Desiree Gould

Desiree Joan Gould (March 27, 1945 – May 24, 2021) was an American actress. She was known for her role as Aunt Martha in the 1983 slasher film Sleepaway Camp.

Early life Desiree Gould was born on March 27, 1945, in New York City. When she was five years old, she took singing and tap-dancing classes, later having vocal training with Harry Garland, Roger Leonard, Herb Greene, developing a mezzo-soprano vocal range for musical theater, while she later took lessons in Ballet at the New York Conservatory of Dance, with Pat Doukodovsky, and, the Ballet Academy East, with Don Paradise. This led to her desire to choose acting as a career path, which did not immediately occur, and she spent over twenty years between several different jobs, before deciding to take acting classes, training with the Gene Feist Theatre Foundation, Barbara Loden Actor's Workshop, Paul Mann Actor's Workshop, Warren Robinson, HB Studio, and, Boston Center for the Arts. She was introduced to casting director Mary Jo Slater, who cast Gould in brief guest roles in television soap operas including One Life to Live, The Edge of Night, and Love of Life. Gould received the part when she was with the agency Marje Fields Talent in Manhattan, and her agent, Dorothy Scott, urged her to audition for the role. She appeared in just two scenes in the film. Gould was contacted in November 2000 to participate in an interview with Sleepawaycampfilms.com, followed by an appearance at the "Sleepaway Camp Reunion" convention in April 2001, as well as a 2008 documentary Return to Sleepaway Camp: Behind the Scenes, and the 2014 documentary At the Waterfront After the Social: The Legacy of Sleepaway Camp. Her more recent credits include a short film titled Caesar and Otto meet Dracula's Lawyer (2010), a guest appearance on the television series Joe Zaso's Cafe Himbo (2011), and a role in the anthology film Tales of Poe (2014).

She also performed as an extra in a number of films including The Switch, Morning Glory, Going the Distance, and Arthur, and the television series, Law & Order, Damages, and Mercy.

Real estate Gould went on to a successful career in real estate for Douglas Elliman Gould worked for Halstead Property real estate from 2013 up until her death.

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 1983 Sleepaway Camp Aunt Martha Thomas Also known as Nightmare Vacation 2006 Under Surveillance Norma Besler Also known as Dark Chamber 2014 Tales of Poe Nurse Malliard Segment: "The Tell-Tale Heart"

Stage Bomb Shelter ... as Mary Anne (Nat Horne Theatre, New York City) Women of the Wild West ... as Abigail (Nat Horne Theatre, New York City) Your Child's Secret Life ... as Arlene (St. Clement's Theatre, New York City) The Stronger ... as Miss "Y" (Amelie) (Bristol Valley Playhouse, Naples, New York) The Witch ... as Wife (Bristol Valley Playhouse, Naples, New York) Queens of France ... as Wife (Marie Sidonie Cressaux) (Bristol Valley Playhouse, Naples, New York) The Taming of the Shrew ... as Katherina (Kate) Minola (National Theatre, Boston, Massachusetts) A Streetcar Named Desire ... Blanche DuBois (Boston Center for the Arts, Boston, Massachusetts)