Edythe Chapman

Edythe Chapman
File:Edythe Chapman (1906).jpg Edith Chapman by Otto Sarony c. 1906
Born	(1863-10-08)October 8, 1863 Rochester, New York U.S.
Died	Glendale, California U.S.
Occupation	Stage and Screen Actor
Years active	Film 1914 - 1930
Spouse(s)	James Neill (1897-1931) (his death)

Edythe Chapman (October 8, 1863 - October 15, 1948), was an American stage and silent film actress from Rochester, New York. As early as 1898 she appeared in New York, New York in the Charity Ball. Edythe performed at the Shubert Theater in Brooklyn, New York in a production of The Light Eternal in 1907. The play was a romantic drama of early Rome which was supported by a cast of approximately 100 people.

Mrs. Chapman played maternal roles in numerous silent motion pictures and became known in the 1920s as Hollywood's Mother. She played Ma Jones in the film version of Lightnin' (1925), a screen production which featured Will Rogers. Edythe was Grandmother Janeway in Man Crazy (1927). The film starred Dorothy Mackaill and Jack Mulhall. Chapman was praised by reviewers for her performance.

Miss Chapman came to Hollywood around 1909 with her husband, screen and stage actor, James Neill. The couple met in Cincinnati, Ohio when Miss Chapman was working in Mr. Neill's stock company. They were married in 1897. The two began making movies with Cecil B. Demille and other noteworthy directors and producers. They had leading roles in The Ten Commandments (1923), Manslaughter (1922), The Little American (1917), and other silent motion pictures. Mr. Neill died in 1931.

The final movie in which Edythe appeared was Double Crossroads in 1930. Prior to this, she had a large role in Navy Blues (1929).

Edythe Chapman Neill died in Glendale, California in 1948 after a brief illness and was interred at the Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah, Georgia, USA. She was 85 years old.

Partial filmography

• Richelieu (1914) (a lost film)
• The Pretty Sister of Jose (1915) (lost)
• The Golden Chance (1915) (directed by Demille)
• The Heir to the Hoorah (1916)
• Oliver Twist (1916) (lost)
• The Little American (1917)
• Tom Sawyer (1917)
• A Modern Musketeer (1917)
• The Whispering Chorus (1918) (produced and directed by Demille)
• Old Wives for New (1918) (uncredited)
• The Only Road (1918)
• Say! Young Fellow (1918) (lost)
• Bound in Morocco (1918) (lost)
• The Knickerbocker Buckaroo (1919) (lost)
• Secret Service (1919)
• Flame of the Desert (1919)
• Everywoman (1919)
• Huckleberry Finn (1920)
• The County Fair (1920)
• A Tale of Two Worlds (1921)
• One Wild Week (1921) (lost)
• Dangerous Curve Ahead (1921) (lost)
• Voices of the City (1921) (lost)
• Saturday Night (1922) (lost)
• Her Husband's Trademark (1922)
• Beyond the Rocks (1922)
• North of the Rio Grande (1922)
• Manslaughter (1922) (directed by Demille)
• My American Wife (1922) (lost)
• Hollywood (1923) (cameo in lost film)
• The Ten Commandments (1923)
• The Shadow of the Desert (1924) (lost)
• Daughters of Pleasure (1924)
• Broken Barriers (1924)
• Lightnin' (1925)
• Classified (1925)
• Soul Mates (1925)
• Three Faces East (1926)
• The Runaway (1926)
• The King of Kings (1927) (uncredited in Demille-directed film)
• Naughty but Nice (1927)
• The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg (1927) (uncredited)
• American Beauty (1927)
• Happiness Ahead (1928)
• Three Weekends (1928)
• Synthetic Sin (1929)
• The Idle Rich (1929)
• Navy Blues (1929)

Sources

• "Brooklyn Amusements" (Mar 24, 1907) New York Times, p. X2
• "James Neill Dead; Actor For 47 Years" (Mar 16, 1931) New York Times, Page 19
• "Edythe Chapman, 85, Stage, Film Actress" (Oct 16, 1948) New York Times, p. 15

External links

• Edythe Chapman at the Internet Movie Database
• photo gallery, by the window with husband James Neill