Martha Sleeper
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Martha Sleeper (1907-1983) was a silent film comedienne of the 1920s and Broadway actress of the 1940s. She was under contract to Hal Roach studios beginning in 1924, when she was only fourteen years of age. She was born in Lake Bluff, Illinois on June 24, 1907 and spent her first years on a sheep ranch in Wyoming. Miss Sleeper's father, William B. Sleeper, was an official of the Keith-Orpheum vaudeville circuit in New York. He retired to Los Angeles, California in 1923 because of ill health. William was found dead of heart disease on September 1, 1925 in the bed of his home on 1756 North Tamarind Street. Martha, then 15, was with her mother and sister on a short trip to New York City.
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[edit] Dancer Who Studied Ballet
As a youth she studied dancing for five years with the Russian ballet master, Louis H. Chalif, in his New York dancing studio. Her first public exhibitions were at Carnegie Hall at his class exhibitions. One of her dancing photos was sent to an uncle in Los Angeles, California, who framed and displayed it on a wall of his home. The home was sold to Emory Johnson and his mother, Emily Johnson. The latter wrote The Mail Man and recommended Martha for a part in films, upon noticing the teenager's photo.
[edit] Author and Silent Movie Actress
In 1926, when she was 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.
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). Martha's final movies were in the late 1930s and The Bells of St. Mary's (1945).
[edit] Jewelry and Dress Merchant
After achieving prominence on the New York stage, Martha left abruptly in 1949. She sailed from New York on a 40-foot schooner to take a vacation in the Virgin Islands with her husband. However when she reached Puerto Rico, she thought, I knew this was the place for me. She fell in love with the island and opened a hand-made clothing shop there in 1950. She sewed native dresses in San Juan and resolved never to return to the mainland. Before World War II Sleeper designed jewelry, so using her hands productively was not a new thing for her. Martha did quite well selling many of her Martha Sleeper creations to stores in the United States and neighboring islands.
She died in Beaufort, South Carolina on March 25, 1983.
[edit] References
- Hayward, California 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, California Tribune, Comedienne Writes, Sunday, October 31, 1926, Page W3.
