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Taylorology Issue 48
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* T A Y L O R O L O G Y *
* A Continuing Exploration of the Life and Death of William Desmond Taylor *
* *
* Issue 48 -- December 1996 Editor: Bruce Long bruce@asu.edu *
* TAYLOROLOGY may be freely distributed *
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CONTENTS OF THIS ISSUE:
Kathlyn Williams
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What is TAYLOROLOGY?
TAYLOROLOGY is a newsletter focusing on the life and death of William Desmond
Taylor, a top Paramount film director in early Hollywood who was shot to
death on February 1, 1922. His unsolved murder was one of Hollywood's major
scandals. This newsletter will deal with: (a) The facts of Taylor's life;
(b) The facts and rumors of Taylor's murder; (c) The impact of the Taylor
murder on Hollywood and the nation; (d) Taylor's associates and the Hollywood
silent film industry in which Taylor worked. Primary emphasis will be given
toward reprinting, referencing and analyzing source material, and sifting it
for accuracy.
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Kathlyn Williams
Kathlyn Williams was one of the first prominent motion picture actresses, and
she continued to act in supporting roles throughout the silent film era.
She starred in the first American serial, "The Adventures of Kathlyn," and
was in the original classic silent film "The Spoilers." William Desmond
Taylor directed her in three films, and she was married to Charles Eyton,
who was the studio manager for Famous Players-Lasky where Taylor worked.
Kathlyn Williams' signature appears on Taylor's death certificate; she is the
one who officially identified Taylor's body after his murder. The following
are some interviews and articles tracing the silent film career of
Kathlyn Williams.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
April 20, 1912
NEW YORK CLIPPER
Kathlyn Williams, whose picture appears on the front page of this issue,
is one of the bright lights among the most noted motion picture players, and
now appearing with the Selig Stock Co., when interviewed by our
representative gave the following interesting narrative regarding her early
ambitions as an actress, and later as a motion picture artist.
"My desire to go on the stage became my life's ambition when I was about
eight years old, after seeing my first play. My mother and friends laughed
at the idea as a childish whim, but as time went on and I became an amateur
of some note in my home town, Butte, Mont., my mother became worried and sent
me to Wesleyan University, thinking a rigid religious school would change my
views. The love of the stage was too firmly rooted, however, to make me
alter my determination.
"During a vacation I had an opportunity of appearing for a short while
in a stock company in Butte. My acting appeared to please my townspeople so
well that the newspapers spoke highly of my feeble efforts. Through this I
was brought to the notice of Senator Clark, who has helped so many boys and
girls to realize their ambitions. My desire was to study for the stage in
New York or Europe. The senator consented to help me on condition that I
finish my last year at Wesleyan, and during that year I won a medal for
elocution.
"The next Fall found me enrolled in Sergeant's School for Acting, when I
found out what the stage really meant, hard work, heartaches and
disappointments. I worked hard, as I wanted to justify the senator's faith
in me. After finishing there I went out as leading lady in 'When We Were
Twenty-One.' Then began the real hard work and real disappointments. The
horrors of one night stands and catching early trains was enough to take the
energy out of a less ambitious person. But nothing daunted, I went out
season after season with the same jumps and same one night stands. Then I
tried stock. There another horror confronted me: wardrobe and studying.
I felt I was not doing myself justice. It was all work and no play, and I
was almost in despair. Why I never had enough fresh air and seldom saw the
sun, when, lo and behold! a new field was opened: 'Moving Pictures.'"
With this came a twinkle in the soft blue eye that spoke her happy frame
of mind and made her interviewer eager to learn the real cause of her perfect
contentment. Glancing about her cordial surroundings, she gave vent to a
bewitching smile and said:
"Here was a new field where conditions were almost perfect, with nothing
but fresh air, sunshine and real country with real trees and grass, things I
had only seen through dust-dimmed car windows. It is early to bed and early
to rise, and we certainly are healthier, wealthier and wiser. The work is
absolutely fascinating--there is a change all the time; each picture is a new
character and each character one creates one's self. No following in the
footsteps of the actor or actress who created the part. If you have the
right conception of the part, your producer is only too glad to give your
imagination full sway, but woe unto him who thinks he knows it all.
