# Donna Martell

Donna Kay Martell (born December 24, 1927) is an American former actress who starred in film and television during the Golden Age Era in the 1950s and 1960s.

## Early years

Born on December 24, 1927, in Los Angeles, California, to Louis and Margaret de Maria, Martell was active in athletics in high school and attended Los Angeles City College.

## Career

Martell began her film career in 1947 when she was cast in the Republic Pictures western Apache Rose, starring Roy Rogers and Dale Evans. She continued making appearances throughout the late 1940s, signing a contract with Universal Studios. In 1951, Columbia Pictures signed her to play the female lead opposite Gene Autry in The Hills of Utah.
By the time the 1950s arrived, Martell's career shifted towards television. She portrayed Marie DiPaolo in The Bob Cummings Show and appeared in shows such as Shotgun Slade, Cavalcade of America, The Range Rider, Bat Masterson and Cheyenne.
Martell was also in Project Moonbase (also known as Project Moon Base), a 1953 black-and-white science-fiction film directed by Richard Talmadge. The film is unusual for its time in both attempting to portray space travel in a "realistic" manner, and for depicting a future in which women hold positions of authority and responsibility equal to men; in the script Martell's character, Briteis (pronounced "bright-eyes"), is a colonel who has made the first orbital flight around the Earth four years earlier and outranks her fellow male astronaut, a major. Colonel Briteis' given name is never stated.
Martell's acting career officially ended in 1963, but made a brief comeback in the 1983 TV movie Grace Kelly, playing the part of Mrs. Edie Austin, a friend of the Kelly family who, along with her husband Russell Austin, was instrumental in advancing the real-life relationship between Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier III of Monaco. Donna Martell appeared in a television episode of Hopalong Cassidy as a Mexican sister trying to save her wrongfully accused brother.

## Personal life

Martell married professional baseball player Gene Edgar Corso on June 27, 1953. The couple had three children. Corso pre-deceased his wife in 1996.

## Awards

Martell was presented with one of the 2002 Golden Boot Awards for her contributions to western television and cinema.

## Filmography

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1947 | Apache Rose | Rosa Vega | |
| 1947 | Twilight on the Rio Grande | 1st telephone operator | Uncredited |
| 1947 | Robin Hood of Monterey | Lolita | |
| 1947 | The Lost Moment | Pretty Girl | Uncredited |
| 1947 | Secret Beyond the Door | Young Mexican girl | Uncredited |
| 1948 | The Woman from Tangier | Flo-Flo | |
| 1948 | The Saxon Charm | Flower girl | Uncredited |
| 1948 | Mexican Hayride | Girl | Uncredited |
| 1949 | Illegal Entry | Maria | |
| 1949 | Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff | Betty Crandall | |
| 1950 | I Was a Shoplifter | Sales clerk | Uncredited |
| 1950 | Peggy | Contestant | |
| 1950 | Kim | Haikun | Uncredited |
| 1951 | The Hills of Utah | Nola French | |
| 1951 | Elephant Stampede | Lola | |
| 1952 | Last Train from Bombay | Nawob's daughter | |
| 1952 | The Golden Hawk | Emilie Savonez | |
| 1953 | Project Moonbase | Colonel Briteis | |
| 1953 | Give a Girl a Break | Janet Hallson | |
| 1954 | The Egyptian | Lady in waiting | Uncredited |
| 1955 | Ten Wanted Men | Maria Segura | |
| 1955 | Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing | Suchen | |
| 1955 | Last of the Desperados | Felice | |
| 1957 | Hell on Devil's Island | Giselle Renault | |
| 1957 | House of Numbers | Lois | Uncredited |

## Television

* The Adventures of Kit Carson (1952-1953) five characters in seven episodes
* Death Valley Days (1952) "She Burns Green" - Rosie Winters; (1955) "The Valencia Cake" - Charlita
* The Lineup (1955) "Girl Safecrackers"
* G.E. Summer Originals (1956) "Blizzard Bound"
* The West Point Story (1957) two different episodes
* The Lineup (1958) "The Pawn Ticket Case"
* Cheyenne (1960) as Maria, in television episode "Home Is the Brave" - Maria Prescott
* 77 Sunset Strip (1961) "Hot Tomale Caper", Two-part episode - Maria Rodriguez
* Tales of Wells Fargo (1961, Episode: "John Jones") - Zita Lopez
* Hawaiian Eye (1962) "Pursuit of a Lady - Maria Orello
* Bonanza (1963) "Toy Soldier" Esther Callahan