Kathlyn Williams
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Kathlyn Williams (May 31, 1888 - September 23, 1960) was an American actress.
[edit] Early Life and Career
Born in Butte, Montana, Williams began her career with Selig Polyscope Company in Chicago, Illinois and made her first film in 1908 under the direction of Francis Boggs. 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, her last coming in 1935. Kathlyn evolved from a comedienne and serial player in silents to portraying character roles in the early 1930s.
She was married twice, first to Victor Kainer from 1913 to 1915. They divorced, and the next year she married Paramount Studios executive Charles Eyton. The Eyton romance culminated in a June 1916 marriage in Riverside, California. The couple met approximately ten years prior to their union, in Salt Lake City, Utah. Eyton went there to look over a new play. While there he met Kathlyn, who was a member of the Willard Mack stock company. Eyton and Williams were engaged earlier but a lover's quarrel broke them up. A second meeting in the movie camps of Los Angeles, California rekindled their love. Eyton was one of the owners of the Oliver Morosco Photoplay Company. They divorced in 1931.
Kathlyn Williams died of a heart attack in Hollywood in 1960. She was found dead in her home, where she lived as a wheelchair invalid. The former actress was 65. She was cremated, her ashes stored at the Chapel of the Pines Crematory in Los Angeles.
For her contribution to the motion picture industry, Kathlyn Williams has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7038 Hollywood Blvd.
[edit] References
- Galveston, Texas Daily News, Screen Life in Hollywood, Friday, March 20, 1931, Page 4.
- New York Times, Kathlyn Williams, September 25, 1960, Page 86.
- Reno, Nevada Evening Gazette, Short Yarns About Many Favorites, Saturday, June 17, 1916, Page 10.
The new Kathlyn Williams resides in Chicago and loves both Ice cream and cats.
