Martha Sleeper
| Martha Sleeper | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Martha Sleeper June 24, 1910 Lake Bluff, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died |
March 25, 1983 (aged 72) Beaufort, South Carolina, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1923–1945 |
| Spouse(s) |
1) Hardie Albright (1934-1940; divorced) 3) Col. Howard C. Stelling (19??-1983; her death |
Martha Sleeper (June 24, 1910 – March 25, 1983) was a silent film comedian of the 1920s and Broadway and film actress of the 1940s. She studied dancing for five years with Russian ballet master, Louis H. Chalif, at his New York dancing studio. Her first public exhibitions were at Carnegie Hall at his class exhibitions.
Family
Martha Sleeper reputedly spent her first years on a sheep ranch in Wyoming. Her father, William B. Sleeper, was an official of the Keith-Albee-Orpheum vaudeville circuit in New York City. Her mother was Minnie Akass.[1] He retired to Los Angeles, California in 1923 because of ill health. She was under contract to Hal Roach studios beginning in 1924, when she was 14 years old. Her father was found dead of heart disease on September 1, 1925, in bed at his home on 1756 N. Tamarind Street. Martha, then 15 years old, with her mother and sister, were away, having taken a short trip to New York City.
Author
In 1926, aged 16, the young actress wrote and published a book, Hollywood Be Thy Name. She wrote the story while doing screen work and performing four hours of school work daily. The volume was a romance of work, adventure, and success in Hollywood.
Film career
Martha Sleeper's film career began in 1923 and continued until 1945. Her early comedy efforts with Hal Roach include The Mailman (1923), The Racing Kid (1924), Trailing Trouble (1924), Please, Teacher! (1924), A Ten Minute Egg (1924), Sweet Daddy (1924), and Outdoor Pajamas (1924). She also appeared in a handful of silent Our Gang shorts including: Better Movies (1925), Baby Clothes (1926) and Thundering Fleas (1926),and also had a small role in a Laurel and Hardy short The Chimp (1932). Martha's final movies were mainly in the late 1930s, concluding with a small role in The Bells of St. Mary's (1945).[2]
Businesswoman
After achieving prominence on the New York stage, Sleeper left abruptly in 1949. She sailed from New York on a 40-foot schooner. Her destination was the Virgin Islands and a vacation with her husband. However, when she reached Puerto Rico she fell in love with the island and opened a hand-made clothing shop there in 1950. Sleeper sewed native dresses in San Juan and resolved never to return to the US mainland. Before World War II, Sleeper designed jewelry, selling many of her '"Martha Sleeper Creations" to stores in neighboring islands and on the United States mainland.
Death
Martha Sleeper died of a heart attack, aged 72, in Beaufort, South Carolina, where she had lived with her third husband, Col. Howard C. Stelling, who survived her. She had no children.[2]
Former discrepancies re Martha Sleeper's year of birth
Many sources had cited 1907 as Sleeper's year of birth, but she was actually born shortly after the 1910 census was taken in April 1910. No "Martha Sleeper" appears in the 1910 census records; however, a "Martha Sleeper" is listed as 9 years old in the 1920 census (April 1920) and 19 years old in the 1930 census (April 1930). An airline passenger list, flight CBA 611 from St. Maarten to Charlotte Amalie, VI, on 10 Sep 1962, gives a birthdate of 6-24-1910, in Illinois (ancestry.com). A U.K. Incoming Passenger list (ancestry.com) for the RMS Queen Elizabeth, from New York to Southamptom, arriving 19 Aug 1958, gives a birthdate of 24.6.10. The Social Security Death Index records the date of birth of a "Martha Stelling" (Sleeper's third husband's surname) who died in March 1983 in Beaufort County, South Carolina as June 24, 1910.[3] Sleeper's 1983 New York Times obituary, as well, was titled "Martha Sleeper Is Dead At 72."[4]
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1923 | The Mailman | Betty | |
| 1924 | The Racing Kid | ||
| Trailing Trouble | |||
| Please, Teacher! | |||
