Matt B. Snyder

Matt B. Snyder (March 22, 1835 – January 17, 1917) was an American stage and silent screen actor who performed on Broadway between 1888 and 1912 and served as a veteran of the Civil War. Also known as M.B. Snyder, he is recognized as among the earliest-born actors to appear in motion pictures, and at the time of his death he was considered the oldest actor working in film. He was born during the presidency of Andrew Jackson and died during the presidency of Woodrow Wilson.

During the Civil War, Snyder served in the Union Navy, acting as a gunner aboard the USS Essex at Vicksburg. In the Victorian and Edwardian eras, he and his wife worked as stage performers, appearing both on Broadway and extensively in touring companies. His Broadway credits included Alibi Bill, the comedy The Naked Genius, Terence, the play Old Limerick Town, and the play Under Two Flags, among other productions. A photograph from 1905 documents his appearance in a play called The Romance of Athlone, held in the University of Washington's Sayre collection.

Snyder transitioned into silent film work in the early 1910s. He appeared in the 1913 King Baggot production of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, a role considered significant within his film career. His other screen credits included The Cub Reporter's Temptation (1913), Oil and Water (1913), Salomy Jane (1914), The Heart of Maryland (1915), and The Garden of Allah (1916). His final film was The Crisis (1916), directed from a novel by Winston Churchill and centered on the Civil War. Snyder died before the film was released. The Crisis survives at the Library of Congress, and Snyder's appearance in the production is documented in a still photograph alongside his young costar Marshall Neilan, reproduced in Daniel Blum's Pictorial History of the Silent Screen. A portrait of Snyder is also held in the Billy Rose Collection at the New York Public Library.