John McMartin Movies and Career Information

John McMartin is an American actor of stage, film and television. McMartin was born in Warsaw, Indiana and raised in Minnesota. He attended college in Illinois and New York. He made his off-Broadway debut in Little Mary Sunshine in 1959, playing opposite Eileen Brennan. He won a Theatre World Award for his role as Corporal Billy Jester, and married one of the show's producers, Cynthia Baer, in 1960; they divorced in 1971. He has two daughters by this marriage, Kathleen Alice and Susan Helen. His first Broadway appearance was as Forrest Noble in The Conquering Hero, which was followed by Blood, Sweat and Stanley Poole. He created the part of Oscar in Sweet Charity in 1966, opposite Gwen Verdon, garnering a Tony nomination, and played the role again on film opposite Shirley Maclaine. He was cast in Stephen Sondheim's A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum in 1962, but his role was cut before the show opened. Years later he starred in Sondheim's Follies as Benjamin Stone; he introduced the ballad "Too Many Mornings". His association with Sondheim has continued, appearing in regional productions of A Little Night Music and the Broadway revival of Into the Woods. Other Broadway