Gretchen Hartman (born Grace Barrett; August 28, 1897 – January 27, 1979) was an American stage and film actress. She is credited on 67 movies, nearly all silent.

Early life

Hartman was born Grace Barrett in Chicago, the daughter of actress Agnes A. Hartman. She was the sister of actress Ruth Hartman, and the aunt of actor Carlyle Blackwell, Jr.

Career

Hartman debuted on stage at the Bush Temple Theatre in Chicago portraying Little Eva in ''Uncle Tom's Cabin''. Her New York debut was in the same play, presented at the Majestic Theatre. She starred in Broadway plays as a child, starting her career at age nine. She started working in the theater under the name Greta Arbin before making her film debut. Her major roles were in: ''The Law and the Man'' (1906-1907), ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' (1907), ''Mary Jane's Pa'' (1908–1909), and ''Sweethearts'' (1913–1914). She created the role of Mary Jane in ''Mary Jane's Pa''. She started her film career with roles in short films beginning in 1911, when she starred as Rosalie in the film ''For the Flag of France''. A popular figure in the silent film era, her best known films are ''Colomba'' (1915), from the novel by

Prosper Mérimée Prosper Mérimée (; 28 September 1803 – 23 September 1870) was a French writer in the movement of Romanticism, and one of the pioneers of the novella, a short novel or long short story. He was also a noted archaeologist and historian, and a ...

, ''The Purple Lady'' (1916), with her husband,

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

's '' Les Miserábles'' (1917), ''The Bandbox'' (1919), '' Bride 13'' (1920 serial), ''His Brothers Keeper'' (1921), and ''While Justice Waits'' (1922). In 1915, she made a version of the popular novel ''

East Lynne ''East Lynne'' is an English sensation novel of 1861 by Ellen Wood, writing as Mrs Henry Wood. A Victorian best-seller, it is remembered chiefly for its elaborate and implausible plot, centring on infidelity and double identities. There have ...

'' by

Mrs. Henry Wood Ellen Price (17 January 1814 – 10 February 1887) was an English novelist better known as Mrs. Henry Wood. She is best remembered for her 1861 novel ''East Lynne''. Many of her books sold well internationally and were widely read in the United ...

. In 1917–18 she acted in three films for Fox studios under the name Sonia Markova returning to the name Gretchen Hartman soon after. Besides Sonia Markova, she also used the stage name Greta Hartman. In the 1920s her career was in decline, and she retired with the advent of sound films. In 1952 she made an uncredited appearance in the film '' Room for One More''.

Marriage and death

Hartman married actor Alan Hale Sr., and they had a son, Alan Hale Jr. Hartman died on January 27, 1979, at the age of 81, and is buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California, next to her husband.

Filmography

* ''For the Flag of France'' (1911) * ''The Lost Freight Car'' (1911) * ''The American Insurrecto'' (1911) * ''The Cricket on the Hearth'' (i) (1914) * ''Merely Mother'' (1914) * ''The Spirit of Jealousy'' (1914) * ''The First Law'' (i) (1914) * ''A Woman's Folly'' (1914) * ''Masks and Faces'' (1914) * ''The Romance of a Poor Young Man'' (1914) * ''In Quest of a Story'' (1914) * ''His Prior Claim'' (1914) * ''On the Heights'' (1914) * ''The Third Act'' (1915) * ''File No. 113'' (1915) * ''The Woman Who Paid'' (1915) * ''Colomba'' (1915) * ''His Brother's Keeper'' (i) (1915) * ''The Girl and the Matinee Idol'' (1915) * ''To Have and to Lose'' (1915) (unconfirmed) * ''Adam Bede'' (1915) * ''The Confession'' (ii) (1915) * ''The Wives of Men'' (1915) * ''The Smuggler's Ward'' (1915) * ''A Daughter of Earth'' (1915) * ''Reapers of the Whirlwind'' (1915) * ''Jane Eyre'' (1915) * ''East Lynne'' (1915) * ''Dora'' (1915) * ''The Soul of Pierre'' (1915) * ''The Country Parson'' (1915) * ''Winning the Widow'' (1915) * ''Harvest'' (1915) * ''Between Father and Son'' (1915) * ''Her Stepchildren'' (1915) * ''The Tides of Retribution'' (1915) * ''The Iron Will'' (1916) * ''His White Lie'' 1916) * ''Pique'' (1916) * ''The Guilt of Stephen Eldridge'' (1916) * ''The Mystery of Orcival'' (1916) * ''Alias Jimmy Barton'' (1916) * ''Madelaine Morel'' (1916) * ''The Man Who Called After Dark'' (1916) * ''The Larrimore Case'' (1916) * ''Fit for Burning'' (1916) * '' The Purple Lady'' (1916) * ''The Beast'' (1916) * ''Rolling Stones'' (1916) * ''The Love Thief'' (1916) * ''Married in Name Only'' (1917) * ''The Painted Madonna'' (1917, as Sonia Markova) * ''Les Misérables'' (1917, as Sonia Markova) * ''1918 A Heart's Revenge'' (1918, as Sonia Markova) * ''The House Without Children'' (1919) * '' Atonement'' (1919) * '' The Bandbox'' (1919) * ''Bride 13'' (1920) * ''

The Little 'Fraid Lady ''The Little 'Fraid Lady'' is a 1920 American silent drama film directed by John G. Adolfi and starring Mae Marsh.''Guide to the Silent Years of American Cinema'', p. 187 Cast * Mae Marsh as Cecilia Carne * Tully Marshall as Giron * Kathleen ...

'' (1920) * '' His Brother's Keeper'' (1921) * '' Do and Dare'' (1922) * ''

While Justice Waits ''While Justice Waits'' is a 1922 American silent Western film directed by Bernard J. Durning, and starring Dustin Farnum, Irene Rich, Earl Metcalfe, Junior Delameter, and Frankie Lee. The film was released by Fox Film Corporation on November 1 ...

'' (1922) * ''Elsie in New York'' (1926) * '' She Goes to War'' (1929, talkie) * ''The Time, the Place and the Girl'' (1929, talkie) * '' The College Coquette'' (1929, talkie) * '' Room for One More'' (1952, uncredited bit part)

References

External links

*
Gretchen Hartman - photo gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hartman, Gretchen 1897 births 1979 deaths American silent film actresses Actresses from Chicago Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale) 20th-century American actresses