Martha Sleeper

Born: 1910-06-24

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 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. 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 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. 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. 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, Martha 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 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 her last screen role.


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The Bells of St. Mary's

as Mary Gallagher
Released: 1945-12-27

Father O'Malley is sent to St. Mary's, a run-down parochial school on the verge of condemnation....

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Bombshell

as Lola's Hair Stylist (uncredited)
Released: 1933-10-13

A glamorous film star rebels against the studio, her pushy press agent and a family of hangers-on.

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The Scoundrel

as Julia Vivian
Released: 1935-04-30

A ruthless, cynical, hated publisher is killed in a plane crash, doomed to be a "restless"...

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Penthouse

as Sue Leonard
Released: 1933-09-08

Gertie Waxted knows how notorious gangster Jim Crelliman runs his rackets, because she's long...

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Rasputin and the Empress

as Party Girl (uncredited)
Released: 1932-12-23

The story of corrupt, power-hungry, manipulative Grigori Rasputin's influence on members of the...

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Hollywood Party

as Show Girl (uncredited)
Released: 1934-05-24

Jimmy Durante is jungle movie star Schnarzan the Conqueror, but the public is tiring of his fake...

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Spitfire

as Eleanor Stafford
Released: 1934-03-08

Dirt-poor mountain girl Trigger Hicks is a loner. Her faith-healing is mistaken for witchcraft...

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Midnight Mary

as Barbara
Released: 1933-06-30

While on trial for her life, a young woman recalls her tough upbringing and her involvement with...

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Ten Cents a Dance

as Nancy Clark
Released: 1931-01-30

A taxi dancer with a jealous husband finds herself falling for a wealthy client.

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Bromo and Juliet

as Bit Role (uncredited)
Released: 1926-09-19

A young man puts on the play "Romeo and Juliet" as a fundraiser, but has to keep a close eye on...

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Confessions of a Co-Ed

as Lucille
Released: 1931-07-11

A young college student gets pregnant by the man she loves, but circumstances prevent their...

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Long Fliv the King

as Princess Helga of Thermosa
Released: 1926-06-13

This offbeat comedy from future Hollywood screwball director McCarey is about a princess who...

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Madam Satan

as Fish Girl
Released: 1930-09-20

A socialite masquerades as a notorious femme fatale to win back her straying husband during a...

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Seeing Nellie Home

as uncredited
Released: 1924-07-26

The situation is typically embarrassing and unlikely-but-possible for Charley, but it is at the...

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Innocent Husbands

as Girl at Party (uncredited)
Released: 1925-08-01

Despite his faithfulness, Melvin is always under suspicion by wife Mame. Complications erupt...

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Too Many Mammas

as The Apache Dancer
Released: 1924-10-12

Charley is called upon to go out with his boss on a date with the boss' mistress, to act as a beard.

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Our Blushing Brides

as Evelyn Woodforth
Released: 1930-07-19

Jerry, Connie, and Franky are small-town girls seeking wealthy husbands in New York City. But,...

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Two Sinners

as Elsie Summerstone
Released: 1935-09-12

An ex-convict gets released after shooting a fellow who made a play for his wife. When he meets...

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Huddle

as Barbara
Released: 1932-05-14

Tony, the son of Italian immigrants, works in a smoky steel mill in Gary, Indiana. He wins a...

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Big Red Riding Hood

as Book store clerk
Released: 1925-04-26

Jimmy Jump is asked by the Swedish Government to translate for educational purposes "Little Red...

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Flaming Fathers

as Daughter
Released: 1927-12-17

Papa Gimplewart chaperones his daughter and her "steady" during a beach adventure.

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Rhythm on the Range

as Constance Hyde
Released: 1936-07-01

Cowboy Jeff Larabee returns from the east and meets Doris Halloway, a young girl, that he...

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Bad Boy

as Jimmie's Girl Friend
Released: 1925-04-11

In this two-reeler, Jimmy Jump wants to please both of his parents, but they disagree about...

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The Secret of Madame Blanche

as Chorus Girl Who Hears 'My Country Tis of Thee' (Uncredited)
Released: 1933-02-03

A murder trial reunites a former chorus girl and her son, a grandson of an English aristocrat.

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Pass the Gravy

as Daughter
Released: 1928-01-07

Schultz raises prize chickens and roosters that are always getting into neighbor Max Davidson's...

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Girls Demand Excitement

as Harriet Mundy
Released: 1931-02-08

Peter Brooks is a hard-working, hard-up college student whose dislike of women attending college...

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Broken Dreams

as Martha Morley
Released: 1933-10-19

Medical intern Robert Morley is distraught after his wife dies in childbirth. He's resentful of...