"One's first picture will take more egotism out of one than all the
critics. One sees himself as other see him, and is quite willing to
acknowledge that the producer knows what he is talking about and what he
wants. Don't imagine that you can slight your work, nor that you do not need
to take the situation seriously--the camera does not lie, and the result is
sometimes startling. The opportunity to improve one's self is limitless.
What more can you want than to see yourself act? Then the different
characters one portrays. There are characters I have always wanted to try.
I could be in stock for years and never have the opportunity to play more
than one line. In motion pictures one tries them all.
"Oh, how I have enjoyed some of my roles. Nora, in 'The Witch of the
Everglades,' and 'Lost in the Jungle,' are two roles I have enjoyed most.
The characters are as different as they could possibly be.
"'Lost in the Jungle' was particularly interesting to me as we used an
elephant and many beautiful leopards. That you may have an idea of the story
of this particular picture and more readily realize the wonderful experience
we had in making it, I would say I played the part of a girl living fifty
miles in the interior of Africa with her father. She refuses to marry the
man her father has chosen so he turns her from the house. She tries to go
through the jungle to the next neighbor, twenty miles away, but gets lost.
Faint and exhausted, she lies down to rest and while resting is attacked by a
leopard but mortally wounds it with a knife which she carries, and escapes,
although badly hurt. In the meantime a work elephant on her father's place
escapes from his keeper who has been cruel to him, and goes to the jungle.
The girl, seeing him come toward her, speaks to him. Recognizing the voice
of his only friend, he comes to her. She commands him to kneel, staggers to
her feet, and half-fainting, falls across his trunk, and with his trunk he
assists her up to his head and starts home with her.
"Toddles, the elephant used, has the reputation of having killed two of
his keepers, so our producer was afraid to have me try and wanted me to use a
dummy figure. Realizing how much more real it would be to have it true to
life, I was anxious to try, and always having been fond of animals,
especially wild ones, I set to work to win Toddles as my friend. Knowing the
surest way was through his stomach I began visiting him daily with fruit. In
fact every time I passed I would have something until at last he began to
know me, and whenever he would see me he would trumpet and call, and I was
always prepared. After some weeks of this we began our real work. I would
lie down within easy reach of him, command him to kneel and then to assist me
to my feet with his trunk. Whenever he did what I wanted I gave him an
orange. How quickly he understood. At last he would allow me to get on his
head. Oh! He was splendid, and I felt as safe up there as on the ground.
It took a month to accomplish this, but it was fascinating work.
"Then came Tom, the leopard, and my real work. He has been trained to
jump over me. He apparently jumps at me, but really jumps over me. He did
it beautifully the first time, and I had more confidence than before. The
second time I was late in my action of falling. I just had time to cover my
face when I felt his sharp claws sink in my head, but I kept perfectly still
--not an easy thing to do under the circumstances--but that probably saved me
from more serious injury. The trainer was there, and after one crack of the
whip he was off me. I was not badly hurt--only a few scratches and a little
nervous, and it was a new experience.
"When the public sees that picture there is not one in a hundred will
believe that it was a real leopard that jumped over me, but will think it a
big dog, painted up. They figure it out to suit themselves and little
realize the chance we take. Every picture with character in it is taken from
actual life and at a great expense, as everything is made as real as
possible."
At this moment the producer announced that the scene was ready, and our
interview was at an end, as the little blonde lady passed hurriedly out to
the studio, and bidding the writer a good afternoon, apologized for taking up
too much of his time with remark: "the gong saved you: I never know when to
stop talking when telling of the happiness and pleasure I derive from being a
picture player."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
October 12, 1912
MOTOGRAPHY
About that Hydroaeroplane Mishap
For the past two weeks, the Chicago branch of the Selig Motion Picture
Company has been busily engaged in the production of an aviation picture that
promises to be thrilling. Miss Kathlyn Williams, the always popular leading
woman of the Selig Company and Max Lillie and Beckwith Havens, well known
aviators, are the principal players in the unique subject. During the recent
Chicago air meet at Cicero park, Miss Williams made several flights in the
biplane of Lillie, as his passenger. These scenes were all recorded by the
Selig cameras as part of the picture. After the Cicero meet, the aviators
moved their machines down to Grant park on the lake front of Chicago, for the
hydroaeroplane meet. Beckwith Havens was engaged by the Selig Company to
complete the scenes required for the picture. Henry McRae, one of the Selig
producers, and Stanly Twist, of the business department, were supervising the
production. Everything went well until the last day of the meet. Miss
Williams made several successful flights with Havens in his hydroaeroplane in
front of the cameras without mishap. On Sunday, the last day of the meet,
the producers prepared to secure the climax scene, in which Miss Williams,
adrift in a disabled motorboat, far out at sea, is rescued from her perilous
position by Havens in his hydroaeroplane. When all preparations had been
completed and the event was about to be enacted, McRae and Twist were told by
the Aero Club officials that they would have to wait until Havens had
completed all of the events in which he was entered, before they could
produce the required scene. Only one event remained to be completed and
Havens was the only one entered in it. This was the grand prize trophy
event. In order to win it, the aviator was required to circle the mile crib
eight times, carrying with him a passenger. When Havens began to look around
for the necessary passenger to accompany him, there was none to be found.
