Actress. Born in Bluff Lake, Illinois to William B. Sleeper and Minnie Akass. Martha began her career at the age of twelve with a comedy called ''The Mailman.'' In 1926, at the age of sixteen, she wrote and published a book entitled Hollywood Be Thy Name. She also appeared in a handful of silent Our Gang shorts including "Better Movies" in 1925, "Baby Clothes" in 1926 and "Thundering Fleas" in 1926, and Martha had a small role in a Laurel and Hardy short "The Chimp" in 1932. She made her Broadway debut in 1934 in ''Good Men and True.'' In 1936, Martha and her actor-husband Hardie Albright left the West Coast for New York to begin a ten year run on and off Broadway. At the same time she developed a lucrative sideline of designing idiosyncratic costume jewelry, mostly made from bakelite, wood and metal. This blossomed into a respectable $300,000 a year business and earned Martha the sobriquet of "The Gadget Girl". She starred in a series of plays during the 1930's and 1940's, among them ''The Cream in the Well,'' ''The Land Is Bright,'' ''I Must Love Some One,'' ''The Rugged Path'' and ''Christopher Blake.'' By 1941 she was married to her second husband Harry Dresser Deutschbein, it is unknown when they divorced, her final husband was Col. Howard C. Stelling. She died of a heart attack at her home at the age of 72.
Actress. Born in Bluff Lake, Illinois to William B. Sleeper and Minnie Akass. Martha began her career at the age of twelve with a comedy called ''The Mailman.'' In 1926, at the age of sixteen, she wrote and published a book entitled Hollywood Be Thy Name. She also appeared in a handful of silent Our Gang shorts including "Better Movies" in 1925, "Baby Clothes" in 1926 and "Thundering Fleas" in 1926, and Martha had a small role in a Laurel and Hardy short "The Chimp" in 1932. She made her Broadway debut in 1934 in ''Good Men and True.'' In 1936, Martha and her actor-husband Hardie Albright left the West Coast for New York to begin a ten year run on and off Broadway. At the same time she developed a lucrative sideline of designing idiosyncratic costume jewelry, mostly made from bakelite, wood and metal. This blossomed into a respectable $300,000 a year business and earned Martha the sobriquet of "The Gadget Girl". She starred in a series of plays during the 1930's and 1940's, among them ''The Cream in the Well,'' ''The Land Is Bright,'' ''I Must Love Some One,'' ''The Rugged Path'' and ''Christopher Blake.'' By 1941 she was married to her second husband Harry Dresser Deutschbein, it is unknown when they divorced, her final husband was Col. Howard C. Stelling. She died of a heart attack at her home at the age of 72.
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