Kathlyn Williams

Acting

Kathlyn Williams

Born 1879-05-30 · 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.

Acting credits

The Whispering Chorus poster
6.4

John Trimble has embezzled and obtains another identity by having a mutilated body buried in his place. He is later arrested for murdering himself. During the trial his mother, before dying from shock, asks him to keep his identity secret since his wife is now married to the Governor and expecting a child.

The Whispering Chorus

1918

Forbidden Fruit poster
6.6

Mary Maddock works as a seamstress to bring home money while her husband Steve, unemployed, has no real prospects of earning money. Mary's employers, are trying to strike an oil related business deal with a rich man by the name of Nelson Rogers. The deal does not seem to be on the table, as Mr. Rogers is leaving town shortly and does not have the time to work out the details of such a deal. In an order to entice him to stay, Mrs. Mallory - wife of Mr. Mallory who is proposing the business deal - convinces Mary to be her guest at a dinner party with the intent of making Mr. Rogers fall for her and thus stay long enough for Mr. Mallory to make him agree to a business deal.

Forbidden Fruit

1921

The Cost of Hatred poster
1.0

Justus Graves (Theodore Roberts) is a mean-spirited human being, so it's no surprise that when he returns home from a business trip, he finds his wife Elsie (Kathlyn Williams) in the arms of another man (J.W. Johnston). Graves shoots and wounds the man, then hides with his little daughter in Mexico.

The Cost of Hatred

1917

The Prince Chap poster
7.0

An artist in England is torn between an old flame and the now grown up little girl he has adopted.

The Prince Chap

1920

Single Wives poster
8.0

As her first wedding anniversary approaches, a young wife begins to believe that her husband doesn't love her anymore, and she turns to a former suitor for comfort. Soon she makes up her mind to leave her husband, but when he is seriously injured she must decide if she really wants to end her marriage.

Single Wives

1924

Souls for Sale poster
6.3

A young woman hits Hollywood, determined to become a star.

Souls for Sale

1923

A Girl Named Mary poster
9.0

For 15 years, wealthy widow Marise Jaffrey has searched for her daughter Mary, who was taken away as an infant by her father and subsequently disappeared after he was killed in a train accident. Mary Healy, a stenographer who has helped in the search, learns that Mrs. Healy is not her real mother. At the same time, Mary's resemblance to the missing girl leads Mrs. Jaffrey to investigate further and discover that Mary is her daughter. Mary then goes to live in the Jaffrey home, but runs away because of the snobbish attitudes of Mrs. Jaffrey's friends. Henry Martin, a printer's foreman, tells Mrs. Jaffrey of his love for Mary. Mary's mother and foster mother reconcile themselves when they see Mary's happiness over her forthcoming marriage.

A Girl Named Mary

1919

The Painted Flapper poster
8.0

A socially-ambitious mother is pushing her younger daughter into a life-style that will satisfy the desires of the mother but the older daughter, having tasted the consequences of such a life, determines to save her younger sister from the same mistakes.

The Painted Flapper

1924

The Wanderer poster
3.0

Jether, a shepherd, is lured from his home by Tisha, priestess of the goddess Ishtar. He journeys to the city of Babylon, where he lavishes Tisha with gifts and spends his share of his father's wealth on riotous living.

The Wanderer

1925

When a Girl Loves poster
10.0

The revolution causes Sasha Boroff's wealthy family to lose its fortune; and her lover, Count Michael, is sentenced to death by Rogojin, the Boroffs' former coachman. Rogojin's sudden death saves Sasha from marriage to the despot, and the Boroffs escape to the United States, where Sasha marries Dr. Godfrey Luke to please her family. Later Sasha discovers that Michael survived, fled to the United States, and married Helen, an American. When Helen has a love affair with Dr. Luke, Michael challenges him to a duel. Sasha is wounded in the exchange of gunfire, the shock prostrates Michael, and Grishka cures him with a radio-vibration device. At the end, Sasha and Michael are still happily married to their respective American spouses.

When a Girl Loves

1924

Wedding Rings poster
8.0

Two sisters battle for the love of a man.

Wedding Rings

1929

The Spoilers poster
6.2

The Spoilers is a 1914 film directed by Colin Campbell. It is set in Nome, Alaska during the 1898 Gold Rush, with William Farnum as Roy Glennister, Kathlyn Williams as Cherry Malotte, and Tom Santschi as Alex McNamara. The film culminates in a spectacular saloon fistfight between Glennister and McNamara. It was adapted to screen by Lanier Bartlett from the Rex Beach novel of the same name.

