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 18461908 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 Womans 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 companys Los Angeles film studio Williams played Cherry Malotte in the first movie based upon Rex Beachs 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 18761952 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 Kainers 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 136615 citing negligence and claiming that the automobile had inefficient brakes In June 1951 Williams accepted the offer of 6500 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