family song-and-dance act. Her film career began when she was appearing at the Trocadero night club on L.A.'s Sunset Strip in 1935 and was spotted by a director. In 1991, she filed an unsuccessful lawsuit claiming Bette Midler's film "For the Boys" wrongfully appropriated her life story.

She also battled with her estranged daughter, Melody Condos, who tried to gain control of Miss Raye's money after her stroke. A court eventually put her finances under the care of a conservator.

She was 75 when she married her 42-year-old manager, Mark Harris. Her previous marriages were to makeup artist Buddy Westmore (six weeks), composer Dave Rose (three years), businessman Neal Lang (one year), dancer Nick Condos (five years), dancer Edward Begley (one year) and policeman Bob O'Shea (nine months).