Nobody seemed anxious to take a chance in such a race. As the afternoon
light was fading rapidly and the picture had to be completed before dusk that
day, Mr. Twist volunteered his services, in order to secure Havens for the
remaining scenes in motion pictures. Dressing himself in aviator clothes,
Twist climbed into the passenger's seat and they were off for the trophy
race. Several rounds were made without mishap and many thousands of people
were excitedly watching the maneuvers of the air craft, when suddenly those
on shore saw the nose of Haven's pontoon strike the water and the machine
turned a complete somersault on the lake surface. Twist was thrown through
the air for about fifteen feet before he struck the water. Havens clung to
the wrecked machine, but Twist started to swim the half mile between himself
and shore, not taking into consideration the fact that his heavy booths and
clothing would soon weigh him down. After proceeding about fifty yards he
began to feel exhausted and would undoubtedly have met with a more serious
fate, if Miss Williams, who had been waiting in the motor boat outside the
crib breakwater, and who had been a witness to the accident, had not had the
presence of mind to put on full speed and race to the rescue of the sinking
man. When Twist was rescued by Miss Williams, he was on the point of
exhaustion but outside of a severe chill and a few bruises, he suffered no
ill effects. A funny coincidence connected with the affair is the fact that
Twist, who is also press agent of the Selig Company, had planned a unique
press story in connection with the event. When the originally planned press
stunt was brought to a sudden end by the accident, the amount of space that
the Selig company secured in the daily papers throughout the country, more
than made up for the experience that the players underwent. Another
hydroaeroplane was secured the next day and the picture was finished.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
November 9, 1912
MOTOGRAPHY
Miss Kathlyn Williams has gone to the Los Angeles studio of the Selig
Company where she is ready to begin work in a series of wild animal film
stories. En route to the studio city, she stopped at her father's home in El
Paso, where she was lavishly entertained during her short stop-over. At her
arrival at the Edendale studio of the Selig house, she was given an impromptu
reception at which she was heartily welcomed back after her two years'
affiliation with the Chicago studio.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
January 4, 1913
Kathlyn Williams
MOVING PICTURE WORLD
Kathlyn Williams, Selig's leading woman, has a new hobby. She is
learning to be an aviatoress, or an aviatoreaux or an aviatrice--anyhow,
she's learning to run a flying machine. She has been making frequent ascents
with Glenn Martin who says he is one of the most promising pupils he has ever
had, and who thinks she will be ready to try it alone in a month or so.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
March 15, 1913
MOTOGRAPHY
Miss Kathlyn Williams, leading woman of the Selig Polyscope company was
married on the afternoon of March 4, to Frank R. Allen, an actor.
Allen is 39 and Miss Williams is 28. She is known as the "California
Venus." A den of wildcats is said to have played a part in this "movies"
romance. A clever office boy had written a scenario which involved a venture
into a wild animal cage, and the film was made out at the wild animal farm
near Eastlake Park. Miss Williams ventured into the cage of wildcats while
Allen stood outside. It was a perilous moment, and Allen knew then for the
first time from the way his heart jumped up into his throat that he loved the
heroine. Miss Williams' intuition probably let her in on the secret even
before that. Anyhow, the wild-cat scene helped to precipitate matters and
the almost-immediate marriage followed.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
[Kathlyn Williams was selected to lead the grand march at the 1914
Photoplayers' Club St. Valentine's Ball. See TAYLOROLOGY #47.]