| A Ten-Minute Egg | Mrs. Dugan | ||
| Seeing Nellie Home | |||
| Sweet Daddy | |||
| Outdoor Pajamas | |||
| Low Bridge | |||
| Should Landlords Live? | |||
| Too Many Mammas | The Apache Dancer | ||
| Every Man for Himself | Lady with rings around her eyes | ||
| All Wet | (uncredited) | ||
| The Royal Razz | |||
| 1925 | The Rat's Knuckles | Flirty McFickle | |
| Plain and Fancy Girls | |||
| Bad Boy | Jimmie's Girl Friend | ||
| Are Husbands Necessary? | |||
| Big Red Riding Hood | The Maid, Book Store Clerk | ||
| Wild Papa | (uncredited) | ||
| Sure-Mike! | Vermuda | ||
| Sherlock Sleuth | Hotel Operator | ||
| Innocent Husbands | Girl at Party | (uncredited) | |
| Tame Men and Wild Women | |||
| There Goes the Bride | |||
| Better Movies | Teenaged 'Vamp' | ||
| Should Sailors Marry? | Smyrna | ||
| Laughing Ladies | |||
| Hold Everything | |||
| 1926 | A Punch in the Nose | ||
| What's the World Coming To? | Butler | ||
| Your Husband's Past | |||
| Madame Mystery | |||
| Dizzy Daddies | |||
| Ukulele Sheiks | |||
| Baby Clothes | Leggy Lady | ||
| Mum's the World | The Nervous Little Girl | ||
| Say It with Babies | Hector's Wife | ||
| Don Key (Son of Burro) | Maid | ||
| Long Fliv the King | Princess Helga of Thermosa | ||
| Never Too Old | |||
| Thundering Fleas | Bride | ||
| Along Came Auntie | Marie, the Maid | ||
| The Merry Widower | (unconfirmed) | ||
| Crazy Like a Fox | The Bride | ||
| Should Husbands Pay? | His Wife | ||
| Bromo and Juliet | Bit Role | (uncredited) | |
| Wise Guys Prefer Brunettes | |||
| 1927 | The Honorable Mr. Buggs | The Fiancée | |
| Jewish Prudence | Rachel Gimplewart | ||
| Fluttering Hearts | Daughter | ||
| The Way of All Pants | (uncredited) (unconfirmed) | ||
| Love 'Em and Feed 'Em | Martha, a stenographer | ||
| Fighting Fathers | |||
| Flaming Fathers | Daughter | ||
| 1928 | Pass the Gravy | Daughter | |
| Should Tall Men Marry? | Martha Skittle | ||
| Skinner's Big Idea | Dorothy | ||
| The Little Yellow House | Emmy Milburn | ||
| Danger Street | Kitty | ||
| Taxi 13 | Flora Mactavish | ||
| 1929 | The Air Legion | Sally | |
| The Voice of the Storm | Ruth | ||
| 1930 | Our Blushing Brides | Evelyn Woodforth | |
| Madam Satan | Fish Girl | ||
| War Nurse | Helen | ||
| 1931 | Girls Demand Excitement | Harriet Mundy | |
| Ten Cents a Dance | Nancy Clark | ||
| A Tailor Made Man | Corrine | ||
| Confessions of a Co-Ed | Lucille | ||
| 1932 | Huddle | Barbara Winston | |
| The Chimp | Landlord's wife Ethel | (uncredited) | |
| Rasputin and the Empress | (uncredited) | ||
| 1933 | The Secret of Madame Blanche | Chorus Girl Who Hears 'My Country Tis of Thee' | (uncredited) |
| Midnight Mary | Barbara Loring Mannering | ||
| Penthouse | Sue Leonard | ||
| Bombshell | Lola's Hair Stylist | (uncredited) | |
| Broken Dreams | Martha Morley | ||
| 1934 | Spitfire | Eleanor Stafford | |
| Hollywood Party | Show Girl | (uncredited) | |
| West of the Pecos | Ril Lambeth | ||
| 1935 | Tomorrow's Youth | Mrs. Hall | |
| Great God Gold | Marcia Harper | ||
| The Scoundrel | Julia Vivian | ||
| Two Sinners | Elsie Summerstone | ||
| 1936 | Rhythm on the Range | Constance | |
| Four Days' Wonder | Nancy Fairbrother | ||
| 1945 | The Bells of St. Mary's | Mary Gallagher, Patsy's mother |
References
- ↑ Who Was Who in the Theatre: 1912-1976 vol.4 Q-Z p.2206; compiled from editions originally published annually by John Parker; this 1976 version by Gale Research.
- 1 2 Martha Sleeper at the Internet Movie Database
- ↑ SSDI profile, ssdi.rootsweb.ancestry.com; accessed August 11, 2015.(registration required)
- ↑ "Martha Sleeper Is Dead At 72", New York Times, April 7, 1983.
- Bibliography
- Hayward Daily Review, Silent Film Dream Gal Found in Puerto Rico, May 27, 1955, Page 24.
- Los Angeles Times, Her Youth No Bar To Mature Roles, May 10, 1925, Page 18.
- Los Angeles Times, Keith-Orpheum Former Official Succumbs Here, September 2, 1925, Page A3.
- Los Angeles Times, Here and There, October 29, 1926, Page A8.
- Oakland Tribune, Comedienne Writes, Sunday, October 31, 1926, p. W3.
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