Martha Rodgers

### played by Susan Sullivan

Martha Rodgers is Castle's mother, a famous Broadway actress (though maybe not as famous as she thinks). She lives with Castle and Alexis because her most recent ex-husband ran off with all her money. She clearly loves her son and granddaughter, but frequently drives them up the wall with her antics.

Now that parts are few(er) than in her youth, Martha sometimes commandeers Castle's office and does life coaching to earn some cash. She also still knows how to throw a wild party—and frequently does when Castle's out of town. Currently, Martha is focusing her energy on running an acting school, although most of her activities still seem to take place in Castle's loft.

When Castle disappeared, Martha was determined to keep everyone's chin up; when he returned, she seemed determined to not question what happened or where he'd been. (Not the first time she's danced with denial.)

As of 7x22, Martha has not only opened in previews on Broadway, but has also started looking for her own place to live.

### Just the facts

* Martha, in her younger years, played Ado Annie in *Oklahoma!* at the Palace Theatre (1x01).
* Martha was in the cast of *Mousetrap*, and even after doing eight shows a week for a year, she "still didn't know what it was about" (1x01).
* In 1x03 Martha is taking life coach courses, and by 1x09 she is already seeing clients.
* In 2x04, Martha finally lands another Broadway role—as a granny who dies at the end of the first act.
* Martha was once nominated for a Tony (1x07). She also used to compete in pageants, but no one knows that because she didn't win (3x23).
* Martha has never told Castle who his father is (1x01).
* Martha clearly dislikes Meredith quite a lot (1x06) but seems to be on friendly terms with Gina (1x01, 3x05).
* When Castle was about 10, Martha took him along on a touring production of *A Chorus Line*. (He almost had to repeat 5th grade). (1x06).
* When Castle was 11, Martha was on tour with *Pippin*, so he went to stay with a classmate in New Hampshire for the summer. (7x23)
* Martha evidently has Kate's phone number by 1x08.
* Martha's family had a mind-reading act at Coney Island (2x15) and she is apparently friends with Joe Torre (2x15).
* Martha specifically refers to her "ex-husbands", so she's been divorced at least twice. (2x17)
* After meeting her high school sweetheart, Chet Palaburn, again on Facebook, she dates him through much of Season 2. Although she moves in with Chet in 2x18, she still seems to spend much of her time at Castle's loft.
* Dear Chet proposes and then promptly dies in 3x02, so it's probably a good thing she hasn't completely packed up.
* Chet left her a million dollars in his will. She initially goes on a shopping spree, then decides to give the money back, but when his children, Boomer and Lottie (3x02), won't accept it, she decides to use it to open an acting school (3x14).
* Martha once played an elf in Santa's village and Lady Liberty outside a low-rent tax service. The worst job she ever had was being a secretary. (3x07).
* As of 3x18 (21 March 2011), the space for Martha's acting school won't be ready for another month.
* Martha was on *Temptation Lane* thirty years ago for three weeks. During that time her character married Joseph Fox and then was kidnapped, buried alive, trapped in a cave with bears, kidnapped again and held hostage in the sewers of Paris (3x18).
* She was in a 'Shakespeare in the Park' production of *A Midsummer Night's Dream* in the 80's (4x07).
* She slept with Castle's first publisher, but not till after his first book was published. He was "about Castle's age" (although it's not clear if he meant then or now) but she claims to have always liked younger men because they can keep up with her (4x17).
* Martha starred as Maggie the Cat in *Cat On A Hot Tin Roof* in 1983. (4x18)
* Martha is taking tango dancing lessons in Castle's loft (WriteRCastle twitter).
* Martha occasionally refers to Beckett as "Kate", but by 5x19 she consistently calls her Katherine.
* Apparently Martha was busy while Castle was missing; in 7x02 she has a date with someone named Robert whom she met in a grief therapy group.
* In 7x06, after seeing an alternate universe in which Martha is more successful than himself, Castle tells his Martha that he thinks she should audition for a part she's interested in. Over the next few episodes we hear that she's got the part, it's in a play by Tom Stoppard, and that she's doing well enough to look for a place of her own to live (7x16).
* Martha has a ritual for opening night: for the 48 hours ahead of opening, she says only her first line in the play, over and over, and nothing else. (7x22)

### Defining episodes

* 3x02 - Martha is proposed to by Chet, but he dies before she can give him her answer (no).
* 3x14 - Chet leaves Martha with a million dollars and she ultimately decides to open an acting school with it.
* 3x18 - Martha revists her eventful three-week stint on the soap opera *Temptation Lane* from thirty years go. And reconnects with an old flame.
* 4x07 - She connects with the manager of Castle's bank during a hostage situation over her appearance in *A Midsummer Night's Dream*, though it's not clear if it's personal or professional.
* 4x17 - Martha performs the story of her life -- emphasis on "story" -- in Castle's living room for an invited audience. And an encore for a Very Special Audience of two.
* In 5x08, Castle and Beckett have the dreaded Dinner With The Parents - Martha and Jim - which starts badly, descends into the parents trading barbs, but ends up with said parents uniting through their anxieties over their offspring.
* 5x16 - Although Martha doesn't actually encounter him in this episode, the man who helps Castle rescue Alexis claims to be his father.
* 6x12 - Castle's dad is shot while tracking down a CIA mole, and he shows up on Castle's doorstep for first aid. Martha recognizes him immediately, but her reactions to him in this episode are guarded.
* 7x22 - Martha gets cold feet when she starts thinking too much about her preview performance and viral online criticism, but Castle won't let her step away from her role, telling her she's earned it.

### Spec

Have an idea about some of Martha's missing backstory? Have at it here...

* As an actress, she seems always to have been known as Martha Rodgers (1x07), so it's most likely this is her maiden name.