Martha Sleeper

Martha Sleeper (June 24, 1910 – March 25, 1983) was a film actress of the 1920s–1930s and, later, a Broadway stage actress. She studied dancing for five years with Russian ballet master, Louis H. Chalif,[1] at his New York dancing studio. Her first public exhibitions were at Carnegie Hall at his class exhibitions.

Martha Sleeper
Sleeper in 1928
Born	June 24, 1910 Lake Bluff, Illinois, U.S.
Died	March 25, 1983 (aged 72) Beaufort, South Carolina, U.S.
Occupation	Actress; businesswoman
Years active	1923–1945 (Acting)
Spouse(s)	Hardie Albright ​ ​ (m. 1934; div. 1940)​ Harry Deutschbein (m. 1944; div. 19??) Col. Howard C. Stelling ​ ​ (m. 1969)​

Family

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 uncle was John J. Murdock, head of KAO and one of the most powerful men in the business. He had a major impact on her career. Her mother was Minnie Akass.[2]

Her father retired to Los Angeles, California, in 1923 due to ill health. Martha 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. Sleeper, then 15 years old, with her mother and sister, were away, having taken a short trip to New York City.

Acting career

Sleeper's film career began in 1923 and continued until 1945. Her first screen appearance, at the age of 12, was in The Mailman (1923),[3] an independent production. After appearing in several kiddie comedies at the Christie studio she was signed by the Hal Roach studio for the Our Gang series but she quickly outgrew that role, leaving it shortly after her 14th birthday.[4] From 1925-27 she appeared in comedies playing opposite the studio's most popular male stars. She left the Roach studio in late 1927 and moved to the FBO studio where she starred in six silent features during 1928–29. With the coming of sound she was signed by MGM and placed in their training program.

In 1927, Sleeper was one of 13 actresses selected as a WAMPAS Baby Star.[5] Later that year, FBO introduced Sleeper and Bryant Washburn as a new comedy team.[6]

From 1930 to 1936 she played supporting roles in many melodramas her role typically that of a well-bred somewhat snobbish society woman who ends up losing her man to the film's leading lady. Frustrated by the types of roles she was being offered, Sleeper began playing onstage in and about Los Angeles, at one point drawing raves as Eliza Doolittle in a performance of Pygmalion in 1932.

After appearing in some low budget melodramas for the poverty row Monogram studio Sleeper and her husband, actor Hardie Albright, left Hollywood for New York in 1936 where Sleeper began a long run in both on- and off-Broadway plays. Her first Broadway play was Good Men and True (1934).[7] In 1945, as a favor to director Leo McCarey, Sleeper played the role of Patsy's mother in The Bells of St. Mary's. It was her last screen role. In 1945, after appearing in The Bells of St, Mary's, Martha returned to New York and played Spencer Tracy's wife in the Broadway play The Rugged Path.[8]

Business career

While In New York, she turned a hobby into a thriving business, finding herself at the forefront of a fashion craze for "gadget jewelry" in the late 1930s. She had designed and manufactured whimsical pieces of costume jewelry for herself, but soon other women saw these pieces and wanted to know where they could obtain a copy. Martha found a company that would manufacture her designs, and they soon became available in department stores around the country, generating Martha a substantial sideline income in addition to her stage work. Many of these pieces were manufactured using Bakelite; these pieces are now considered valuable collectibles.

In 1949, she and her second husband were on an extended cruise in the Caribbean. 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. Terminating the cruise, Martha and her husband took up permanent residence in San Juan. Looking for a new challenge, and no longer interested in jewelry design, she reinvented herself and began designing women's clothing and resort wear. She had her designs manufactured locally and sold them through a boutique that she established in a 300-year-old building in Old Town San Juan. She won many awards and commissions from large corporations for unique designs. She operated this business from 1950 until her retirement in 1969. In 1969, married her third husband and left San Juan for Beaufort, South Carolina, where she spent her remaining years.

Death

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.[7] She had no children.

Former discrepancies regarding 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. Martha's true date of birth is June 24, 1910, as verified by a copy of her birth certificate.

