Martha Henry, (born February 17, 1938) is an American-Canadian stage, film, and television actress, perhaps best known for her work at the Stratford Festival in Canada.
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Background
Martha Buhs was born in Detroit, Michigan to Kathleen (née Hatch) and Lloyd Howard Buhs. She grew up in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan and attended the Kingswood School (today Cranbrook Kingswood School). She later adopted the stage surname Henry, which is the legal surname of her first husband, actor Donnelly Rhodes.
Leading actress at Stratford
An early graduate from the National Theatre School in Montreal, she became a leading actress at the Stratford Festival, appearing in leading roles from the late 1960s until the early 1980s. During these years she won acclaim in several roles including Titania in A Midsummer Night's Dream (1969), Isabella in Measure for Measure (1976), Olga in Three Sisters (1976), and Paulina in The Winter's Tale (1978).
She and a team of three other directors were hired to lead Stratford's 1981 season after the resignation of Robin Phillips. The team was dismissed a few months later causing Henry and some other Stratford veterans to work away from the Festival for several years.
Artistic director and awards
She was artistic director of the Grand Theatre in London, Ontario from 1988-94. In 1993 she traveled to Guyana, South America where she starred in Darrell Wasyk's film, Mustard Bath, winning a Genie Award for Best Supporting Actress. She returned to the Stratford stage to play Mary Tyrone in the widely respected 1994-95 production of Long Day's Journey into Night.
She won a Best Actress Genie award for the 1996 film version that followed. In February 2007, she was appointed director of Stratford's Birmingham Conservatory for Classical Theatre Training.
Honours
She was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1981, and promoted to Companion in 1990. She was made a Member of the Order of Ontario in 1994. Henry received a Governor General's Performing Arts Award for her lifetime contribution to Canadian theatre in 1996.
Television roles
Notable television roles include Catherine in Empire, Inc., the Prime Minister's mother in H20 and the owner of the Chateau Rousseau in Ken Finkleman's At the Hotel. In 1994, she starred in the TV film And Then There was One.
Filmography
Actress
2022
Three Tall Women as
A
2019
The Tempest as
Prospero
2018
Into Invisible Light as
Sonya Grayson
2016
Unless as
Lois Winters
2006
At the Hotel (TV Series) as
Lucy
- Doesn't Anyone Want to Ask Me About My Dress? (2006) - Lucy
- That's How You Wave a Towel (2006) - Lucy
- Modern Solutions to Modern Problems (2006) - Lucy
- I F***ed Lou Reed (2006) - Lucy
- The Perfect Couple (2006) - Lucy
- Welcome to the Rousseau (2006) - Lucy
2004
H2O (TV Series) as
Julia McLaughlin
- Episode #1.2 (2004) - Julia McLaughlin
- Episode #1.1 (2004) - Julia McLaughlin
2004
Clean as
Rosemary Hauser
2003
The Republic of Love as
Audrey McLeod
2000
Anne of Green Gables: The Continuing Story (TV Mini Series) as
Kit Garrison
- Episode #1.2 (2000) - Kit Garrison
- Episode #1.1 (2000) - Kit Garrison
1999
Emily of New Moon (TV Series) as
Megan Moore
- The Book of Hours (1999) - Megan Moore
1997
Poltergeist: The Legacy (TV Series) as
Barbara Rayne
- Ransom (1997) - Barbara Rayne
1996
L5: First City in Space (Short) as
Narrator (voice)
1995
Great Performances (TV Series) as
Mary Tyrone
- Long Day's Journey Into Night (1995) - Mary Tyrone
1994
And Then There Was One (TV Movie) as
Dr. Moore
1993
Street Legal (TV Series) as
Lucy Schwartz
- What's Love Got to Do with It? (1993) - Lucy Schwartz
1993
Mustard Bath as
Grace
1991
White Light as
Dr. Ella Wingwright
1988
Glory Enough for All (TV Movie) as
Antoinette Hughes
1988
Mount Royal (TV Series)
- Passages (1988)
1987
Wednesday's Children: David (Short) as
Maureen
1986
A Gift for Kate (Short)
1986
Dancing in the Dark as
Edna
1984
Waiting for the Parade as
Margaret
1983
The Wars as
Mrs. Ross
1983
Empire, Inc. (TV Mini Series) as
Catherine
- Titans Don't Cry (1983) - Catherine
- Fathers and Sons (1983) - Catherine
- The Party's Over (1983) - Catherine
- Brother Can You Spare $17 Million? (1983) - Catherine
- Last Waltz (1983) - Catherine
- Hello, Suckers (1983) - Catherine
1979
The New Comers '1978'
1977
The Newcomers (TV Series)(segment "1978")
1974
Back to Beulah (TV Movie) as
Dr. Anders
1971
Talking to a Stranger (TV Mini Series) as
Terry
1970
NET Playhouse (TV Series) as
Zoe
- A Scent of Flowers (1970) - Zoe
1970
Daniel Deronda (TV Mini Series) as
Gwendolen Grandcourt / Gwendolen Harleth
- Destinies (1970) - Gwendolen Grandcourt
- Revelations (1970) - Gwendolen Grandcourt
- Fire (1970) - Gwendolen Grandcourt
- The Diamonds (1970) - Gwendolen Harleth
- Pursuit (1970) - Gwendolen Harleth
- Temptations (1970) - Gwendolen Harleth
1969
The Three Musketeers (TV Movie) as
Milady de Winter
1968
Wojeck (TV Series)
- Fair Egypt (1968)
1961
Festival (TV Series) as
Kerry / Hilde / Eurydice / ...
- A Spring Song: In Six Scenes (1965) - Kerry
- The Master Builder (1964) - Hilde
- The Endless Echo (1963) - Eurydice
- Venus Observed (1963) - Perpetua
- Lord Arthur Savile's Crime (1961) - Lady Sybil Merton (as Martha Buhs)
1964
Twelfth Night (TV Movie) as
Viola
1961
Shoestring Theatre (TV Series)
- The Storm (1963)
- Up on the Mountain (1962) - (as Martha Buhs)
- How Beautiful with Shoes (1962) - (as Martha Buhs)
- The Dream (1961) - (as Martha Buhs)
- The House My Father Built (1961) - (as Martha Buhs)
- Scenes from Othello (1961) - (as Martha Buhs)
1963
Quest (TV Series) as
Libby
- Paul Loves Libby (1963) - Libby
1960
Encounter (TV Series) as
Elsie / Anne Fougere
- Kiss Mama Goodbye (1960) - Elsie (as Martha Buhs)
- The Beckoning Hill (1960) - Anne Fougere (as Martha Buhs)
1960
First Person (TV Series)
- At the Railing (1960) - (as Martha Buhs)
Miscellaneous
2012
Twelfth Night (director - Birmingham Conservatory)
2004
Elizabeth Rex (TV Movie) (stage director: original Stratford production)
Director
2020
Henry VIII (stage)
Thanks
2016
Robin & Mark & Richard III (TV Movie documentary) (thanks)
Self
2020
The Making of 'The Wars' (Documentary short) as
Self
2020
Martha Henry Revists Dancing in the Dark (Short) as
Self
2016
Robin & Mark & Richard III (TV Movie documentary) as
Self
2007
The World's a Stage with John Neville (TV Movie documentary) as
Self
2002
Offstage, Onstage: Inside the Stratford Festival (TV Movie documentary) as
Self
1997
Life and Times (TV Series documentary) as
Self
- Timothy Findley (1999) - Self
- Martha Henry (1997) - Self
1997
Karen Kain: Dancing in the Moment (TV Movie documentary) as
