Stage , Martha Scott and
John Craven in the original Broadway production of
Our Town (1938) Scott received a career boost right out of college, when she appeared with the Globe Theatre Troupe in a series of
Shakespeare productions at the
Century of Progress world's fair in Chicago in 1934. followed by several guest appearances on
Robert Montgomery Presents and other shows of television's "golden age", including two episodes of
Alfred Hitchcock Presents. This pattern of guest roles continued through the 1960s with appearances on
Route 66,
Ironside, and ''
The Courtship of Eddie's Father, among others. In the mid-1950s, Scott was the narrator for Modern Romances'', an afternoon program on
NBC-TV. Scott was also a frequent TV guest star in the 1970s. She had recurring roles as
Bob Newhart's mother on
The Bob Newhart Show, the mother of Colonel Steve Austin (
Lee Majors) on both
The Six Million Dollar Man and
The Bionic Woman, as well as Patricia Shepard,
Sue Ellen and
Kristin's mother on
Dallas during its early years and later during the 1986 season. Scott was cast in single-episode guest appearances on several hit shows of the era, such as
The Sandy Duncan Show,
Columbo: Playback (1975),
The Mod Squad,
Marcus Welby, M.D., and
The Love Boat. She played the role of Jennifer Talbot, Terri Brock's nasty grandmother, on
General Hospital for six months (1986–1987), which ended when her character was murdered and stuffed in a drain pipe. In the 1980s, she had a regular role on the short-lived series
Secrets of Midland Heights and appeared in several television movies and in single episodes of shows such as
Magnum, P.I.,
The Paper Chase, and
Highway to Heaven. In 1987 she costarred with
Jeffrey Lynn in an episode of
Murder, She Wrote, which was a direct sequel to their 1949 feature film
Strange Bargain. Scott's final acting role on television was in 1990 in the movie
Daughter of the Streets. ==Personal life==