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, 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 uncle was John J. Murdock, head of KAO and one of the most powerful men in the business. He would have a major impact on her career. Her mother was Minnie Akass.^[1] He retired to Los Angeles, California in 1923 because of 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 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

Some sources indicate that Martha, in 1926, aged 16, wrote and published a book "Hollywood Be Thy Name". This may have been a studio publicity stunt as there is no verification that this book was ever published.

Film career

Martha Sleeper's film career began in 1923 and continued until 1945. Her first screen appearance, at the age of 13, was in "The Mailman (1923), an independent production. After appearing in several Buddy Messinger 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. During the period 1925-1927 she was a very busy actress appearing in many comedies playing opposite the studio's most popular male stars even though she was still an underage teen. Her best films during her Roach studio days were domestic comedies where she played either the feminine lead to Charley Chase or she played Max Davidson's daughter. Wanting to move into feature films, and wanting to play more dramatic roles, she left the Roach studio in late 1927 and moved to the FBO studio where she starred in six silent features during 1928-1929. With the coming of sound she was signed by MGM and placed in their training program. From 1930-1936 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 Martha began playing live stage roles 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 Martha and her husband, actor Hardie Albright, left Hollywood for New York in 1936 where Martha began a long run in both on and off-Broadway plays. In 1945, as a favor to director Leo McCarey, Martha played the role of Patsy's mother in "The Bells of St. Mary's". It was Martha's final screen role.

Many sources show Martha appearing in the Laurel & Hardy short film "The Chimp". Martha had left the Roach studio several years before this film was shot and did not appear in the film. The role of Mrs. Gilbert in "The Chimp" was actually played by Dorothy Granger.

Businesswoman

Martha left Hollywood for New York and the Broadway stage in 1936. Over the next dozen years she would appear in many stage plays both on and off-Broadway. Among those was "The Rugged Path" in 1945 that starred Spencer Tracy in his only Broadway stage role. While in New York Martha turned a hobby into a thriving business. She had always been very creative and she began making whimsical lapel pins and broaches for herself. She would wear these creations at various events and other women, seeing them, wanted to know where they could obtain one. Before long Martha found herself at the forefront of a fashion craze for "gadget jewelry" in the late 1930s and this one-time hobby was bringing in several hundred thousand dollars in income for Martha above and beyond her stage career. Much of her prewar designs were manufactured using the substance Bakelite - today these Bakelite pieces are very valuable and quite collectible.

In 1949 Martha 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, Martha reinvented herself one more time 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. Martha soon became world renown for he designs and her boutique became one of the most popular tourist attractions on the island. She won many awards and commissions from large corporations for unique designs. Martha operated this business from 1950 until her retirement in 1969. In 1969 Martha, now married to her third husband, left San Juan for Beaufort SC where she spent her remaining years.

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. 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.^[3] Sleeper's 1983 New York Times obituary, as well, was titled "Martha Sleeper Is Dead At 72."^[4]

Filmography

References

1. ↑ 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.
2. ↑ Martha Sleeper at the Internet Movie Database
3. ↑ SSDI profile, ssdi.rootsweb.ancestry.com; accessed August 11, 2015.(registration required)
4. ↑ "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.