Martine Bartlett

Martine Bartlett (April 24, 1925 – April 5, 2006[1]) was an American actress. A life member of The Actors Studio,[2] Bartlett is best-remembered, albeit not by name, for her chilling performance as Hattie Dorsett, the seriously disturbed, abusive mother of Sally Field's title character in Sybil.

Martine Bartlett
Born(1925-04-24)April 24, 1925
DiedApril 5, 2006(2006-04-05) (aged 80)
EducationWashington University in St. Louis (BA)
Yale University (MFA)
OccupationActress
Years active1951–1983

Career edit

She was active onstage with the former St. Louis Community Playhouse, Rooftop Players and the old Empress Theater. She received her master's degree at the Graduate Drama School at Yale.[3] Her debut on Broadway was as a townsperson in The Devil's Disciple (1950). She was part of the ensemble cast in Saint Joan (1951),[1] starring Uta Hagen.

Her first television appearance was in an episode of Robert Montgomery Presents titled "The Man Who Vanished" (1956). Her other appearances include episodes on The Twilight Zone, The Fugitive, Dr. Kildare, The Virginian, Kojak, Cannon, Mission: Impossible, and Quincy, M.E. She was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Performance in a Supporting Role by an Actress for her performance in an episode of the series Arrest and Trial[4] ("Journey Into Darkness", 1963).

She returned to Broadway in 1957 and played the role as Loreena Lovejoy in Carson McCullers' The Square Root of Wonderful (starring Anne Baxter). Bartlett appeared as the kindly Aunt Nonnie in the original Broadway production of Tennessee Williams' Sweet Bird of Youth (1959).[1]

Her motion picture debut was as the English teacher Miss Metcalf in Splendor in the Grass (1961), starring Natalie Wood and Warren Beatty. Other films in which she appeared include The Prize (1963) and Lord Love a Duck (1966). She played Alma Mulloy, the first victim of Rod Steiger's serial killer in No Way to Treat a Lady (1968). She played the delusional prostitute Sadie in Fuzz (1972); played Raquel Welch's mother (and Jodie Foster's grandmother) in Kansas City Bomber (1972); and appeared in Aloha, Bobby and Rose (1975).

Bartlett portrayed the "Secret Wife", a self-abusing mental patient, in I Never Promised You a Rose Garden (1977). In the NBC miniseries Sybil (1976), Bartlett played Hattie Dorsett, Sybil's psychotic mother who appears in flashbacks abusing and tormenting a very young Sybil (played by Natasha Ryan), garnering acclaim for her performance. She made her last known appearance in an episode of the television series Remington Steele (1983).

Death edit

Bartlett died on April 5, 2006, in Tempe, Arizona, aged 80. She is buried in Calvary Cemetery in St. Louis, Missouri.[5] She was survived by a brother and sister.[3]

Filmography edit

Film edit

YearTitleRoleNotes
1961Splendor in the GrassMiss Metcalf
1963The PrizeSaralee Garrett
1966Lord Love a DuckInez
1968No Way to Treat a LadyAlma Mulloy
1972FuzzSadie
1972Kansas City BomberMrs. Carr
1975Aloha, Bobby and RoseRose's mother
1977I Never Promised You a Rose GardenSecret Wife

Television edit

YearTitleRoleNotes
1954Kraft Television TheatreMrs. Elton"Emma"
1958The United States Steel HourMiss Fraser"One Red Rose for Christmas"
1961Naked CityReceptionist"A Memory of Crying"
1963Ben JerrodLil MorrisonTV series
1963Dr. KildareMrs. Goodwin"The Sleeping Princess"
1963The Alfred Hitchcock HourFlossieSeason 1 Episode 24: "The Star Juror"
1963The Alfred Hitchcock HourMrs. BergenSeason 2 Episode 6: "Nothing Ever Happens in Linville"
1963Breaking PointMiss Newly"And James Was a Very Small Snail"
1963Arrest and TrialMiranda Ledoux Porter"Journey Into Darkness"
1964The Twilight ZoneMiss Finch"Night Call"
1964The LieutenantStella Bonney"In the Highest Tradition"
1964The FugitiveStreetwalker"The End Game"
1964The Eleventh HourIna Danholt"The Color of Sunset"
1965Profiles in CourageCaroline"Daniel Webster"
1965The Big ValleyCinda Bentell"The Guilt of Matt Bentell"
1966The VirginianMargaret McKinley"One Spring Like Long Ago"
1966Mission: ImpossibleAriana Domi"Zubrovnik's Ghost"
1967CBS PlayhouseMargaret"Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night"
1967Judd, for the DefenseGrace Garrison"Death from a Flower Girl"
1968Felony SquadLeona Corbett"The Love Victim"
1969Then Came BronsonNora Halvorsen"The Old Motorcycle Fiasco"
1970The Mod SquadMrs. Farrell"Sweet Child of Terror"
1970Medical CenterStella Hibbs"Fright and Flight"
1970The ImmortalMrs. Adkins"The Return"
1971Big Fish, Little FishEdith MaitlandTV film
1972The Sixth SenseCarrie"Dear Joan: We're Going to Scare You to Death"
1973CannonHanna Freel"He Who Digs a Grave"
1973Owen Marshall: Counselor at LawMary Gregson"Sometimes Tough Is Good"
1974The ManhunterMady Gordon"The Lodester Ambush"
1975Attack on Terror: The FBI vs. the Ku Klux KlanBea SuttonTV film
1975LincolnKitty Cavan"Prairie Lawyer"
1975KojakMargaret McCune"A House of Prayer, a Den of Thieves"
1975CannonMaybelle Tweedy"The Conspirators"
1976CannonMadge Cleary"The House of Cards"
1976SybilHattie DorsettTV miniseries
1981SizzleFredaTV film
1982Quincy, M.E.Sobriety Group Member"Dying for a Drink"
1983Remington SteeleMillicent"Steele Flying High" (final appearance)

References edit

  1. ^ a b c "Martine Bartlett". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved August 17, 2022.
  2. ^ Garfield, David (1980). "Appendix: Life Members of The Actors Studio as of January 1980". A Player's Place: The Story of The Actors Studio. New York: MacMillan. p. 277. ISBN 978-0-0254-2650-4.
  3. ^ a b Jones, Kenneth (June 12, 2006). "Obituaries: Martine Bartlett, Stage and Screen Actress, Deat at 81". Playbill. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
  4. ^ "Martine Bartlett". Emmys. Retrieved August 18, 2022.
  5. ^ Wilson, Scott (August 22, 2016). Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons (3d ed.). McFarland. p. 46. ISBN 978-0-7864-7992-4. Retrieved January 22, 2023.

External links edit