Kathlyn Williams
Known for Acting · 90 credits
- Born
- 1879-05-30
- Died
- 1960-09-23
- Place of birth
- Butte, Montana, USA
- Also known as
- Kathleen Mabel Williams
Biography
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.
Known For
Movies (90)
Blood Money
1933
as Nightclub Woman Wearing Monocle (uncredited)
The Wanderer
1925
as Huldah
Redeeming Love
1916
as Naomi Sterling
Clarence
1922
as Mrs. Wheeler
Big Timber
1917
as Stella Benton
Honeymoon Flats
1928
as Mrs. Garland
We Americans
1928
as Mrs. Bradleigh
We Can't Have Everything
1918
as Charity Coe Cheever
The Single Standard
1929
as Mrs. Glendenning
Road to Paradise
1930
as Mrs. Wells
The Prince Chap
1920
as Alice Travers
Souls for Sale
1923
as Self - Celebrity Actress in Commisary
The Whispering Chorus
1918
as Jane Tremble
The World's Applause
1923
as Elsa Townsend
Conrad in Quest of His Youth
1920
as Mrs. Adaile
Morals
1921
as Judith Mainwaring
Our Dancing Daughters
1928
as Ann's Mother
Locked Doors
1925
as Laura Carter
The Enemy Sex
1924
as Mrs. Massingale
The Best People
1925
as Mrs. Lenox
The Cruel Crown
1914
as Kathlyn Hare
The Carpet from Bagdad
1915
as Fortune Chedsoye
Wedding Rings
1929
as Agatha
Daddy Long Legs
1931
as Mrs. Paula Pendleton
The Better Wife
1919
as Lady Beverly
A Girl Named Mary
1919
as Mrs. Jaffrey
Thou Shalt Not
1910
The Painted Flapper
1924
as Isabel Whitney
The Spanish Dancer
1923
as Queen Isabel of Bourbon
Forbidden Fruit
1921
as Mrs. Mallory
The Unwelcome Throne
1913
as Kathlyn Hare
Three Bags of Silver
1914
as Kathlyn Hare
The U.P. Trail
1920
as "Beauty" Stanton
When a Girl Loves
1924
as Helen - Michael's Wife
Single Wives
1924
as Dorothy Van Clark
Sally in Our Alley
1927
as Mrs. Gordon Mansfield
The Flight of the Crow
1913
as Edwina Washburn
The Witch of the Everglades
1911
as Dora - the Witch
The City That Never Sleeps
1924
as Mrs. Kendall
The Forged Parchment
1914
as Kathlyn Hare
Her Kingdom of Dreams
1919
as Penelope Warren
Unholy Love
1932
as Mrs. Bradford
The Adventures of Kathlyn
1913
as Kathlyn Hare
Rendezvous at Midnight
1935
as Mrs. Arthur Dewey
The Man from the East
1911
as Elsie Dean
Wanderer of the Wasteland
1924
as Magdalene Virey
Lines of White on a Sullen Sea
1909
as Extra
The Two Orphans
1911
as Henriette
The Spoilers
1914
as Cherry Malotte
Her Purchase Price
1919
as Diana Vane
The Wheels of Justice
1911
as Alice Hazen
Just a Wife
1920
as Eleanor Lathrop
Her Husband's Women
1929
Broadway Gold
1923
as Jean Valjean
Thou Shalt Not Covet
1916
as My Neighbor's Wife
Trimmed in Scarlet
1923
as Cordelia Ebbing / Madame de laFleur
The Tree of Knowledge
1920
as Belle
The Spellbound Multitude
1914
as Kathlyn Hare
1861
1911
The King's Will
1914
as Kathlyn Hare
The Adventures of Kathlyn
1916
as Kathlyn Hare
A Virginia Courtship
1921
as Constance Llewellyn
The Valiants of Virginia
1916
as Shirley Dandridge
Lost in the Jungle
1911
as Meta Kruga
The Cost of Hatred
1917
as Elsie Graves / Sarita Graves
A Private Scandal
1921
as Carol Lawton
The House of His Master
1912
as Mrs. Robert Steem
The Two Ordeals
1914
as Kathlyn Hare
The Thing We Love
1918
as Margaret Kenwood
Back to the Primitive
1911
as Helen Wilton
The Rose of Old St. Augustine
1911
as Dolores, the Rose of St. Augustine
Out of the Wreck
1917
as Agnes Aldrich
Captain Kate
1911
as Captain Kate
Chip of the Flying U
1914
as Della Whitmore - the 'Little Doctor'
Into the Primitive
1916
as Jennie Leslie
A Man's Home
1921
as Frances Osborn
A Single Man
1929
as Mrs. Cottrell
The Girl at the Cupola
1912
as Jessie Wilson
The Highway of Hope
1917
as Lonely Lou
The Garden of Brides
1914
as Kathlyn Hare
The Royal Slave
1914
as Kathlyn Hare
The Warrior Maid
1914
as Kathlyn Hare
Life on the Border
1911
as The Pioneer Wife
Dad's Girls
1911
as Rose
Sweet Alyssum
1915
as Daisy Brooks
Hush
1921
as Isabel Dane
Thor, Lord of the Jungles
1913
as Gene Brant
In Old California When the Gringos Came
1911
The Leopard's Foundling
1914
as Balu
A Colonel in Chains
1914
as Kathlyn Hare
About Kathlyn Williams
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 h… With 90 credits spanning from 1909 to 1935, Kathlyn Williams has appeared in 90 films and 0 TV shows.
Fans searching for Kathlyn Williams movies, Kathlyn Williams filmography, or the latest projects starring Kathlyn Williams can stream many of these titles on Bowood.TV, free and in HD, with no subscription required.
Most Popular Kathlyn Williams Movies
- Blood Money (1933) — as Nightclub Woman Wearing Monocle (uncredited)
- The Wanderer (1925) — as Huldah
- Redeeming Love (1916) — as Naomi Sterling
- Clarence (1922) — as Mrs. Wheeler
- Big Timber (1917) — as Stella Benton
Where to Watch Kathlyn Williams Films
Most Kathlyn Williams movies and series are available to stream on Bowood.TV in full HD, completely free and without signup. Browse the complete filmography above to jump directly to any title. For more films and the latest web series featuring Kathlyn Williams, check our movies catalogue and browse page.