About

Known credits:
80
Birthday:
1879-05-30
Place of birth:
Butte, Montana, USA
Website:
N/A

Kathlyn Williams

Overview

Kathlyn Williams was born Kathleen Mabel Williams on May 31, 1879 in Butte, Montana, and the only child born to Joseph Edwin "Frank" Williams, a boarding house proprietor, and Mary C. Boe (1846–1908) of Welsh and Norwegian descent. Many biographies state her birth year as 1888; however, she is listed on the 1880 United States Census as being a year old. Williams displayed an early interest in becoming an actress in her youth which lead her to become a member of a community thespian group. She also joined the Woman's Relief Corps that allowed her to showcase her vocal prowess at local recitals.

Williams began her career with Selig Polyscope Company in Chicago, Illinois and made her first film in 1908 under the direction of Francis Boggs. By 1910, she was transferred to the company's Los Angeles film studio. Williams played "Cherry Malotte" in the first movie based upon Rex Beach's 1906 novel The Spoilers in 1914, a role portrayed in subsequent versions by Betty Compson (1930), Marlene Dietrich (1942), and Anne Baxter (1955). In 1916, she starred in the thirteen episode adventure film serial, The Adventures of Kathlyn. She was busy throughout the silent film era but age and the advent of talkies saw her make only five sound films, the last in 1935. Kathlyn evolved from a comedian and serial player in silents to portraying character roles in the early 1930s.

Williams was married three times. Although many biographies erroneously cite her first husband as being Victor Kainer, he was in fact named Otto H. "Harry" Kainer (1876–1952), who ran an import and export business on Wall Street in New York City. They were wed on October 2, 1903, and their son, Victor Hugo, was born in 1905. They supposedly divorced over Kainer's disapproval of his wife having an acting career, and Williams subsequently obtained a divorce from Kainer in 1909 in Nevada. On March 4, 1913, she married Frank R. Allen, also an actor, but the marriage was a failure from the start and lasted a little over a year. On June 30, 1914, she filed for divorce in Los Angeles and listed desertion as the reason as the failure of their marriage. She later married Paramount Pictures executive Charles Eyton on June 2, 1916, in Riverside, California. The Eytons eventually divorced in 1931.

On December 29, 1949, Williams was involved in a deadly automobile accident, which claimed the life of her friend, Mrs. Mary E. Rose, while they were returning home from a social engagement in Las Vegas. As a result of the accident, Williams lost her right leg. On April 8, 1950, Williams sued the estate of Rose for $136,615, citing negligence and claiming that the automobile had inefficient brakes. In June 1951, Williams accepted the offer of $6,500 dollars from the Rose estate. Kathlyn Williams died of a heart attack in Hollywood, California in 1960.

For her contribution to the motion picture industry, Kathlyn Williams has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7038 Hollywood Blvd.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Known for

