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Mattie Edwards

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Mattie Edwards (1866–1944) was an American actress who appeared in vaudeville theatre shows and early silent film productions from the 1880s through the 1930s. An African-American, she grew up in Fort Smith, Arkansas and spent her early life as a Deputy Marshal for the town. Later, she joined the P. G. Lowery minstrel group and then films produced by Essanay Studios. She moved between multiple film studios in the years following, including Williams and Walker Co. films in the 1900s, Lubin Motion Picture Company and Ebony Film Company films in the 1910s, before ending her major roles in Comstock-Elliot company and Oscar Micheaux films in the 1920s. She had several smaller film roles and ongoing theatre roles in the decades after, before dying in 1944 at the age of 78.

Mattie Edwards
See caption
Edwards c. 1911
Born1866
Died1944 (aged 77–78)
Los Angeles County, California, U.S.
Other namesHattie Edwards
Martha Mattie Settle
OccupationActress
Years active1887–1937
Known forTheatre and film productions
Notable workThe Round Up (1911)
Oh, Boy (1919)
Within Our Gates (1920)
The Brute (1920)

Career

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While spending her childhood in the American frontier, Edwards was appointed a Deputy Marshal at the age of 16 for the town of Fort Smith, Arkansas.[1] As a part of the fort's criminal court at the time, she assisted in the Dalton Gang's arrest.[1] Her earliest theatre performances were appearances in P. G. Lowery's minstrel group beginning in 1887.[2] The first film debut for Edwards was in the silent film era with Ben Turpin while he still worked out of a loft at Essanay Studios.[3] She also starred as the leading chorus member for Williams and Walker Co. films, particularly in their 1903 production of In Dahomey.[4][2] She was also highly noted in the 1911–1912 production of The Roundup by Klaw and Erlanger.[2]

Edwards joined the Lubin Motion Picture Company from 1913 to 1915 as the female lead for their productions and fully "colored" cast,[5][6] frequently being paired up with John "Junk" Edwards as her accompanying male lead.[2] After the Lubin Company's closure, she joined the Griffin Sisters theatre tour in 1917 as the leading contralto.[7] She then joined theatrical productions made by the Ebony Film Company in 1918.[8] For the 1919-1920 run of Oh Boy, Edwards joined a special theatre group formed by the Comstock-Elliot company.[9] That same year, she featured in Oscar Micheaux films including Within Our Gates and The Brute. After, she moved to Los Angeles and occasionally starred in more minor film roles in the following two decades.[2]

Theatre

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  • The Candy Kid (1908)[10]
  • The Virginian as Mrs. Henry[1]
  • Checkers as Aunt Deb[1]
  • As Ye Sow as Mrs. St. John[1]
  • The Round Up (1911) as Josephine[1]
  • Getting Her Rights (1915) as Marguerite Smith[11]
  • My Killarney Rose (1916) as Nora Donovan[12]
  • Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch (1918) as Mrs. Schultz[13]
  • Oh, Boy (1919)[14] as Mrs. Carter[15]
  • Ladies Night (1923)[16]
  • Why The Bachelor? (1924)[17]
  • Seduction (1925)[18]
  • The Devil Within (1927)[19]
  • This World and the Next (1929) as Rosie[3]
  • The Bird of Flame (1930)[20]