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Plain and Fancy Girls

as Fiance
Released: 1925-03-01

Jimmy Jump has a "plain" girlfriend, and becomes intrigued by a "fancy" girl he spots in a park....

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Should Tall Men Marry?

as Martha Skittle
Released: 1928-01-15

This western comedy is about rancher Finlayson's beautiful daughter, Martha Sleeper, who refuses...

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Should Sailors Marry?

as Smyrna, Verbena's Daughter
Released: 1925-11-08

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Along Came Auntie

as Marie, the Maid
Released: 1926-07-25

A divorced couple try to pretend they are still happily married in order to get $100,000 from...

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The Royal Razz

as uncredited
Released: 1924-12-21

A doting father who plays Santa Claus for Christmas annoys a trolley full of people when he lugs...

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Better Movies

as Teenaged 'Vamp'
Released: 1925-11-01

The gang decided to go into the movie-making business, using all kinds of sets and props. There...

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Thundering Fleas

as Bride
Released: 1926-07-18

The kids from Our Gang have to attend a wedding, and they bring along their flea...

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Crazy Like a Fox

as The bride
Released: 1926-08-26

Two rich capitalists want to marry their children, but they don't like the idea at all. She...

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Great God Gold

as Marcia Harper
Released: 1935-04-14

Greed, ambition and hunger-for-power drive John Hart, a New-York-City stock-market broker, into...

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Tomorrow's Youth

as Ellen Hall
Released: 1934-10-14

A look at how his parents' divorce affects the life of a young boy.

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A Ten-Minute Egg

as Mrs. Dugan
Released: 1924-07-19

The main premise for the comedy is the Jimmy discovers he can convince people he is a tough...

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Outdoor Pajamas

as Girl with Runaway Pony
Released: 1924-09-13

This funny Hal Roach comedy has Jimmy Jump (Charley Chase) waking up late for his wedding so in...

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There Goes the Bride

as Imogene-the Bride
Released: 1925-01-01

What bridegroom could be romantic with a swollen jaw and a yelling tooth? His young bride thinks...

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Fluttering Hearts

as Daughter
Released: 1927-06-19

Defying her father's wishes, a young woman runs off to a sale at store. She's pursued by a...

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Sweet Daddy

as Daughter
Released: 1924-08-17

Jimmy Jump's boss asks him to meet his small niece and her dog and entertain them between...

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Madame Mystery

as uncredited
Released: 1926-03-12

A female secret agent has gotten ahold of a new type of explosive gas. She has to avoid the...

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Sure-Mike!

as Vermuda
Released: 1925-05-23

Vermuda, a saleswoman in a department store, is very late for work. She relies on a ruse to fool...

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Mum's the Word

as The Nervous Little Girl
Released: 1926-05-09

A widow has married rich, but didn't tell her husband about her son. And he's coming for a...

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What's the World Coming To?

as The Butler
Released: 1926-01-16

Short comedy which posits that in a hundred years men's styles will revert to Regency garb, and...

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West of the Pecos

as Ril Lambeth
Released: 1934-12-27

Richard Dix stars as Pecos Smith, a strong, silent Westerner suspected of cattle rustling.

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War Nurse

as Helen
Released: 1930-11-22

Women from various backgrounds volunteer as nurses in France at the outbreak of World War I.

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Days of Thrills and Laughter

as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Released: 1961-03-21

An appreciative, uncritical look at silent film comedies and thrillers from early in the century...

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All Wet

as Boarding house maid (uncredited)
Released: 1924-01-01

Charley Chase has car trouble.

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A Tailor-Made Man

as Corrine
Released: 1931-03-28

John Paul Bart is just a pants-presser in a tailor's shop, but he has big ambitions. One night,...

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Jewish Prudence

as Rachel Gimplewart
Released: 1927-05-27

Papa Gimplewart, father to three children is unimpressed by the young lawyer who wants to marry...

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Danger Street

as Kitty
Released: 1928-08-26

Rolly Sigsby, a society clubman bitterly weary of life, wanders into the middle of a gunfight...

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The Rat's Knuckles

as Flirty McFickle
Released: 1925-01-03

Charley Chase is a hapless inventor with a better mouse trap in this silent comedy from 1925.

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The Honorable Mr. Buggs

as The Fiancée
Released: 1927-04-24

Mr. Buggs is an insect collector. A beautiful and mysterious Asian woman (the lovely Anna May...

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A Punch in the Nose

as uncredited
Released: 1926-01-03

A troupe of actors stranded in a small town take job as recreation directors in a sanitarium and...

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Laughing Ladies

as uncredited
Released: 1925-01-01

Lucien Littlefield is a dentist who believes in giving generous doses of laughing gas to the...

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The Little Yellow House

as Emmy Milburn
Released: 1928-04-18

Plot unknown and film presumed to be lost.

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