Acting
1935 Rendezvous at Midnight Actor Mrs. Arthur Dewey N/A
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1933 Blood Money Actor Nightclub Woman Wearing Monocle (uncredited) 59
Average
1932 Unholy Love Actor Mrs. Bradford 58
Average
1931 Daddy Long Legs Actor Mrs. Paula Pendleton 58
Average
1930 Road to Paradise Actor Mrs. Wells 58
Average
1929 Wedding Rings Actor Agatha N/A
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1929 The Single Standard Actor Mrs. Glendenning 58
Average
1929 A Single Man Actor Mrs. Cottrell N/A
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1928 Our Dancing Daughters Actor Ann's Mother 59
Average
1928 We Americans Actor Mrs. Bradleigh N/A
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1928 Honeymoon Flats Actor Mrs. Garland N/A
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1927 Sally in Our Alley Actor Mrs. Gordon Mansfield N/A
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1925 The Best People Actor Mrs. Lenox N/A
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1925 The Wanderer Actor Huldah 58
Average
1925 Locked Doors Actor Laura Carter 58
Average
1924 The Enemy Sex Actor Mrs. Massingale 59
Average
1924 Wanderer of the Wasteland Actor Magdalene Virey N/A
N/A
1923 The Spanish Dancer Actor Queen Isabel of Bourbon 58
Average
1923 Souls for Sale Actor Self - Celebrity Actress in Commisary 59
Average
1923 Trimmed in Scarlet Actor Cordelia Ebbing / Madame de laFleur N/A
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1923 The World's Applause Actor Elsa Townsend N/A
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1923 Broadway Gold Actor Jean Valjean N/A
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1922 Clarence Actor Mrs. Wheeler N/A
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1921 A Man's Home Actor Frances Osborn N/A
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1921 Morals Actor N/A
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1921 Morals Actor Judith Mainwaring N/A
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1921 A Private Scandal Actor Carol Lawton N/A
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1921 Hush Actor Isabel Dane N/A
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1921 Forbidden Fruit Actor Mrs. Mallory 59
Average
1920 Conrad in Quest of His Youth Actor Mrs. Adaile 58
Average
1920 The U.P. Trail Actor "Beauty" Stanton N/A
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1920 Just a Wife Actor Eleanor Lathrop N/A
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1919 Her Kingdom of Dreams Actor Penelope Warren N/A
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1919 The Better Wife Actor Lady Beverly 58
Average
1918 We Can't Have Everything Actor Charity Coe Cheever N/A
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1918 The Whispering Chorus Actor Jane Tremble 59
Average
1918 The Thing We Love Actor Margaret Kenwood N/A
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1917 Big Timber Actor Stella Benton N/A
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1917 The Cost of Hatred Actor Elsie Graves / Sarita Graves 58
Average
1916 Redeeming Love Actor Naomi Sterling N/A
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1916 The Valiants of Virginia Actor Shirley Dandridge N/A
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1916 Into the Primitive Actor Jennie Leslie N/A
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1916 Thou Shalt Not Covet Actor My Neighbor's Wife N/A
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1916 The Adventures of Kathlyn Actor Kathlyn Hare 58
Average
1915 Sweet Alyssum Actor Daisy Brooks N/A
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1915 The Carpet from Bagdad Actor Fortune Chedsoye N/A
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1914 Chip of the Flying U Actor Della Whitmore - the 'Little Doctor' N/A
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1914 The Leopard's Foundling Actor Balu N/A
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1914 The King's Will Actor Kathlyn Hare N/A
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1914 The Forged Parchment Actor Kathlyn Hare N/A
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1914 The Warrior Maid Actor Kathlyn Hare N/A
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1914 The Spellbound Multitude Actor Kathlyn Hare N/A
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1914 The Spoilers Actor Cherry Malotte 58
Average
1914 The Cruel Crown Actor Kathlyn Hare N/A
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1914 The Garden of Brides Actor Kathlyn Hare N/A
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1914 Three Bags of Silver Actor Kathlyn Hare N/A
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1914 A Colonel in Chains Actor Kathlyn Hare N/A
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1914 The Royal Slave Actor Kathlyn Hare N/A
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1914 The Two Ordeals Actor Kathlyn Hare N/A
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1913 The Unwelcome Throne Actor Kathlyn Hare N/A
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1913 The Adventures of Kathlyn Actor Kathlyn Hare 58
Average
1913 Thor, Lord of the Jungles Actor Gene Brant 58
Average
1913 The Flight of the Crow Actor Edwina Washburn N/A
N/A
1912 The House of His Master Actor Mrs. Robert Steem N/A
N/A
1912 The Girl at the Cupola Actor Jessie Wilson 59
Average
1911 Lost in the Jungle Actor Meta Kruga 58
Average
1911 The Two Orphans Actor Henriette N/A
N/A
1911 The Wheels of Justice Actor Alice Hazen N/A
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1911 Dad's Girls Actor Rose N/A
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1911 Life on the Border Actor The Pioneer Wife 58
Average
1911 Captain Kate Actor Captain Kate 58
Average
1911 The Rose of Old St. Augustine Actor Dolores, the Rose of St. Augustine 58
Average
1911 Back to the Primitive Actor Helen Wilton 58
Average
1911 In Old California When the Gringos Came Actor N/A
N/A
1911 The Witch of the Everglades Actor Dora - the Witch 58
Average
1911 1861 Actor 58
Average
1911 The Man from the East Actor Elsie Dean N/A
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1910 Thou Shalt Not Actor N/A
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Directing
1914 The Leopard's Foundling Directing Director N/A
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Writing
1914 The Leopard's Foundling Writing Writer N/A
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