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Martha Caroline Theresa Lorber (June 11, 1900 – July 2, 1983) was an American dancer, actress, singer, model, and Ziegfeld Girl.
Martha Lorber | |
|---|---|
 Martha Lorber as photographed by Nickolas Muray, from a 1922 publication. | |
| Born | June 11, 1900 Manhattan, New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Died | July 2, 1983 (aged 83) |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation(s) | Dancer, actress, model, singer |
Martha Caroline Theresa Lorber was born in New York City, to Frederick, a waiter, and Marie Lorber (née Westfeldt), who were both German immigrants. She graduated from Girls' High School in Brooklyn. She studied dance with Alexis Kosloff,[1] Ekaterina Galanta,[2] and Michel Fokine.[3][4]
Martha Lorber's Broadway career began when she was still in her teens, and included roles in Over the Top (1917–1918), Mecca (1920–1921),[5] Tangerine (1922),[6] Ziegfeld Follies of 1922,[7] Ziegfeld Follies of 1923,[8] Ziegfeld Follies of 1924, Mozart (1926), and Three Little Girls (1930). In the Ziegfeld Follies she played opposite W. C. Fields in some sketches, showing some comedic talent.[9] She played a lead role in Ferenc Molnár's The Play's the Thing, in Baltimore in 1928.[10] In 1929, she was in London, playing in Little Accident.[11]
In 1930 she broke away from musicals with a dramatic part in the Zoe Akins drama The Greeks Had a Name for It.[12] She starred in another drama the following year, Torch Song (1931), in Canada.[13] In 1933, she was featured in two roles in another musical, The Red Robin, in Chicago.[14] In 1934 she was in True to the Marines in Locust Valley.[15]
In 1941, she toured in a one-woman show, Songs in Action.[16] In 1951, she was hired by the U. S. State Department for a cultural relations position.[17]
Lorber was also a model, posing for works by photographers Edward Steichen,[18][19][20] Nickolas Muray,[21][22] and Arnold Genthe, pin-up artist Alberto Vargas, and sculptor Harriet Whitney Frishmuth,[23] among others.
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Martha Lorber died at her home in Lebanon Township, New Jersey, in 1983, aged 83 years.[24]
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