Martha-Bryan Allen (April 30, 1903 – July 29, 1985) was an American stage actress, active during the 1920s.

Life and career

Martha-Bryan Allen (also known as Martha Bryan-Allen), was born on April 30, 1903, to Bryan H. and Rebecca D. Allen of

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

. Her father was the treasurer of a local electric company. Allen's sister

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...

, also an actress, was the first wife of film star Robert Montgomery and the mother of '' Bewitcheds

Elizabeth Montgomery Elizabeth Victoria Montgomery (April 15, 1932 – May 18, 1995) was an American actress whose career spanned five decades in film, stage, and television. She is best remembered for her leading role as the witch Samantha Stephens on the televisi ...

. Allen attended classes at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York CityMartha-Bryan Allen papers, 1924–1925. New York Public Library
accessed June 10, 2012 before making her Broadway debut on January 9, 1922, playing Angelica in

Leonid Andreyev Leonid Nikolaievich Andreyev (russian: Леони́д Никола́евич Андре́ев, – 12 September 1919) was a Russian playwright, novelist and short-story writer, who is considered to be a father of Expressionism in Russian liter ...

's ''He Who Gets Slapped''. Two months later she played the envoy's daughter in Bernard Shaw's ''

Back to Methuselah ''Back to Methuselah (A Metabiological Pentateuch)'' by George Bernard Shaw consists of a preface (''The Infidel Half Century'') and a series of five plays: ''In the Beginning: B.C. 4004 (In the Garden of Eden)'', ''The Gospel of the Brothers Bar ...

'', and following year, Essie in another Bernard Shaw production, '' The Devil's Disciple''. She played Lucy Blake in ''Gypsy Jim'', a three-act play by Oscar Hammerstein and Milton Herbert Gropper, Appolonia Lee in

Sophie Treadwell Sophie Anita Treadwell (October 3, 1885 – February 20, 1970) was an American playwright and journalist of the first half of the 20th century. She is best known for her play ''Machinal'' which is often included in drama anthologies as an examp ...

's ''O, Nightingale'', and Myrtle Carey in ''The Carolinian'' by

Rafael Sabatini Rafael Sabatini (29 April 1875 – 13 February 1950) was an Italian-born British writer of romance and adventure novels. He is best known for his worldwide bestsellers: ''The Sea Hawk'' (1915), ''Scaramouche'' (1921), ''Captain Blood'' (a.k.a ...

and J. Harold Terry. In 1925 Allen was chosen to play the title role in John B. Hymer and Le Roy Clemens' ''Aloma of the South Seas'', but was replaced by

Vivienne Osborne Vivienne Osborne (born Vera Vivienne Spragg; December 10, 1896 – June 10, 1961) was an American stage and film actress known for her work in Broadway theatre and in silent and sound films. Career Osborne began her career on stage when s ...

shortly before the play's New York debut. By the year's end she would find success playing the circus entertainer Dora in René Fauchois' hit play, ''The Monkey Talks''. Shortly after her marriage in 1926 to Lewis Arthur Cushman Jr., Allen chose to retire from the stage. Cushman was the founder of the American Bakeries Company, whose genesis was Cushman Bakeries, a company started by his father. Allen died on July 29, 1985, at her residence in Patterson, New York. She was survived by her daughter and was preceded in death by her husband and a son.Obituary, Cushman, Martha Bryan Allen, ''

The 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 d ...

''; July 30, 1985; pg. A30

References

External links

*
Martha-Bryan Allen papers, 1924–1925
held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division,

New York Public Library for the Performing Arts The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, at 40 Lincoln Center Plaza, is located in Manhattan, New York City, at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on the Upper West Side, between the Metro ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Martha-Bryan 1903 births 1985 deaths 20th-century American actresses Actresses from Louisville, Kentucky American stage actresses American Academy of Dramatic Arts alumni People from Patterson, New York