Mary Martin’s Lessons

The death of Mary Martin has had special significance to me. As a young actor who had just completed his second leading role on Broadway and who was rather full of himself, I had been hired by Rodgers and Hammerstein to play the raucous Seabee Luther Billis opposite Martin in the London company of “South Pacific.”

In a year and a half, Mary Martin taught me more about the discipline and integrity of the performer toward his craft and his audience than a lifetime of study at any Actor’s Studio or Stanislavsky Conservatory could possibly teach.

She leaves a legacy of joy and professional excellence that we are not likely to see again.

FREDD WAYNE

Santa Monica