Martha Mattox
American actress (1879–1933)
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Martha Mattox (born Eleanor Perry Mellen; June 19, 1879 – May 2, 1933) was an American silent film actress most notable for her portrayal of Mammy Pleasant in the 1927 film The Cat and the Canary. She also played a role in Torrent (1926). She died from a heart ailment at age 53.
June 19, 1879
Martha Mattox | |
|---|---|
 Mattox in The Cat and the Canary (1927) | |
| Born | Eleanor Perry Mellen June 19, 1879 Natchez, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Died | May 2, 1933 (aged 53) Sidney, New York, U.S. |
| Alma mater | East Mississippi Female College |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1913 - 1933 |
| Spouse | Archibald Junius Sneed |
| Children | 5 |
Early years
Born Eleanor Perry Mellen in Natchez, Mississippi, Mattox was the daughter of Thomas Lewis Mellen and Mary Eleanor Mellen.[1] She attended East Mississippi College, where she studied dramatic art.[2] (Another source gives the school's name as East Mississippi Female College, with graduation in 1892.[3]) A 1923 article in the Calgary Herald newspaper described her as "a full-blooded Creole", of Spanish descent on her father's side and French on her mother's.[4] She taught for several years at Holding Seminary.[1]
Career
Her initial acting was on stage,[2] including performances with the Marion Leonard Company.[4] After working on stage, she began performing in films, initially in Westerns and action films and later in melodramas and comedies.[2] Her film debut came in 1915, and she played a variety of roles in the silent-film era.[5]
Personal life and death
Mattox married Arichbald J. Sneed Jr. on July 29, 1897, in Canton, Mississippi,[6] and they had five children.[1]
Activities in Mattox's personal life included donating prizes and selecting winners in the Better Baby Exposition.[7]
On May 2, 1933, Mattox died of heart disease in Sidney, New York, at age 53.[2]
Partial filmography
- Buckshot John (1915) (uncredited)
- The Hungry Actors (1915 short) (uncredited)
- Bucking Broadway (1917) (uncredited)
- The Charmer (1917)
- The Clean-Up (1917)
- Polly Put the Kettle On (1917)
- Wild Women (1918)
- Thieves' Gold (1918)
- The Scarlet Drop (1918)
- Danger, Go Slow (1918) (uncredited)
- Ace High (1919)
- The Wicked Darling (1919)
- The Scarlet Shadow (1919)
- The Sheriff's Oath (1920)
- The Butterfly Man (1920)
- Huckleberry Finn (1920)
- Old Lady 31 (1920)
- The Girl of My Heart (1920)
- A Cumberland Romance (1920)
- Conflict (1921)
- A Game Chicken (1922)
- Rich Men's Wives (1922)
- The Angel of Crooked Street (1922)
- Beauty's Worth (1922)
- The Hands of Nara (1922)
- Restless Souls (1922)
- Top o' the Morning (1922)
- Hearts Aflame (1923)
- Three Wise Fools (1923)
- Bavu (1923)
- Red Lights (1923)
- The Hero (1923)
- Maytime (1923)
- Look Your Best (1923)
- The Family Secret (1924)
- Oh Doctor (1925)
- Dangerous Innocence (1925)
- With This Ring (1925)
- The Man in Blue (1925)
- The Keeper of the Bees (1925)
- The Home Maker (1925)
- Heir-Loons (1925)
- Infatuation (1925)
- Torrent (1926)
- Christine of the Big Tops (1926)
- Shameful Behavior? (1926)
- Forest Havoc (1926)
- Twinkletoes (1926)
- The Nutcracker (1926)
- The Yankee Señor (1926)
- The Warning Signal (1926)
- Snowbound (1927)
- The Devil Dancer (1927)
- The Cat and the Canary (1927)
- Her Wild Oat (1927)
- The Thirteenth Juror (1927)
- Old San Francisco (1927)
- Finger Prints (1927)
- The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come (1928)
- Fools for Luck (1928)
- The Wreck of the Singapore (1928)
- A Bit of Heaven (1928)
- The Naughty Duchess (1928)
- The Fatal Warning (1929)
- Montmartre Rose (1929)
- The Love Racket (1929)
- Born to Love (1931)
- Misbehaving Ladies (1931)
- Murder by the Clock (1931)
- Dynamite Ranch (1932)
- The Monster Walks (1932)
- Heroes of the West (1932)
- Haunted Gold (1932)
