Elliot Martin papers

Elliot Edwards Martin was born February 25, 1924, in Denver, Colorado to Will H. Martin and Alma Harvey Martin. By seventeen, he had his own program on a local radio station, and in 1943, Martin enrolled at the University of Denver, where he studied theatre. Martin moved to New York, New York, prior to graduating, and was cast in the original London production of “Oklahoma.” When he returned to New York in 1949, he was cast in dual parts in “Texas L’il Darlin’,” his only Broadway performance. He then joined a national tour of “Allegro,” and then moved into production.

Martin began stage managing in 1953, with his first position as production stage manager for “At Home With Ethel Waters.” He acted as the production stage manager for the 1956 original Broadway production of “Long Day’s Journey into Night.” He also stage managed for the Westport Country Playhouse in Connecticut during the summer and on Broadway during the theater season. Martin was best known as a producer, and his Elliot Martin Productions presented many productions, including the renamed production “Never Too Late,” a newly titled version of Sumner Arthur Long’s “Cradle and All. “Never Too Late" ran for more than 1,000 performances after opening in 1962, directed by George Abbott and starring Maureen O’Sullivan and Paul Ford.

In 1967, he become the first director of the Center Theater Group of the Los Angeles Music Center, managing the Ahmanson and Forum Theaters, where he remained employed for three seasons. That included the American premiere of Eugene O’Neill’s “More Stately Mansions,” starring Ingrid Bergman and Colleen Dewhurst and directed by Jose Quintero.

Martin produced multiple O’Neill plays on Broadway, including “A Moon for the Misbegotten,” which he produced three times, in 1974, 2000, and 2007. He was also known for his encouragement of new playwrights and development of their productions, including David Mamet. He presented the original Broadway production of Mamet’s “Glengarry Glen Ross,” starring Tom Stoppard, and also produced “American Buffalo” in 1983 and its Broadway revival in 2008. That was also his final Broadway production, though he continued to work for several years.

Elliot Martin met singer Marjorie Cuesta Austin during the production of “Oklahoma” in London; they were married in 1949, and she became his casting director, working closely with Elliot Martin Productions up until her death in 2014. They had two children, Linda Martin Giannini and Richard Martin. Elliott Martin died on May 21, 2017, at his home in Norwalk, Connecticut.