The Spoilers

1914

Our Dancing Daughters poster
6.3

A flapper who's secretly a good girl and a gold-digging floozy masquerading as an ingénue both vie for the hand of a millionaire.

Our Dancing Daughters

1928

Conrad in Quest of His Youth poster
6.4

Conrad Warrener, a man of near middle-age, reflects nostalgically on the happy times of his youth and decides to recapture them. However, what he learns about the "second time around" is neither what he expected nor what he hoped for.

Conrad in Quest of His Youth

1920

The Spanish Dancer poster
5.0

The Spanish Dancer is the story of Maritana, a Romani girl who dances in courtyards and even tells people's fortunes. Despite her lowly position, Maritana wishes to be a Countess. Her ambitions are realized when she meets the handsome Count Don Cesar de Bazán, if only the King of Spain would stay out of their way!

The Spanish Dancer

1923

Lines of White on a Sullen Sea poster
4.2

Soon after their engagement, Bill goes to sea, and Emily vows to stay true until his return. Unknown to her, Bill marries another woman from a different port. Emily waits faithfully for six years, finally becoming dangerously ill. When Bill suddenly appears in town with his family, Joe, who has loved Emily all along, forces Bill to make Emily's final moments happy by pretending he has returned to marry her.

Lines of White on a Sullen Sea

1909

Out of the Wreck poster
NR

James Aldrich is a cinch to win the election as United States Senator until his opponent, Tom Ryan offers a big reward to anyone who can find a scandal in Aldrich's past. Newspaper editor Howard Duncan and his star reporter Ruby Sheldon accept the challenge and, after deciding that Aldrich is straight, decide to investigate his wife Agnes. Going back through the files, they discover that Agnes has been accused of murder and threaten the Aldrichs with exposure.

Out of the Wreck

1917

Sally in Our Alley poster
10.0

Sally, a girl of the tenements, is being raised by three bachelor foster-fathers, a pawnbroker, an organ-grinder and a peddler, and is very happy preparing their meals and keeping the house, while the old men bask in the attention she gives them. However, this happy home is broken up when Sally wealthy aunt appears on the scene and takes Sally back to her luxurious penthouse in order to give her the advantages of money and social position. But Sally's heart is back across the river with her plumber sweetheart, Jimmie Adams.

Sally in Our Alley

1927

The City That Never Sleeps poster
9.0

Mother O'day, running her saloon after the death of her husband, places her daughter in the care of Mrs. Kendall, a high society woman. Later, in the prohibition era, Molly returns to the saloon-turned-cabaret as a flapper with her co-star Mark Roth. Considered a lost film.

The City That Never Sleeps

1924

The Enemy Sex poster
8.5

A well-known sextet has been invited to a society gathering, and when one of them turns up missing, their manager asks Dodo to fill in. At the party, she meets four new men. She's smart enough to steer clear of two of them -- corrupt society leader Albert Sasson and powerful newspaper publisher Harrigan Blood. Instead she becomes passionately involved with Judge Massingale. The man who really steals her heart, however, is Garry Lindaberry, who seems to be a hopeless drunk.

The Enemy Sex

1924

Blood Money poster
7.1

The title refers to the business of affable, ambitious bail bondsman (and politically-connected grifter) Bill Bailey, who, in the course of his work, crosses paths with every kind of offender there is, from first-time defendants to career criminals.

Blood Money

1933

The Single Standard poster
5.8

A bored socialite finds fleeting romance with an artist.

The Single Standard

1929

Just a Wife poster
10.0

Businesswoman Eleanor Lathrop becomes an advisor to Richard Emerson, an ambitious young engineer. He becomes very successful with her help, and to avoid the talk that surrounds their relationship, she suggests that he marry Mary Virginia Lee, a Southern girl from an aristocratic but impoverished family. Mary is happy to wed Emerson since she is tired of being poor. On their honeymoon, she reveals that she got married only to have luxuries, and Emerson admits that he was looking for social standing. After their confessions, they decide it's best to lead separate lives. Emerson stays at his club in New York, while Mary lives at his country home. Eleanor becomes jealous of Mary's position, even though she's the one who spends her time with Emerson.

Just a Wife

1920

Chip of the Flying U poster
NR

When he's fired from his bank job aimless Claude Bennett decides to head West. Once he gets a job as a cowboy on the Flying "U" ranch he restyles himself as Chip and discovers who he really is through a series of adventures.

Chip of the Flying U

1914

Behind the camera