June Martel (born Martha Irene Greif; November 19, 1909 – November 23, 1978) was a singer and a stage and motion picture actress from

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. 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 (Manhattan) Broadway () is a road in the U.S. state of New York. Broadway runs from State Street at Bowling Green for through the borough of Manhattan and through the Bronx, exiting north from New York City to run an additional through the Westcheste ...

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'' (1935) followed by ''

Going Highbrow ''Going Highbrow'' is a 1935 American comedy-musical film directed by Robert Florey. Guy Kibbee and ZaSu Pitts play a newly rich couple, so eager to buy their way into society they hire a waitress to pose as their daughter. Plot summary Cas ...

'' (1935). The latter starred

Guy Kibbee Guy Bridges Kibbee (March 6, 1882 – May 24, 1956) was an American stage and film actor. Early years Kibbee was born in El Paso, Texas. His father was editor of the ''El Paso Herald-Post'' newspaper, and Kibbee learned how to set type at age ...

. She was the female lead in '' Fighting Youth'' (1935). Playing the part of "Betty Wilson'," Martel starred opposite

Charles Farrell Charles David Farrell (August 9, 1900 – May 6, 1990) was an American film actor of the 1920s silent era and into the 1930s, and later a television actor. Farrell is probably best recalled for his onscreen romances with actress Janet Gaynor ...

and

Andy Devine Andrew Vabre Devine (October 7, 1905 – February 18, 1977) was an American character actor known for his distinctive raspy, crackly voice and roles in Western films, including his role as Cookie, the sidekick of Roy Rogers in 10 feature fil ...

. The movie combined football excitement with the influence of

communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a ...

on college athletics. Martel was signed by

Harry Warner Harry Morris Warner (born Hirsz Mojżesz Wonsal; December 12, 1881 – July 25, 1958) was an American studio executive, one of the founders of Warner Bros., and a major contributor to the development of the film industry. Along with his three ...

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

in 1935. Other aspiring Warners' actresses were

Olivia de Havilland Dame Olivia Mary de Havilland (; July 1, 1916July 26, 2020) was a British-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 time. ...

, June Grabiner,

Nan Grey Nan Grey (born Eschal Loleet Grey Miller; July 25, 1918 – July 25, 1993) was an American film actress. Early years Grey was born in Houston, Texas. In 1934, at age 16, she went to Hollywood with her mother for a holiday. She was persuaded by ...

, 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. 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 final screen roles came in the late 1930s, in

western films Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US * Western, New York, a town in the US * Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia * Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that ...

. Among these are '' 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 film ...

'' (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, a

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

graduate, whom she divorced in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

in 1938. June Martel died in 1978 in Los Angeles County, California.

Filmography

References

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

, ''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 New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

, ''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