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
April 1914
Kathlyn Williams
PHOTOPLAY
...In "Lost in the Jungle" I had to lie with my face hidden behind a log
until my director gave me the signal to raise up. I thought he had forgotten
and raised my head as a leopard jumped over the log. Scared at my sudden
appearance, the leopard struck as he passed over me, and although I ducked,
I sustained a bad scalp wound. But I blamed myself, not the leopard...
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
April 1914
Richard Willis
PHOTOPLAY
Kathlyn the Intrepid
In private life Kathlyn Williams furnishes a genuine surprise. So
closely associated has she been of late with deeds of daring and dangerous
exploits that one expects to find a dashing, mannish woman arrayed in more or
less masculine attire. So it is almost disconcerting to find a decidedly
womanly lady, quietly but tastefully dressed and one whose charm is increased
by a beautifully modulated voice.
We got right down to business, and I was permitted to smoke.
"Give me some particulars of your early life," I asked her.
"That is easy and brief," said Miss Williams. "I was born at Butte,
Montana, where my father was a mining man. We moved to Helena, where I had
my early schooling. I was an only child."
"Spoiled?" I queried.
"Not more than other 'only' children," she answered with a smile, "but I
had a will of my own. I grew up in an atmosphere of animals and music, for
my mother was an accomplished musician and possessed a beautiful voice, which
she used freely for the benefit of charity and at concerts. But she never
sang professionally."
"Then you do not inherit your talent for acting?"
"No, but mother gave me her artistic temperament, and I often think that
father's vocation prepared me for the many hard knocks I have had from time
to time. I had a fine voice myself as a child and the chief desire of my
mother's heart was that I should be a great singer. But I silently treasured
a longing for the stage--I always had that. I studied elocution and voice
culture at the Wesleyan University at Helena and frequently sang at concerts,
and Senator Clark took a great interest in my welfare. I tried hard to
persuade him to help me get to New York, but he joined with my mother in
insisting that I remain and finish my schooling. So I kept right on with my
elocution and did a lot of secret studying, for my girl's heart was quite
made up--I would go on the stage. I was happy there, too," and Miss Williams
smiled reflectively.
I left her alone awhile, back in the old school with her companions, and
then broke the charm.
"And then?"
"Oh! excuse me. I was quite lost, wasn't I? Well, then came the great
event of my life when I started for the metropolis with the assistance of
Senator Clark. Once there I soon found that my mother's dreams would not
come true. That wonderful teacher and woman, Madame Shaw, told me plainly
that I had mistreated and overused my voice and that I would never make a
great singer. My mother was bitterly disappointed, dear soul, but I was
secretly relieved. The operatic career did not appeal to me at all."
"So you returned to the mines and mother?"
"I did not," returned Miss Williams emphatically. "I stayed on and
entered the Sargent school of acting, sometimes called the Empire. It was a
fine school and I made great progress, and after two years of hard work I
passed successfully, with five others, out of a class of over forty pupils.
The other five have done well, though I do not remember all their names.
Doris Keane was one and Martin Brown was another."
"Then you went home and --"
Miss Williams stopped me. "This is my story. Light that cigar again
and let me ramble on in my own way. My first engagement was with William
Morris in 'When We Were Twenty-One,' and after a while I followed Maxine
Elliott in the part and was starred in it and played in it for two years.
And then I took that home rest you are so anxious about."
"Ah, I knew it was coming," I muttered.
"Why?"
"Oh, because it is easy to see you are a home lover by your
surroundings, and that dog is used to that very spot by your chair, and you
have the pictures of your friends around you."
"Yes, I love home and spend all my time between it and the studios."
"What came after the vacation?" I asked.
"I joined the Willard Mack stock company at Salt Lake City and then came
to Los Angeles and played at the Belasco Theatre. And it was while acting
there that I received a telephone call from David Griffith of the Biograph to
call and see him. He wanted me to take a special part in one of his
pictures. I was most indignant; how dare anyone even suggest that I would so
lower myself as to play for the screen? I would not have gone at all, but a
friend suggested that I look into it 'for fun;' and that is exactly the
spirit that I was in when I first met Mr. Griffith. I had my nose very much
in the air, and Mr. Griffith saw that I did not take kindly to the idea. But
he had met people like me before, and he persuaded me to try it out.