Filmography

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Personal life

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Edwards married Edward Settle and changed her personal name to Martha Mattie Settle. She died in 1944 at the age of 78.[33]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f "She Has Atmosphere". The Philadelphia Inquirer. February 9, 1913. Retrieved March 19, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Massa, Steve (July 2017). Slapstick Divas: The Women of Silent Comedy. BearManor Media. p. 1931. ISBN 9781629331324.
  3. ^ a b "Mattie Edwards Has Long Stage Record". The Los Angeles Times. May 29, 1929. Retrieved March 18, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Sepia Played Important Part In Film Industry During Its Infancy". Metropolitan News. May 31, 1935. Retrieved March 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Sampson, Henry T. (1995). Blacks In Black and White: A Source Book on Black Films. Scarecrow Press. pp. 28, 52–53, 76, 84–85, 100–101, 104, 114. ISBN 978-0-8108-2605-2.
  6. ^ "Lubin Company". Political Science Quarterly. 88: 60. 1973. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
  7. ^ "Theatrical Jottings". The New York Age. January 18, 1917. Retrieved March 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Ebony Films In New Studio Quarters". Motion Picture News. William A. Johnston. July 27, 1918. p. 601. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
  9. ^ ""Oh Boy" Coming To Majestic". The Deming Headlight. February 3, 1920. Retrieved March 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ ""The Candy Kid" at Blaney's". The Brooklyn Citizen. January 14, 1908. Retrieved March 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ ""Getting Her Rights"". The Berkshire Eagle. November 9, 1915. Retrieved March 20, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "At The Auditorium". The Waco Times-Herald. October 25, 1916. Retrieved March 22, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ Robertson, Max (April 2, 1918). "Audience Enjoys Character Play". Harrisburg Telegraph. Retrieved March 22, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "At The Auditorium". The Charlotte News. January 29, 1919. Retrieved March 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ ""Oh, Boy!"". The Anaconda Standard. December 21, 1919. Retrieved March 22, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "Woman-Fearing Young Benedict in 'Ladies Night'". The Central New Jersey Home News. August 5, 1923. Retrieved March 22, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ ""Why The Bachelor?" At The Alhambra". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. November 4, 1924. Retrieved March 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ "Name Is Only Wrong Part Of 'Seduction' Now Playing Run At Academy". The Scranton Times-Tribune. February 24, 1925. Retrieved March 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ Newman, Claude (May 30, 1927). "Virginia Duncan and David Callis Win Praise For Work". Los Angeles Evening Citizen News. Retrieved March 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ "Seen Nov. 9 At Belasco". Los Angeles Evening Post-Record. October 27, 1930. Retrieved March 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ a b c d Richards, Larry (1998). African American Films Through 1959: A Comprehensive, Illustrated Filmography. McFarland & Company. pp. 97, 124, 149, 166. ISBN 978-0-7864-0307-3.
  22. ^ "Coon Town Suffragettes". The Orange County Register. April 25, 1914. Retrieved March 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ^ ""He Said He Could Act"". The Sheboygan Press. September 12, 1914. Retrieved March 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  24. ^ "He Was Bad". The Daily Appeal. December 5, 1914. Retrieved March 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  25. ^ "Another All Colored Comedy At Movie Theater". The St. Louis Argus. May 7, 1915. Retrieved March 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  26. ^ "Comments On The Films". The Moving Picture World. 25 (7–9): 1316. August 21, 1915. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  27. ^ "Answer Department". Motion Picture Story Magazine. 10: 140. 1915. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  28. ^ Coleman, Robin R. Means (November 2022). Horror Noire: A History of Black American Horror from the 1890s to Present. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9781000775167.
  29. ^ "Comments on the Films". The Moving Picture World. Vol. 25, no. 1–3. Chalmers Publishing Company. July 10, 1915. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
  30. ^ "Ebony Completes Two New Subjects". Motion Picture News. William A. Johnston. July 13, 1918. p. 231. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
  31. ^ a b Musser, Charles; Gaines, Jane Marie; Bowser, Pearl, eds. (March 28, 2016). Oscar Micheaux and His Circle: African-American Filmmaking and Race Cinema of the Silent Era. Indiana University Press. pp. ix, 64, 233, 236–238, 349. ISBN 9780253021557. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  32. ^ ""Give Us This Night"". The Kansas City Star. May 10, 1936. Retrieved March 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  33. ^ "Conduct Services For Stage Figure". The Southwest Wave. July 7, 1944. Retrieved March 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
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