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Kathleen Key

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

Klondike Annie
Klondike Annie
1936
Thunder in the Night
Thunder in the Night
1935 • Party Guest
Sweeping Against the Winds
1930
The Phantom of the North
1929 • Colette
Golf Widows
Golf Widows
1928 • Ethel Dixon
Irish Hearts
Irish Hearts
1927 • Clarice
Hey! Hey! Cowboy
Hey! Hey! Cowboy
1927 • Emily Decker
The Desert's Toll
The Desert's Toll
1926 • Muriel Cooper

Full filmography

Thunder in the Night
Thunder in the Night
1935 • Party Guest
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Golf Widows
Golf Widows
1928 • Ethel Dixon
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Irish Hearts
Irish Hearts
1927 • Clarice
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Hey! Hey! Cowboy
Hey! Hey! Cowboy
1927 • Emily Decker
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The Desert's Toll
The Desert's Toll
1926 • Muriel Cooper
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Under Western Skies
Under Western Skies
1926 • Milly Lewis
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The Big Parade
The Big Parade
1925 • Miss Apperson (uncredited)
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Revelation
Revelation
1924 • Madonna
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The Sea Hawk
The Sea Hawk
1924 • Andalusian Slave Girl
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The Trouble Shooter
The Trouble Shooter
1924 • Nancy Brewster
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Reno
Reno
1923 • Yvette - The Governess
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North of Hudson Bay
North of Hudson Bay
1923 • Estelle MacDonald
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The Rendezvous
The Rendezvous
1923 • Varvara
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Hell's Hole
Hell's Hole
1923 • Mabel Grant
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Bells of San Juan
Bells of San Juan
1922 • Florrie Engel
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West of Chicago
West of Chicago
1922 • Señoria Gonzales
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The Fighting Breed
1921 • Enid MacDonald (as Ethel Payton)
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The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
1921 • Georgette (uncredited)
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The Jackeroo of Coolabong
The Jackeroo of Coolabong
1920 • Edith MacDonald
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Kathleen Key – Biography, Known For & Filmography