Kathleen Key

Kathleen Key

  • Birthday: 1903-04-01
  • Deathday: 1954-12-22
  • Place of birth: Buffalo, New York, USA
  • Also know as: Kitty Lanahan

Biography

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.

Filmography

The Big Parade

1925

As Miss Apperson (uncredited)

The Sea Hawk

1924

As Andalusian Slave Girl

The Phantom of the North

1929

As Colette

North of Hudson Bay

1923

As Estelle MacDonald

Thunder in the Night

1935

As Party Guest

1925 Studio Tour

1925

As Self

A Lover's Oath

1925

As Sherin

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

1921

As Georgette (uncredited)

Money Talks

1926

As Vamp

The Fighting Breed

1921

As Enid MacDonald (as Ethel Payton)

The Desert's Toll

1926

As Muriel Cooper

West of Chicago

1922

As Señoria Gonzales

The Trouble Shooter

1924

As Nancy Brewster

The Flaming Frontier

1926

As Lucretia

The Rookie's Return

1920

As Gloria

Bells of San Juan

1922

As Florrie Engel

Hell's Hole

1923

As Mabel Grant

Under Western Skies

1926

As Milly Lewis

Revelation

1924

As Madonna

Hey! Hey! Cowboy

1927

As Emily Decker

Irish Hearts

1927

As Clarice

The Man from Brodney's

1923

As Neenah

Reno

1923

As Yvette - The Governess

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