Freddy Martin - Later Career

Later Career

Martin also had a good ear for singers. At one time or another, Martin employed Merv Griffin, Buddy Clark, pianists Sid Appleman and Terry Shand, saxophonist Elmer Feldkamp, Stuart Wade (his most impressive male singer), violinist Eddie Stone, and many others. Helen Ward was a singer for Martin just before she joined Benny Goodman's new band.

Martin's popularity as a bandleader led him to Hollywood in the 1940s where he and his band appeared in a handful of films, including Seven Days' Leave (1942), Stage Door Canteen (1943) and Melody Time (1948), among others.

In the 1950s and 1960s Martin continued to perform on the radio and also appeared on TV. Untroubled by changing musical tastes, he continued to work at major venues and was musical director for Elvis Presley's first appearance in Las Vegas. Still in demand for hotel work, Martin entered the 1970s with an engagement at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. In the early 1970s, he was part of two tours of one-nighters that were known as The Big Band Cavalcade. Among the other performers on the show were Margaret Whiting, Bob Crosby, Frankie Carle, Buddy Morrow, Art Mooney and George Shearing. When the tours ended, Martin returned to the West Coast. In 1977, Martin was asked to lead Guy Lombardo's band when Lombardo was hospitalized with a heart condition.

Martin continued leading his band until the early 1980s, although by then, he was semi-retired. Freddy Martin died on September 30, 1983, in a Newport Beach hospital after a lingering illness. He was 76 years old.

The 1947 song "Pico and Sepulveda" was recorded by Martin under the alias of "Felix Figueroa and his Orchestra" and was frequently featured on Dr. Demento's syndicated radio show. It was also featured in the surrealist film Forbidden Zone.