Mattie Edwards Explained

Mattie Edwards
Birth Date:	1866
Death Place:	Los Angeles County, California, U.S.
Other Names:	Hattie Edwards Martha Mattie Settle
Occupation:	Actress
Years Active:	1887–1937
Known For:	Theatre and film productions
Notable Works:	The Round Up (1911) Oh, Boy (1919) Within Our Gates (1920) The Brute (1920)

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.

Career

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. 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. 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.^[2] She also starred as the leading chorus member for Williams and Walker Co. films, particularly in their 1903 production of In Dahomey.^[3] She was also highly noted in the 1911–1912 production of The Roundup by Klaw and Erlanger.

Edwards joined the Lubin Motion Picture Company from 1913 to 1915 as the female lead for their productions and fully "colored" cast,^{[4] [5]} frequently being paired up with John "Junk" Edwards as her accompanying male lead. After the Lubin Company's closure, she joined the Griffin Sisters theatre tour in 1917 as the leading contralto.^[6] She then joined theatrical productions made by the Ebony Film Company in 1918.^[7] For the 1919-1920 run of Oh Boy, Edwards joined a special theatre group formed by the Comstock-Elliot company.^[8] 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.

Theatre

• The Candy Kid (1908)^[9]
• 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^[10]
• My Killarney Rose (1916) as Nora Donovan^[11]
• Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch (1918) as Mrs. Schultz^[12]
• Oh, Boy (1919)^[13] as Mrs. Carter^[14]
• Ladies Night (1923)^[15]
• Why The Bachelor? (1924)^[16]
• Seduction (1925)^[17]
• The Devil Within (1927)^[18]
• This World and the Next (1929) as Rosie^[2]
• The Bird of Flame (1930)^[19]

Filmography

• Zeb, Zack and the Zulus (1913)^[20]
• Mandy's Chicken Dinner (1914) as Aunt Mandy^[4]
• Sam and the Bully (1914) as Mattie
• Swami Sam (1914) as Mattie
• Coon Town Suffragettes (1914)^[21] as Mandy Jackson^[4]
• The Tale of a Chicken (1914)^[4]
• The Rise of the Johnsons (1914)^[4]
• He Said He Could Act (1914)^[22]
• He Was Bad (1914)^[23]
• Rastus Knew It Wasn't (1914) as Nita Nonenti^[4]
• Just A Note (1914)^[24]
• The Haunted Attic (1915)^[25]
• The Rakoon Hose Company (1915)^[26]
• It Happened on Washday (1915)^[27]
• The Undertaker's Daughter (1915)^[28]
• Black Art (1915)^[20]
• Father Said He'd Fix It (1915)^[29]
• In Zululand (1915) as Queen Cocoa^[4]
• A New Way To Win (1915)^[24]
• Under a Barrel (1916)^[20]
• Good Luck in Old Clothes (1918)^[30]
• Within Our Gates (1920) as Jasper Landry's wife^[31]
• The Brute (1920)^[31]
• Give Us the Night (1936)^[20] as Elena^[32]
• Champagne Waltz (1937)^[20]

Personal life

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

Notes and References

1. News: . February 9, 1913 . She Has Atmosphere . . March 19, 2024 . Newspapers.com.
2. News: . May 29, 1929 . Mattie Edwards Has Long Stage Record . . March 18, 2024 . Newspapers.com.
3. News: . May 31, 1935 . Sepia Played Important Part In Film Industry During Its Infancy . . March 21, 2024 . Newspapers.com.
4. Book: Sampson, Henry T. . 1995 . Blacks In Black and White: A Source Book on Black Films . . 28, 52-53, 76, 84-85, 100-101, 104, 114. 978-0-8108-2605-2 .
5. . 1973 . Lubin Company . . 88 . 60 . March 17, 2024.
6. News: . January 18, 1917 . Theatrical Jottings . . March 21, 2024 . Newspapers.com.
7. . Ebony Films In New Studio Quarters . . William A. Johnston . July 27, 1918 . 601 . March 23, 2024.
8. News: . February 3, 1920 . "Oh Boy" Coming To Majestic . . March 21, 2024 . Newspapers.com.
9. News: . January 14, 1908 . "The Candy Kid" at Blaney's . . March 21, 2024 . Newspapers.com.
10. News: . November 9, 1915 . "Getting Her Rights" . . March 20, 2024 . Newspapers.com.
11. News: . October 25, 1916 . At The Auditorium . . March 22, 2024 . Newspapers.com.
12. News: Robertson . Max . April 2, 1918 . Audience Enjoys Character Play . . March 22, 2024 . Newspapers.com.
13. News: . January 29, 1919 . At The Auditorium . . March 21, 2024 . Newspapers.com.
14. News: . December 21, 1919 . "Oh, Boy!" . . March 22, 2024 . Newspapers.com.
15. News: . August 5, 1923 . Woman-Fearing Young Benedict in 'Ladies Night' . . March 22, 2024 . Newspapers.com.
16. News: . November 4, 1924 . "Why The Bachelor?" At The Alhambra . . March 23, 2024 . Newspapers.com.
17. News: . February 24, 1925 . Name Is Only Wrong Part Of 'Seduction' Now Playing Run At Academy . . March 21, 2024 . Newspapers.com.
18. News: Newman . Claude . May 30, 1927 . Virginia Duncan and David Callis Win Praise For Work . . March 21, 2024 . Newspapers.com.
19. News: . October 27, 1930 . Seen Nov. 9 At Belasco . . March 23, 2024 . Newspapers.com.
20. Book: Massa, Steve . July 2017 . Slapstick Divas: The Women of Silent Comedy . BearManor Media . 1931 . 9781629331324.
21. News: . April 25, 1914 . Coon Town Suffragettes . . March 21, 2024 . Newspapers.com.
22. News: . September 12, 1914 . "He Said He Could Act" . . March 21, 2024 . Newspapers.com.
23. News: . December 5, 1914 . He Was Bad . . March 21, 2024 . Newspapers.com.
24. Book: Richards, Larry . 1998 . African American Films Through 1959: A Comprehensive, Illustrated Filmography . . 97, 124, 149, 166. 978-0-7864-0307-3 .
25. News: . May 7, 1915 . Another All Colored Comedy At Movie Theater . . March 21, 2024 . Newspapers.com.
26. . August 21, 1915 . Comments On The Films . . 25 . 7–9 . 1316 . March 18, 2024.
27. . 1915 . Answer Department . . 10 . 140 . March 18, 2024.
28. Book: Coleman, Robin R. Means . Horror Noire: A History of Black American Horror from the 1890s to Present . November 2022 . . 9781000775167.
29. . Comments on the Films . . Chalmers Publishing Company . July 10, 1915 . 25 . 1–3 . March 23, 2024.
30. . Ebony Completes Two New Subjects . . William A. Johnston . July 13, 1918 . 231 . March 23, 2024.
31. Book: Oscar Micheaux and His Circle: African-American Filmmaking and Race Cinema of the Silent Era . 9780253021557 . Musser . Charles . Gaines . Jane Marie . Bowser . Pearl . March 28, 2016 . ix, 64, 233, 236-238, 349 . . March 18, 2024.
32. News: . May 10, 1936 . "Give Us This Night" . . March 23, 2024 . Newspapers.com.
33. News: . July 7, 1944 . Conduct Services For Stage Figure . . March 21, 2024 . Newspapers.com.