June Martel (born Martha Irene Greif; November 19, 1909 – November 23, 1978) was a singer and a stage and movie actress from Chicago, Illinois. She was a petite brunette.

Singer and actress

Her career began as a singer in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Martel was in the cast of the Broadway play ''Snatch as Snatch Can'',in May 1934. Other actors paired with her included

Barton MacLane Barton MacLane (December 25, 1902 – January 1, 1969) was an American actor, playwright, and screenwriter. He appeared in many classic films from the 1930s through the 1960s, including his role as General Martin Peterson on the 1960s NBC ...

. Her first film role was in ''

Front Page Woman ''Front Page Woman'' is a 1935 American comedy film directed by Michael Curtiz. The screenplay by Laird Doyle, Lillie Hayward and Roy Chanslor based on the novel ''Women Are Bum Newspapermen'' by Richard Macauley. Plot Ellen Garfield refuses ...

'' (1935), followed by '' Going Highbrow'' (1935). She was the female lead in '' Fighting Youth'' (1935). The movie combined football excitement with the influence of

communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...

on college athletics. Martel was signed by Harry Warner of

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

in 1935. Other aspiring Warners' actresses were

Olivia de Havilland Dame Olivia Mary de Havilland (; July 1, 1916July 26, 2020) was a British and American actress. The major works of her cinematic career spanned from 1935 to 1988. She appeared in 49 feature films and was one of the leading actresses of her tim ...

, June Grabiner, Nan Grey, and

Dorothy Dare Dorothy Dare (born Dorothy Herskind, August 6, 1911 – October 4, 1981) was an American actress and singer. Early life Dare was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As a child, she often sang in church and developed good vocability. She first ...

. By August 1936 she had become the property of

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

. The studio cast her as the ingenue in ''American Plan''. The story concerned a girl who inherits a newspaper, adapted from an unpublished play by Manny Seff and Milton Lazarus. She also appeared in '' Sitting on the Moon'' in 1936. Martel's later screen roles came in the 1930s in

western films The Western is a film genre defined by the American Film Institute as films which are "set in the American West that mbodythe spirit, the struggle, and the demise of the Frontier Thesis, new frontier." Generally set in the American frontier b ...

, such as '' Forlorn River'' (1937), ''

Wild Horse Rodeo ''Wild Horse Rodeo'' is a 1937 American Western film directed by George Sherman and starring Robert Livingston, Ray Corrigan, and Max Terhune. Written by Oliver Drake and Betty Burbridge, based on a story by Drake and Gilbert Wright, the fi ...

'' (1937) and '' Santa Fe Stampede'' (1938).

Personal life

She collected odd pieces of jewelry and had amassed a small trunkload of items by 1937. In February 1941 Martel married screenwriter Frank Fenton. Fenton was also a scenarist and magazine writer. Her first husband was Walter J. Klavun, whom she divorced in Mexico in 1938. June Martel died in 1978 in Los Angeles County, California.

Filmography

References

* ''Los Angeles Times'', "News Notes of Broadway Stage", May 29, 1934, page 10 * ''Los Angeles Times'', "June Martel in New Picture", January 5, 1935, page 5 * ''Los Angeles Times'', "Ten on Road to Stardom", April 1, 1935, page A2 * ''Los Angeles Times'', "June Martel's Debut", May 6, 1935, page 14 * ''Los Angeles Times'', "More Newcomers Crash Pictures", August 28, 1936, page 15 * ''Los Angeles Times'', "She Collects Jewelry", May 30, 1937, page C3 * ''Los Angeles Times'', "June Martel Becomes Bride of Film and Magazine Writer", March 1, 1941, page 3 * ''Los Angeles Times'', "Cupid Scores Knockout Blow Over Divorce Among Motion Picture Folk of Hollywood", January 2, 1942, page 7 * ''New York Times'', "The Screen", November 2, 1935, page 13 * ''Reno Evening Gazette'', "Fine Screen Bill for Granada Announced", Saturday, November 9, 1935, page 8

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Martel June American stage actresses American film actresses Western (genre) film actresses Actresses from Chicago 20th-century American actresses 1909 births 1978 deaths 20th-century American singers 20th-century American women singers