Lori Martin

[CosmicCharlie]

Sad


This young lady, Lori Martin, was in the midst of a two-year run on the series National Velvet. Her "black" hair was actually dyed that way to suggest Elizabeth Taylor, who'd starred in the 1944 movie. The year after this, she had a memorable role in Cape Fear (1962) and later appeared in The Chase (1966), but she left the business in 1970 to reassess her career and to take care of her sick mother. In 2010, at age sixty-two, she took her own life, having endured mental health and drug dependency issues in the wake of her husband's death a decade beforehand.

[stevea]

This was a funny scene with eighth-grade new girl siren, Mary Margaret Matthews. This conversation, which surely would have ended in a kiss had Gilbert not come along, led Beaver to not want to go on the Ward-planned bus tour of America. The first screen shot is from My Three Sons.

One of the funniest exchanges from this scene; approximate dialog:

Mary Margaret: Whatever am I going to do while you're gone all summer, seeing America?
Beaver: Not being a girl, I wouldn't know.

Very informative post, above. I knew she had died but I didn't know she had committed suicide.

[howilu]

Mary Margaret Matthews was the first character since Miss Landers' fiance' Tom Brittingham to call him "Teddy."

[biffbronson]

Here we see Lori reunited with Jerry Mathers on her second (and final) My Three Sons appearance, airing March 1970. They played a young married couple and she was lovely:

[CosmicCharlie]

I'd like to see her with her real hair color -- I looked an found zip

[biffbronson]

Here's a close-up look at Lori in her 1970 M3S episode. I'd love to have that season on DVD fully restored (Season 10):

[stevea]

Originally Posted by CosmicCharlie

I'd like to see her with her real hair color -- I looked an found zip

What is her real hair color, does anyone know?

[CosmicCharlie]

ANSWER - BLOND

I thought her acting was top notch in Cape Fear, both which I saw this year - I love Turner Classic !

And Robert Mitchum was the greatest evil charterer in Cape Fear - he really pull that evil off second to none !

Lori Martin was born Dawn Catherine Menzer in Glendale, California. She was born at 10 am, four minutes before her twin sister, Doree, arrived. Having an elder sister, Jean, and a younger brother, Stephen, she had plenty of company at an early age. At the age of six, her mother took her to an agent who dealt with child actresses. Her first job was filming a commercial for "Chrysler", followed by many other commercials. Her first film part was in Machine-Gun Kelly (1958), followed by The FBI Story (1959) and Cash McCall (1960), both in 1959. She also appeared on many television shows of the time. It was at the age of 12 that she won the part of "Velvet Brown" on television's National Velvet (1960), and changed her name to Lori Martin. Being a natural blonde, Lori had to have her hair dyed black for the part, many thought she had a resemblance to Elizabeth Taylor. It was this reason that the producers chose her out of 974 hopefuls for this part. The show ran for 54 episodes and was axed in 1962 after making Lori famous. In 1962, she made Cape Fear (1962) and said, afterward, that it was the best performance of her life. She went on to continue in television shows and films for the cinema. She had also made a name for herself making records for her fans but, sadly, they were not hits.

Lori later married her husband, Charles Breitenbucher, and retired to Oakhurst, California, where she enjoyed nature, birds, wild animals, and her dog, Taylor. Sadly, her husband died in 1999, leaving her with an only son to raise. At this time, she became ill with bipolar disorder and battled this for many years up until her death.

[stevea]

Too bad, no pics of her as a blonde. Wonder if her twin is still with us--I should be checking.

Had Beaver continued into a seventh season it would have been great to see her as Beaver's girlfriend in high school. I'm thinking Jerry would have liked more scenes with Lori!