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.[9] Sleeper's 1983 New York Times obituary, as well, was titled "Martha Sleeper Is Dead At 72."[10]

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1923	The Mailman	Betty
1924	The Racing Kid		Short
	Trailing Trouble		Short
	Please, Teacher!		Short
	A Ten-Minute Egg	Mrs. Dugan	Short
	Seeing Nellie Home		Short
	Sweet Daddy	Daughter	Short
	Outdoor Pajamas	Girl with Runaway Pony	Short
	Low Bridge	Martha - Buddy's Sweetheart	Short
	Should Landlords Live?		Short
	Too Many Mammas	The Apache Dancer	Short
	Every Man for Himself	Lady with rings around her eyes	Short
	All Wet		Uncredited
	The Royal Razz		Short
1925	The Rat's Knuckles	Flirty McFickle	Short
	Plain and Fancy Girls		Short
	Bad Boy	Jimmie's Girl Friend	Short
	Are Husbands Necessary?		Short
	Big Red Riding Hood	The Maid, Book Store Clerk	Short
	Wild Papa		Short, Uncredited
	Sure-Mike!	Vermuda	Short
	Sherlock Sleuth	Hotel Operator	Short
	Innocent Husbands	Girl at Party	Short, Uncredited
	Tame Men and Wild Women		Short
	There Goes the Bride		Short
	Better Movies	Teenaged 'Vamp'	Short
	Should Sailors Marry?	Smyrna	Short
	Laughing Ladies		Short
	Hold Everything		Short
1926	A Punch in the Nose		Short
	What's the World Coming To?	Butler	Short
	Your Husband's Past		Short
	Madame Mystery		Short
	Dizzy Daddies	Minor Role	Short, Uncredited
	Ukulele Sheiks		Short
	Baby Clothes	Leggy Lady	Short
	Mum's the World	The Nervous Little Girl	Short, Uncredited
	Say It with Babies	Hector's Wife	Short
	Don Key (Son of Burro)	Maid	Short
	Long Fliv the King	Princess Helga of Thermosa	Short
	Never Too Old		Short
	Thundering Fleas	Bride	Short
	Along Came Auntie	Marie, the Maid	Short
	The Merry Widower		Short Unconfirmed
	Crazy Like a Fox	The Bride	Short
	Should Husbands Pay?	His Wife	Short
	Bromo and Juliet	Bit Role	Short, Uncredited
	Wise Guys Prefer Brunettes	Co-ed	Short, Uncredited
1927	The Honorable Mr. Buggs	The Fiancée	Short
	Jewish Prudence	Rachel Gimplewart	Short
	Fluttering Hearts	Daughter	Short
	The Way of All Pants		Short, Uncredited Unconfirmed
	Love 'Em and Feed 'Em	Martha, a stenographer	Short
	Fighting Fathers		Short
	Flaming Fathers	Daughter	Short
1928	Pass the Gravy	Daughter	Short
	Should Tall Men Marry?	Martha Skittle	Short
	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	Party Girl	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
	Tomorrow's Youth	Mrs. Hall
	West of the Pecos	Ril Lambeth
1935	Great God Gold	Marcia Harper
	The Scoundrel	Julia Vivian
	Two Sinners	Elsie Summerstone
1936	Rhythm on the Range	Constance Hyde
	Four Days' Wonder	Nancy Fairbrother
1945	The Bells of St. Mary's	Mary Gallagher, Patsy's mother	(final film role)

References

1. "Prattle about Picture Plays". The Evening Review. Ohio, East Liverpool. November 23, 1923. p. 17. Retrieved June 23, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
2. 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.
3. Bird, David (April 7, 1983). "MARTHA SLEEPER IS DEAD AT 72; STAR OF FILMS AND BROADWAY". The New York Times. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
4. "Into Bigger Roles". The Los Angeles Times. California, Los Angeles. October 5, 1924. p. Part III - 16. Retrieved June 23, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "New Name on List of Baby Stars". The Los Angeles Times. California, Los Angeles. January 11, 1927. p. Part II - 9. Retrieved June 23, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Take a Bow". The Los Angeles Times. California, Los Angeles. December 26, 1927. p. Part II - 11. Retrieved June 23, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Actress Martha Sleeper, 72, star of Broadway and cinema". Chicago Tribune. Illinois, Chicago. New York Times News Service. April 8, 1983. p. Section 2 - 11. Retrieved June 23, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "("Martha Sleeper" search results)". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
9. SSDI profile, ssdi.rootsweb.ancestry.com; accessed August 11, 2015.(registration required)
10. "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.

External links

• Martha Sleeper at IMDb