Nationality US Children Harriet Parsons Role Louella Parsons' husband | Name Harry Martin Occupation Urologist | |
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Born 16 Jan 1890 Redfield, South Dakota Died June 24, 1951, Los Angeles, California, United States Marriage location Riverside, California, United States Spouse Louella Parsons (m. 1930–1951), Sylvia Breamer (m. 1924–1928) Parents Watson Jesse Martin, Annie Amelia Moriarty People also search for Louella Parsons, Harriet Parsons | ||
Harry Watson Martin (born 16 Jan 1890 in Redfield, South Dakota, died 24 June 1951, age 61, Los Angeles) was a urologist and third husband of Louella Parsons.
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Early years and education
Harry Martin was the son of Watson Jesse Martin, a dentist, and Annie Amelia Moriarty. He was the younger of two brothers. His paternal grandfather, David D. Martin, was also a physician. Harry Martin graduated from John Marshall High School, Chicago and received his M.D. from the University of Illinois, Chicago, June 4, 1912. He served in the Army Medical Corps during World War I.
Hollywood Physician
Martin moved to Los Angeles in 1919. He was a urologist who specialized in the treatment of venereal disease. He became medical director of Twentieth Century Fox studios in 1937. He performed abortions and dispensed stimulant drugs to the actors, as needed, to keep them alert while films were being shot.
Personal
In 1924 Martin married actress Sylvia Breamer. She divorced him in 1928, complaining that he failed to return home for meals and treated her with complete indifference. Martin married gossip columnist Louella Parsons, January 4, 1930.
Martin's heavy drinking was legendary. On one occasion he passed out on the floor at a party. When a guest pointed him out to Parsons, she replied, "Let Docky sleep. He has to operate in the morning."
Death
Martin died at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital of a tropical ailment contracted while he served in the South Pacific with the Army Medical Corps during the Second World War. He had been a hospital patient for several weeks, and had been in a coma for a few days. The cause of the persistent fever from which he died was never diagnosed, although he visited Johns Hopkins Hospital, many other noted clinics, and consulted specialists. With him at his death were his wife and her daughter, Harriet Parsons, a motion-picture producer.