"I remember the first day's work. We finished late and I was informed
that no tickets would be issued. I was to have received $10, by the way.
Then I knew I was foolish, and that I would never receive my pay. But the
next night I was handed twenty dollars, to my surprise. Isn't it funny the
ideas we all have about pictures before we go into them?"
I joined in the laugh, for I have met many actors and actresses who have
felt the same way about motion picture acting; I did the same myself.
"Now tell me something about your picture experiences," I requested.
"I was so much impressed with the treatment I received at the hands of
Mr. Griffith and at my surroundings that I was in a receptive mood when it
came to talking about a regular salary. I joined, and have been working in
pictures ever since, and that covers a period of five years. Over four years
of this have been spent with Selig, for David Griffith gave me a personal
introduction to Mr. Selig, and I went over to his company. I have worked for
the Selig firm in Chicago and Jacksonville and in Los Angeles. By the way,
in the first picture I acted in with Biograph I was a heavy and played
opposite to Dell Henderson, and Marion Leonard was the heroine. I also
believe that I acted in the first multiple-reel ever put on, and was in 'Ten
Nights in a Bar-Room,' which was put on at Jacksonville. I took the
emotional part, of course. I also played in my first animal picture down
there in Florida."
"Do you like the animal pictures?" I asked her.
"Yes, I do. I ought to, considering the added popularity they have
brought me. But my heart is in tense dramatic work, and I love mystical and
psychological photoplays more than any others. Here is something that I have
never breathed before. In years to come I look forward to putting on my own
photoplays, in my own way."
"Do you think that women make successful producers or directors?" I
asked, quizzically.
Miss Williams took issue with me promptly. "Yes, I honestly believe
that women pay far more attention to details than men, and that counts for a
lot, you know. I believe that women would make as big a success directing as
men, if given the right chances and opportunity. You know I produced two or
three of my own photoplays, do you not?"
I acknowledged my ignorance.
"One in particular, 'Balu, the Leopard's Foundling,' was a great
success. I wrote the play, produced it, and took the lead--a wild girl
brought up with the leopards. There were some excellent effects in it, and a
leopard ran at me and put its head on my shoulder at the right moment. Isn't
that enough for you?"
"Not quite. What are your likes and dislikes?"
"I dislike being interviewed for one, and housework for another. I like
home and books, and then more books, animals of every shape, size and color,
and everything connected with the glorious out-of-doors. I am a rabid
baseball fan, and like fencing. Music is a passion with me, and one of my
dearest friends is Signor Ruggiero Leoncavallo, who always sends me his
compositions. Then I love pretty frocks and the society of nice, sensible
women. There is my automobile, which must not be forgotten. Motoring is my
favorite outdoor recreation. Is that enough?"
"Nearly; but tell me if you ever want to get back to the stage?"
"Yes. We all do, you know, but the pictures fascinate me, too. I would
like to return and play another part like Mrs. Dane in 'Mrs. Dane's Defense.'
It was my favorite part, I think.
"My picture experiences have taught me, however, that seeing myself in
moving pictures is the most helpful and the most discouraging criticism an
actress can have. It's the severe test of looking at yourself from the
outside and at a distance.
"Mannerisms positively stare at you from a picture, when they would pass
unnoticed on the stage. The searching light of the picture camera seems to
have reveled in your faults.
"Daylight hours, the opportunity to live at home, the wonderful variety
of characters and the opportunity for study are the chief inducements the
pictures afford a player. And then, I like being a Photoplayer because I
like doing the difficult, unexpected things. The strenuous but ever
fascinating work is also the finest course in figure development I know of.
Practically every day since I joined the Selig Company I have indulged freely
in horseback riding, walking, tennis, golf or some such form of recreation,
in addition to the daily studio work.
"Mr. Selig and the studio officials always encourage the players in this
respect, and half of our time is spent out in the open. A healthy, athletic
life contributes more toward physical perfection than any other one thing,
and there is no country in the world where this can be more surely guaranteed
than right here in the United States.
"Let me see if there is anything else. Oh, yes, I write scenarios at
times, and have had several produced. 'Balu' was one, and 'What Kitty Did'
was another."
"Well, I guess I'll let you off now," I said.
