Kathleen Key

Birthday: 1903-04-01
Deathday: 1954-12-22
Birthplace: Buffalo, New York, USA
Gender: Female
Owned By: Unowned

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.

Credits

Year Title Character
1936-02-21 Klondike Annie
1935-09-16 Thunder in the Night Party Guest
1930-06-20 Sweeping Against the Winds
1929-05-27 The Phantom of the North Colette
1927-05-21 Irish Hearts Clarice
1927-04-03 Hey! Hey! Cowboy Emily Decker
1926-11-14 The Desert's Toll Muriel Cooper
1926-09-11 The Flaming Frontier Lucretia
1926-05-10 Money Talks Vamp
1926-02-07 Under Western Skies Milly Lewis
1925-12-25 Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ Tirzah
1925-11-05 The Big Parade Miss Apperson (uncredited)
1925-09-29 A Lover's Oath Sherin
1924-06-23 Revelation Madonna
1924-06-14 The Sea Hawk Andalusian Slave Girl
1924-05-04 The Trouble Shooter Nancy Brewster
1923-12-16 The Man from Brodney's Neenah
1923-12-09 Reno Yvette - The Governess
1923-11-18 North of Hudson Bay Estelle MacDonald
1923-11-11 The Rendezvous Varvara
1923-09-23 Hell's Hole Mabel Grant
1922-10-15 Bells of San Juan Florrie Engel
1922-09-03 West of Chicago Señoria Gonzales
1922-02-05 Where's My Wandering Boy Tonight?
1921-09-01 The Fighting Breed Enid MacDonald (as Ethel Payton)
1921-03-06 The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse Georgette (uncredited)
1920-12-26 The Rookie's Return Gloria