Gretchen Hartman

Gretchen Hartman, born Grace Barrett on August 28, 1897, in Chicago, Illinois, was an American actress whose career spanned stage and silent film. The daughter of actress Agnes A. Hartman, she began performing as a child and went on to accumulate credits in 67 films, nearly all of them silent.

Hartman's stage career began in Chicago at the Bush Temple Theatre, where she first portrayed Little Eva in Uncle Tom's Cabin. That same role brought her to New York, with the production presented at the Majestic Theatre. She began appearing on Broadway at the age of nine, with her Broadway career running from 1906 to 1913. Early in her theatrical work she performed under the name Greta Arbin. Her Broadway credits include The Law and the Man, which ran during the 1906–1907 season, Uncle Tom's Cabin in 1907, and Mary Jane's Pa during the 1908–1909 season, in which she originated the title role of Mary Jane. She also appeared in the musical Sweethearts during the 1913–1914 season.

Hartman transitioned to film in 1911, taking on short film roles including that of Rosalie in For the Flag of France. Among her best-known silent films are Colomba, a 1915 adaptation of the novel by Prosper Mérimée, The Purple Lady from 1916, and a 1917 adaptation of Victor Hugo's Les Misérables. She also appeared in The Bandbox in 1919, the 1920 serial Bride 13, His Brother's Keeper in 1921, and While Justice Waits in 1922. In 1915 she appeared in a film version of East Lynne, based on the novel by Mrs. Henry Wood. During 1917 and 1918, she worked on three films for Fox studios under the name Sonia Markova before returning to the Gretchen Hartman name. She also used the stage name Greta Hartman at various points in her career.

Hartman married actor Alan Hale Sr., and the couple had three children, including actor Alan Hale Jr. She died on January 27, 1979, at the age of 81, and is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California, beside her husband.