Martin Gabel (born June 19, 1912 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; died May 22, 1986 in New York, New York, USA from a heart attack) was an American actor, film director and film producer. He was married to Arlene Francis on May 14, 1946, with whom he had a son named Peter Gabel, former president of New College of California.
Undoubtedly the most widely remembered work in Gabel's career was as the narrator/host of the May 8, 1945 CBS radio broadcast of Norman Corwin's epic dramatic poem On a Note of Triumph, a commemoration of the fall of the Nazi regime in Germany and the end of World War II in Europe. The broadcast was so popular that the CBS, NBC, Blue and Mutual networks broadcast a second live production of the program on May 13. The Columbia Masterworks record label subsequently published an album of the May 13 production. The production became the title focus of the Academy Award-winning short film A Note of Triumph: The Golden Age of Norman Corwin in 2005, the 60th anniversary year of the broadcast.
Gabel won the 1961 Tony Award for Best Supporting or Featured Actor (Dramatic) for Big Fish, Little Fish; he was also noted for his performances in the Broadway productions of Baker Street, in which he played Professor Moriarty; The Rivalry, in which he played Stephen A. Douglas; and several Mercury Theatre productions directed by Orson Welles.
As noted below, Gabel made few films over his career, usually in small roles. A notable large supporting part was as crime boss Tomas Rienzi in Richard Brooks's Deadline - U.S.A. in 1952.
Married to Arlene Francis from 1946 until his death in 1986. They had one son, Peter Gabel.
He was the most frequent guest on the classic CBS game show "What's My Line?" (1950) over its 17-year run. He appeared a total of 114 times as follows: 112 times as a guest panelist and twice as a mystery guest.
Won Broadway's 1961 Tony Award as Best Supporting or Featured Actor (Dramatic) for "Big Fish, Little Fish."
He was once a roommate of Jim Backus.
Related to Seth Gabel.
