Kathlyn Williams

Born

May 30, 1879

Died

September 23, 1960 (81 years old)

Known For

Acting

Place of Birth

Butte, Montana, USA

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.

Rendezvous at Midnight

Rendezvous at Midnight

Mrs. Arthur Dewey

0.0

1935

Blood Money

Blood Money

Nightclub Woman Wearing Monocle (uncredited)

7.0

1933

Unholy Love

Unholy Love

Mrs. Bradford

3.0

1932

Daddy Long Legs

Daddy Long Legs

Mrs. Paula Pendleton

4.0

1931

Road to Paradise

Road to Paradise

Mrs. Wells

6.2

1930

Wedding Rings

Wedding Rings

Agatha

0.0

1929

The Single Standard

The Single Standard

Mrs. Glendenning

6.2

1929

Her Husband's Women

0.0

1929

A Single Man

A Single Man

Mrs. Cottrell

0.0

1929

Our Dancing Daughters

Our Dancing Daughters

Ann's Mother

6.5

1928

We Americans

We Americans

Mrs. Bradleigh

0.0

1928

Honeymoon Flats

Honeymoon Flats

Mrs. Garland

0.0

1928

Sally in Our Alley

Sally in Our Alley

Mrs. Gordon Mansfield

0.0

1927

The Best People

The Best People

Mrs. Lenox

0.0

1925

The Wanderer

The Wanderer

Huldah

1.0

1925

Locked Doors

Laura Carter

1.0

1925

The Enemy Sex

The Enemy Sex

Mrs. Massingale

9.0

1924

Wanderer of the Wasteland

Wanderer of the Wasteland

Magdalene Virey

0.0

1924

When a Girl Loves

When a Girl Loves

Helen - Michael's Wife

0.0

1924

The Spanish Dancer

The Spanish Dancer

Queen Isabel of Bourbon

4.0

1923

Souls for Sale

Souls for Sale

Self - Celebrity Actress in Commisary

6.2

1923

Trimmed in Scarlet

Trimmed in Scarlet

Cordelia Ebbing / Madame de laFleur

0.0

1923

The World's Applause

The World's Applause

Elsa Townsend

0.0

1923

Broadway Gold

Broadway Gold

Jean Valjean

0.0

1923

Clarence

Clarence

Mrs. Wheeler

0.0

1922

A Man's Home

A Man's Home

Frances Osborn

0.0

1921

Morals

Morals

Judith Mainwaring

0.0

1921

Morals

Morals

0.0

1921

A Private Scandal

A Private Scandal

Carol Lawton

0.0

1921

Hush

Hush

Isabel Dane

0.0

1921

Forbidden Fruit

Forbidden Fruit

Mrs. Mallory

6.3

1921

Conrad in Quest of His Youth

Conrad in Quest of His Youth

Mrs. Adaile

5.7

1920

The U.P. Trail

The U.P. Trail

"Beauty" Stanton

0.0

1920

The Prince Chap

The Prince Chap

Alice Travers

0.0

1920

Just a Wife

Just a Wife

Eleanor Lathrop

0.0

1920

The Tree of Knowledge

The Tree of Knowledge

Belle

1.0

1920

Her Kingdom of Dreams

Her Kingdom of Dreams

Penelope Warren

0.0

1919

The Better Wife

The Better Wife

Lady Beverly

1.0

1919

We Can't Have Everything

We Can't Have Everything

Charity Coe Cheever

0.0

1918

The Whispering Chorus

The Whispering Chorus

Jane Tremble

6.3

1918

The Thing We Love

The Thing We Love

Margaret Kenwood

0.0

1918

Big Timber

Big Timber

Stella Benton

0.0

1917

The Cost of Hatred

The Cost of Hatred

Elsie Graves / Sarita Graves

1.0

1917

Redeeming Love

Redeeming Love

Naomi Sterling

0.0

1916

The Valiants of Virginia

The Valiants of Virginia

Shirley Dandridge

0.0

1916

Into the Primitive

Into the Primitive

Jennie Leslie

0.0

1916

Thou Shalt Not Covet

Thou Shalt Not Covet

My Neighbor's Wife

0.0

1916

The Adventures of Kathlyn

The Adventures of Kathlyn

Kathlyn Hare

3.0

1916

Sweet Alyssum

Daisy Brooks

0.0

1915

The Carpet from Bagdad

Fortune Chedsoye

0.0

1915

Chip of the Flying U

Chip of the Flying U

Della Whitmore - the 'Little Doctor'

0.0

1914

The Leopard's Foundling

The Leopard's Foundling

Balu

0.0

1914

The King's Will

The King's Will

Kathlyn Hare

0.0

1914

The Forged Parchment

The Forged Parchment

Kathlyn Hare

0.0

1914

The Warrior Maid

The Warrior Maid

Kathlyn Hare

0.0

1914

The Spellbound Multitude

The Spellbound Multitude

Kathlyn Hare

0.0

1914

The Spoilers

The Spoilers

Cherry Malotte

6.2

1914

The Cruel Crown

The Cruel Crown

Kathlyn Hare

0.0

1914

The Garden of Brides

Kathlyn Hare

0.0

1914

Three Bags of Silver

Three Bags of Silver

Kathlyn Hare

0.0

1914

A Colonel in Chains

A Colonel in Chains

Kathlyn Hare

0.0

1914

The Royal Slave

Kathlyn Hare

0.0

1914

The Two Ordeals

The Two Ordeals

Kathlyn Hare

0.0

1914

The Unwelcome Throne

The Unwelcome Throne

Kathlyn Hare

0.0

1913

The Adventures of Kathlyn

The Adventures of Kathlyn

Kathlyn Hare

1.0

1913

Thor, Lord of the Jungles

Thor, Lord of the Jungles

Gene Brant

5.0

1913

The Flight of the Crow

The Flight of the Crow

Edwina Washburn

0.0

1913

The House of His Master

The House of His Master

Mrs. Robert Steem

0.0

1912

The Girl at the Cupola

The Girl at the Cupola

Jessie Wilson

4.0

1912

Lost in the Jungle

Lost in the Jungle

Meta Kruga

5.0

1911

The Two Orphans

The Two Orphans

Henriette

0.0

1911

The Wheels of Justice

The Wheels of Justice

Alice Hazen

0.0

1911

Dad's Girls

Dad's Girls

Rose

0.0

1911

Life on the Border

Life on the Border

The Pioneer Wife

4.0

1911

Captain Kate

Captain Kate

Captain Kate

4.0

1911

The Rose of Old St. Augustine

The Rose of Old St. Augustine

Dolores, the Rose of St. Augustine

4.0

1911

Back to the Primitive

Back to the Primitive

Helen Wilton

4.0

1911

In Old California When the Gringos Came

In Old California When the Gringos Came

0.0

1911

The Witch of the Everglades

The Witch of the Everglades

Dora - the Witch

4.0

1911

1861

4.0

1911

The Man from the East

The Man from the East

Elsie Dean

0.0

1911

Thou Shalt Not

0.0

1910

Lines of White on a Sullen Sea

Lines of White on a Sullen Sea

Extra

3.2

1909