Kathleen Key
Known for: Acting
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
Film
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
Georgette (uncredited)
1921
Film
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ
Tirzah
1925
Film
Revelation
Madonna
1924
Film
1925 Studio Tour
Self
1925
Film
The Big Parade
Miss Apperson (uncredited)
1925
Film
Irish Hearts
Clarice
1927
Film
The Sea Hawk
Andalusian Slave Girl
1924
The Phantom of the North
Colette
1929
Film
Thunder in the Night
Party Guest
1935
Film
Klondike Annie
1936
Film
Hell's Hole
Mabel Grant
1923
Film
The Rookie's Return
Gloria
1920
Film
North of Hudson Bay
Estelle MacDonald
1923
Film
The Flaming Frontier
Lucretia
1926
Film
Under Western Skies
Milly Lewis
1926
Film
Reno
Yvette - The Governess
1923
Film
The Jackeroo of Coolabong
Edith MacDonald
1920
Film
The Trouble Shooter
Nancy Brewster
1924
Film
Bells of San Juan
Florrie Engel
1922
Film
The Man from Brodney's
Neenah
1923
Film
The Rendezvous
Varvara
1923
Film
Money Talks
Vamp
1926
Film
A Lover's Oath
Sherin
1925
Film
Hey! Hey! Cowboy
Emily Decker
1927
Sweeping Against the Winds
1930
Film
West of Chicago
Señoria Gonzales
1922
The Fighting Breed
Enid MacDonald (as Ethel Payton)
1921
Film
Golf Widows
Ethel Dixon
1928
Where's My Wandering Boy Tonight?
1922
Film
The Desert's Toll
Muriel Cooper
1926