Martha Mattox
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.
Martha Mattox

Universal Pictures Corporation · Performing Arts Special Collections, UCLA Library Digital Collections · Public domain
- Name
- Martha Mattox
- Birth Name
- Eleanor Perry Mellen
- Born
- 19 June 1879
- Birthplace
- Natchez, Mississippi, U.S.
- Died
- 2 May 1933
- Place of death
- Sidney, New York, U.S.
- Occupation
- Actress
- Spouse
- Archibald Junius Sneed
- Education
- East Mississippi Female College 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.
- Nationality
- United States
- Languages
- English
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Documentary summary
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.
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identity unresolved · checked 25 September 2026
- Identity
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Authority files
wikidata · Q6774486 · wikipedia · Martha Mattox
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Martha Mattox • Birth Name — Eleanor Perry Mellen • Born — 19 June 1879 • Birthplace — Natchez, Mississippi, U.S. • Died — 2 May 1933 • Place of death — Sidney, New York, U.S. • Occupation — Actress • Years Active — 1913 - 1933 • Spouse — Archibald Junius Sneed • Children — 5 • Education — East Mississippi Female College 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.
Early years
Early years
Born Eleanor Perry Mellen in Natchez, Mississippi, Mattox was the daughter of Thomas Lewis Mellen and Mary Eleanor Mellen. She attended East Mississippi College, where she studied dramatic art. (Another source gives the school's name as East Mississippi Female College, with graduation in 1892.) 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. She taught for several years at Holding Seminary.
Career
Career
Her initial acting was on stage, including performances with the Marion Leonard Company. After working on stage, she began performing in films, initially in Westerns and action films and later in melodramas and comedies. Her film debut came in 1915, and she played a variety of roles in the silent-film era.
Personal life and death
Personal life and death
Mattox married Arichbald J. Sneed Jr. on July 29, 1897, in Canton, Mississippi, and they had five children. Activities in Mattox's personal life included donating prizes and selecting winners in the Better Baby Exposition. On May 2, 1933, Mattox died of heart disease in Sidney, New York, at age 53.
Partial filmography
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)
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Natchez.
Birth place
Sidney.
Death place
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Death clains actress sister of Enid women. The Enid Daily Eagle. 11. May 3, 1933.
- 2.Mississippi Female College. Birmingham Post-Herald. 1. June 2, 1892.
- 3.Martha Mattox film pioneer. Calgary Herald. 16. December 17, 1923.
- 4.Katchmer, George A. A Biographical Dictionary of Silent Film Western Actors and Actresses. McFarland. 236–237. 2009. 978-0-7864-4693-3.
- 5.Erickson, Hal. Martha Mattox. AllMovie.
- 6.Sneed-Mellen. Evening Messenger. 8. August 5, 1897.
- 7.Actress Aids Better Baby Exposition. Los Angeles Evening Express. 35. September 26, 1929.
References
Citations
References
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Partially resolved
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 01 September 2026.
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