Kathlyn Williams

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Kathlyn Williams (May 31, 1879 – September 23, 1960) was a popular American actress who performed on stage as well as in early silent film.

Early Life and Career

Born to Joseph E. and Mary C. Boe Williams of Welsh and Norwegian descent in Butte, Montana in 1879, Williams attended Montana Wesleyan University in Helena during the late 1890s and excelled in elocution. She lost her father as a teenager, and her mother made extra money from renting out homes in nearby Centerville. Her family was of modest means, and as a result, Kathlyn had to rely on the charity of others to pay her way through school. In 1900 her friends held a concert for Katie, as she was affectionately called, to gather funds to help her acquire her college tuition. By 1902, Williams joined a theater touring group called Norris & Hall and Company where she played the lead part of Phyllis in the popular play "When We Were Twenty One" mostly to good reviews.

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 Aage 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

Marriages

Williams was married three times. Although many biographies erroneously cite her first husband as being Victor Kainer, he was in fact named Otto H. Kainer, 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. On May 8, 1905, she successfully sued her husband for $20,000 dollars for not paying her $10,000 on the day of their marriage and for every year of their marriage. The case made its way all the way to the New York Supreme Court. Their marriage ended some time before 1910, and Williams decided to revive her acting career. On March 4, 1913, she married Frank R. Allen, also an actor, but the marriage was a failure from the start and only 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. The Eyton romance culminated in a June 2, 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. On February 25, 1922, her beloved son, now called Victor Eyton, died suddenly at the age of 16 from complications from the influenza. In order to overcome her immense grief, the Eytons took an extended trip to Asia which lasted for four months. The Eytons eventually divorced in 1931.

Later Life

Williams was involved in a deadly automobile accident on December 29, 1949, which claimed the life of her friend, Mrs. Mary E. Rose, while returning home from a jaunt in Las Vegas. As a result of the accident, Williams lost her right limb. On April 8, 1950, Williams sued the estate of the late Mrs. Rose citing negligence due to her automobile having inefficient brakes. 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. She was cremated, her ashes stored at the Chapel of the Pines Crematory in Los Angeles.

After her death, Williams bequeathed most of her monetary assets, which amounted to nearly $287,000, to charitable institutions such as The McKinley Industrial Home for Boys, the Motion Picture Relief Fund, and to an orthopedic and children's hospital.

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.
• Anaconda, Montana The Anaconda Standard, "A Benefit Concert. Chance to Help a Young Girl Through College." August 16, 1900, Page 4.
• Anaconda, Montana The Anaconda Standard, "Butte Actress Loses Young Son", March 7, 1922, Page 6.
• Danville, Virginia The Bee, "Former Actress Sues For $136,615", Saturday, April 8, 1950, Page 11.
• New York City New York Times, "Husband Must Pay Up", Tuesday, May 9, 1905, Page 2.
• 1924 passport from Ancestry.com states birth year was 1885.
• 1910 Census for Los Angeles
• Olympia, Washington Morning Olympian, "Kathlyn Wiliams Kainer", July 7, 1905, Page 2.
• Helena, Montana The Helena Independent, "For Honor and A Prize, University Students Will Take Part in Elocutionary Contest", May 29, 1899, Page 8.
• 1880 Census United States Federal Census, Silver Bow County, Butte, Montana
• Anaconda, Montana The Anaconda Standard, "Sad News Shocks Daughter: Rushes To Bedside Of Aged Pioneer Woman On Learning Plight For First Time", December 12, 1908
• Trenton, New Jersey The Trenton Times, "Stage Gossip", September 15, 1902
• Waterloo, Iowa Waterloo Reporter, "Kathlyn Williams Now Mrs. Allen", Saturday, March 29, 1913, Page 19.
• Long Beach, California Independent, October 27, 1960, Page 8.
• Lincoln, Nebraska Nebraska State Journal, "On the Silver Screen. Among the Movies.", March 26, 1922, Page 30.
• Moberly, Missouri Weekly Monitar, July 3, 1914, Page 2.

[edit] External links

• Kathlyn Williams at the Internet Movie Database
• Some contemporary articles and interviews with Kathlyn Williams