Gretchen Hartman

Bio: A soulful-looking brunette, Gretchen Hartman played Barbara Hare in a 1915 version of the ever-popular East Lynne. Louise Vale starred as the much put-upon Lady Isabel and a very young Alan Hale was Sir Francis. Hartman had been Mrs. Alan Hale since 1914 and she is perhaps better remembered as the mother of Alan Hale, Jr. than for any of her scores of silent film… More Bio: A soulful-looking brunette, Gretchen Hartman played Barbara Hare in a 1915 version of the ever-popular East Lynne. Louise Vale starred as the much put-upon Lady Isabel and a very young Alan Hale was Sir Francis. Hartman had been Mrs. Alan Hale since 1914 and she is perhaps better remembered as the mother of Alan Hale, Jr. than for any of her scores of silent film roles. A stage ingenue under the name of Greta Arbin prior to making her screen debut for Famous Players in 1914, Hartman had created the role of Mary Jane in Mary Jane's Pa, a popular Broadway comedy. She was most ingenuish in her films as well, but for now-obscure reasons changed her billing to Sonia Markova to play Fantine in Les Miserables (1917). She returned to Gretchen Hartman soon after, but her career was already waning by the early '20s. Retiring at the advent of sound, Hartman returned for a bit role in Room for One More (1952). ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi