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Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

29

Gender

Female

Birthday

1899-07-13

Day of Death

1923-11-30 (24 years old)

Place of Birth

New York City, New York, USA

Also Known As

Martha Ehrlich

Martha Early

Martha Mansfield

Biography

From Wikipedia Martha Mansfield (July 14, 1899 – November 30, 1923) was an American actress in silent films and vaudeville stage plays. She was born Martha Ehrlich in New York City to Maurice and Harriett Gibson Ehrlich. She had a younger sister, Edith, born in 1905. Although many biographies state that Martha was born in Mansfield, Ohio, her birth record and death certificate both have New York City as her place of birth. Her mother, Harriet, was from Mansfield, Ohio, having emigrated there from Ireland in 1885. Martha later adopted the name of the town as her stage name. Her first Hollywood movie was Civilian Clothes (1920) directed by Hugh Ford. She gained prominence as Millicent Carew in the film adaptation of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, which starred John Barrymore. She then signed with Selznick Pictures where she was cast with Eugene O'Brien in The Perfect Lover (1919). In 1921, Mansfield returned to the stage in a vaudeville tour. She appeared in two independent films the following year: Queen of the Moulin Rouge and Till We Meet Again. She spent the remainder of the year touring the vaudeville circuit. In 1923, Mansfield completed her contract for Selznick and signed with Fox Film Corporation. Her first film for Fox was The Silent Command, starring Edmund Lowe and Béla Lugosi. The final completed features in her short film career were Potash and Permutter and The Leavenworth Case, both from 1923. On November 29, 1923, while working on location in San Antonio, Texas on the film The Warrens of Virginia, Mansfield was severely burned when a tossed match ignited her Civil War costume of hoop skirts and flimsy ruffles. Mansfield was playing the role of Agatha Warren and had just finished her scenes and retired to a car when her clothing burst into flames. Her neck and face were saved when leading man Wilfred Lytell threw his heavy overcoat over her. The chauffeur of Mansfield's car was burned badly on his hands while trying to remove the burning clothing from the actress. The fire was put out, but she sustained substantial burns to her body. She was rushed to a hospital where she died less than twenty-four hours later of "burns of all extremities, general toxemia and suppression of urine". Mansfield was 24 years old. Accompanied by actor Phillip Shorey, Mansfield's body was transported back to her home in New York City. She was interred at the Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx.

Known For

Acting

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

1920

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

as

Millicent Carewe

Mothers of Men

1920

Mothers of Men

as

Paulette

Society Snobs

1921

Society Snobs

as

Vivian Forrester

Max in a Taxi

1917

Max in a Taxi

as

Herself

Max Wants a Divorce

1917

Max Wants a Divorce

as

Max's Wife

Potash and Perlmutter

1923

Potash and Perlmutter

as

The Head Model

The Wonderful Chance

1920

The Wonderful Chance

as

Peggy Winton

The Silent Command

1923

The Silent Command

as

Peg Williams, the vamp

His Brother's Keeper

1921

His Brother's Keeper

as

Helen Harding

Queen of the Moulin Rouge

1922

Queen of the Moulin Rouge

as

Rosalie Anjou

Fog Bound

1923

Fog Bound

as

Mildred Van Buren

The Last Door

1921

The Last Door

as

Helen Rogers

Is Money Everything?

1923

Is Money Everything?

as

Mrs. Justine Pelham

Max Comes Across

1917

Max Comes Across

as

Martha

The Warrens of Virginia

1924

The Warrens of Virginia

as

Agatha Warren

Civilian Clothes

1920

Civilian Clothes

as

Florence Lanham

Broadway Bill

1918

Broadway Bill

as

Muriel Latham

The Perfect Lover

1919

The Perfect Lover

as

Mavis Morgan

Should a Husband Forgive?

1919

Should a Husband Forgive?

as

The Girl Who Was Cast Aside

Women Men Love

1921

Women Men Love

as

Ruth Gibson

Gilded Lies

1921

Gilded Lies

as

Hester Thorpe

A Man of Stone

1921

A Man of Stone

as

Lady Fortesque

Till We Meet Again

1922

Till We Meet Again

as

Henrietta carter

The Woman in Chains

1923

The Woman in Chains

as

Claudia Marvelle

Youthful Cheaters

1923

Youthful Cheaters

as

Lois Brooke

The Leavenworth Case

1923

The Leavenworth Case

as

Mary Leavenworth

The Hand Invisible

1919

The Hand Invisible

as

Katherine Dale

Production

Crew

Directing