Kathleen Key
From Wikipedia: Kathleen Key (April 1, 1903 – December 22, 1954) was an American actress who achieved a brief period of fame during the silent era. She is best remembered for playing Tirzah in the 1925 film Ben-Hur. Key was the great-great granddaughter of Francis Scott Key, composer of "The Star Spangled Banner", and a distant cousin of author F. Scott Fitzgerald. Born Kitty Lanahan in Buffalo, New York, she debuted in films in 1920 in the film The Jackeroo of Coolabong, playing a lead role. From that point on to the end of the 1920s, Kathleen Key, sometimes credited as Kathleen Keys, starred in several films, but never really reached stardom, and was never given much credit for the roles she had, although there were some exceptions. In the early '20s, Key had a well-known love affair with silent-film actor Buster Keaton, who was married at the time. As told in Keaton's biography, the actor attempted to call off the relationship, but Key flew into a jealous rage and ransacked his MGM dressing room, which caused her to be virtually blacklisted afterward by the movie industry. It is also stated that Keaton refused to give Key a monetary loan. A telegram, sent by one of Keaton's friends who had heard about the argument, comically read: "Congratulations. Hear you are off Key." After her retirement in 1936, Keys spent the rest of her days in moderate comfort at the Motion Picture Country House in Woodland Hills, California, where she died at the age of 51 in 1954. Her interment was located at Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery.
Known For
Credits
- 1936 · Klondike Annie as
- 1935 · Thunder in the Night as Party Guest
- 1930 · Sweeping Against the Winds as
- 1929 · The Phantom of the North as Colette
- 1927 · Irish Hearts as Clarice
- 1927 · Hey! Hey! Cowboy as Emily Decker
- 1926 · The Desert's Toll as Muriel Cooper
- 1926 · The Flaming Frontier as Lucretia
- 1926 · Money Talks as Vamp
- 1926 · Under Western Skies as Milly Lewis
- 1925 · Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ as Tirzah
- 1925 · The Big Parade as Miss Apperson (uncredited)
- 1925 · A Lover's Oath as Sherin
- 1925 · 1925 Studio Tour as Self
- 1924 · Revelation as Madonna
- 1924 · The Sea Hawk as Andalusian Slave Girl
- 1924 · The Trouble Shooter as Nancy Brewster
- 1923 · The Man from Brodney's as Neenah
- 1923 · Reno as Yvette - The Governess
- 1923 · North of Hudson Bay as Estelle MacDonald
- 1923 · The Rendezvous as Varvara
- 1923 · Hell's Hole as Mabel Grant
- 1922 · Bells of San Juan as Florrie Engel
- 1922 · West of Chicago as Señoria Gonzales
- 1922 · Where's my Wandering Boy Tonight? as
- 1921 · The Fighting Breed as Enid MacDonald (as Ethel Payton)
- 1921 · The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse as Georgette (uncredited)
- 1920 · The Rookie's Return as Gloria