Margot Sari Hartman Tenney (August 15, 1933 – April 11, 2020) was an American actress and the chairman of the board of the First Stamford Corporation, one of the largest privately held commercial real estate companies in the State of

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

. Born and raised in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, the daughter of Dorothy and Jesse Hartman, she started her professional career as an actress at the

Arena Stage Arena Stage is a not-for-profit regional theater based in Southwest, Washington, D.C. Established in 1950, it was the first racially integrated theater in Washington, D.C. and its founders helped start the U.S. regional theater movement. It is ...

Company in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

After years of working in the regional theatre, Margot founded the Hartman Theatre Company in

Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut, outside of Manhattan. It is Connecticut's second-most populous city, behind Bridgeport. With a population of 135,470, Stamford passed Hartford and New Haven in population as of the 2020 ...

. For more than a decade the Hartman Theatre Company served as one of the nation's leading regional theatres and was the recipient of a special

Drama Desk The Drama Desk Award is an annual prize recognizing excellence in New York theatre. First bestowed in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award, the prize initially honored Off-Broadway productions, as well as Off-off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity. Fo ...

Award for Producing Unprecedented Work, such as the pre-Broadway production of ''

The Runner Stumbles ''The Runner Stumbles'' is a 1979 American drama film directed and produced by Stanley Kramer, based on the Broadway play by Milan Stitt. The film was the last of Kramer's long and distinguished career. It stars Dick Van Dyke, Kathleen Quinlan, Mau ...

'' in the theatre's premiere season. Through the creation of the Dorothy and Jesse Hartman Foundation, Margot supported several not for profit institutions such as the Palm Beach Shakespeare Festival. She also served on the board of directors for the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center, The Helen Hayes Theatre in

Nyack, New York Nyack () is a Village (New York), village located primarily in the Town (New York), town of Orangetown, New York, Orangetown in Rockland County, New York, Rockland County, New York (state), New York, United States. Incorporated in 1872, it retai ...

, and the Musical Theatre Works Company in New York. She received the Lifetime Achievement Award for the Advancement of Women from the Connecticut United Nations Associations. She was presented with an Outstanding Connecticut Woman Award by Governor O’Neill in the State Senator Chamber and thanked by the United States Senator

Christopher Dodd Christopher John Dodd (born May 27, 1944) is an American lobbyist, lawyer, and Democratic Party politician who served as a United States senator from Connecticut from 1981 to 2011. Dodd is the longest-serving senator in Connecticut's history. ...

(D-CT) for her service to the State. Margot Hartman was a graduate and member of the Board of Directors of

Bennington College Bennington College is a private liberal arts college in Bennington, Vermont. Founded in 1932 as a women's college, it became co-educational in 1969. It claims to be the first college to include visual and performing arts as an equal partner in ...

where she was a major financial supporter of the institution. At Bennington she provided the support for the creation of the new Margot Tenney Theatre space for the undergraduate drama program. The Hartman Foundation supports the Stamford branch of

Planned Parenthood The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is a nonprofit organization that provides reproductive health care in the United States and globally. It is a tax-exempt corporation under Internal Reve ...

. She wrote the novel, ''Dark Deeds Sweet Songs''. Margot Hartman was married to

Del Tenney Delbert "Del" Tenney (July 27, 1930 – February 21, 2013) was an American actor, film director, screenwriter and film producer. Starting out as an actor he appeared in some Off-Broadway plays and also performed in the Broadway premiere of Teren ...

, an independent film producer, until his death in 2013. Margot Hartman Tenney died on April 11, 2020, aged 86. Margot Hartman Tenney had three children and seven grandchildren.

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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hartman, Margot Bennington College alumni Actresses from New York City Businesspeople from New York City 1933 births 2020 deaths 21st-century American women