"My, I have forgotten the most important thing of all," broke in the
lady. "My aviation experiences. I am really fascinated with flying, and one
of these days I mean to fly regularly. I have taken a number of lessons with
Glenn Martin and am quite an expert, I can assure you. I had my first flight
with poor Max Lillie in Chicago. He was killed later, and I was so sorry.
He was a nice fellow. We went up a thousand feet and I lost all sense of
fear after the first few minutes. Then, I believe I was the first woman ever
to fly in a hydro-aeroplane. Yes, the strange sensation of flying through
space fascinates me.
"No, I am not afraid.
"Look," she whispered, as I started toward the door, "hardly anyone
knows my life is charmed! See my talisman?"
And she lifted into the light a tiny bit of ivory, wonderfully carved in
the shape of a fish. It is the gift of a woman who saw Kathlyn Williams on a
screen in a remote little hamlet in England.
Then I left this handsome lady with the blonde hair and the intrepid
blue eyes--left her smiling and patting Boris, the son of an English bulldog
which cost $10,000. Boris was presented to Miss Williams by Mr. Selig.
I enjoyed the chat immensely, and she made it so pleasant and easy for me.
I join the general public--I like Kathlyn Williams.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
March 13, 1915
MOTOGRAPHY
Kathlyn Williams Visits Chicago
Together with Director Colin Campbell and his wife, Miss Kathlyn
Williams, the leading lady of the Selig Polyscope Company, stopped in Chicago
this week on her way to Los Angeles from Panama, via New York, and though she
had just completed one part of the tiresome journey across the continent and
had the remainder directly before her, she was in the happiest of moods when
seen by a MOTOGRAPHY interviewer. Of course, like the conventional
interviewer always does, he asked her what role she liked best, expecting her
to say "Kathlyn" without hesitation.
"While I fully enjoyed my part in the 'Adventures of Kathlyn,'" she
replied to the question, "I cannot in justice to my other roles say that I
liked it best. Every play presents a new problem and I really think that I
work just as hard and am just as dissatisfied with myself in every character
for which I am cast. The part of Mrs. Van Courtland in 'The Ne'er Do Well,'
which we filmed in Panama, suits me perfectly, for it gives me a chance to do
a sort of character-heavy part, much like Cherry in 'The Spoilers.'"
Miss Williams' mail was delivered at this time and she paused a moment
to sort it over. A number of letters from "fans" were forwarded my mistake
and this caused the delightful "Diamond S" lead to remark that one of the
pleasing trials of a screen actress' life was the receiving of many letters
every day. "Some of the letters are really helpful," she said, "for the
writers are earnest students of the screen, while others express admiration.
They are all a source of great inspiration to me."
"Would you advise young women to study the art of silent rather than
strait dramatic action," the interviewer queried, knowing that Miss Williams'
advice on this question would interest thousands of girls who aspired to
become actresses.
"Unless a girl has talent I would not advise her to enter dramatic work
at all," she replied, "but if the talent is there and is backed by ambition
and determination to succeed, plus personality, I certainly would not
discourage her. I think that training in a dramatic school or in a stock
company under a good director is really essential for success in pictures,
though many have made good without it. So many young girls ask me that
question and I tell them all of my own experience. I attended dramatic
school and then toured with several dramatic companies. After that I worked
in stock in Salt Lake City and Los Angeles and then entered pictures with the
Selig Company, where I have been for six years."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
June 24, 1916
MOVING PICTURE WORLD
Real Reel Romance
Stage lovers, film fans, and friends of Kathlyn Williams, Selig featured
star, will be agreeably surprised to learn of her marriage, which took place
in Riverside, near here, one Friday, June 2. Charles F. Eyton, a well-known
picture manager, is the bridegroom. Mr. Eyton and Miss Williams, accompanied
by relatives and close friends, departed for Riverside at noon and were
married at 5:30. The ceremony was performed by the Rev. I. D. Van Arnan in
the rectory of the First Methodist Episcopal Church. The bridal party
comprised Juan De La Cruz, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Von Saxman, Mr. and Mrs. Al
Filson and Mr. and Mrs. Ed. J. LeSaint.
Miss Williams is one of the bright stars of filmland, beloved from the
Atlantic to the Pacific by that great army of Americans who march daily upon
the moving picture theaters of the country. Mr. Eyton is one of the owners
of the Oliver Morosco Photoplay Company, and has been connected with the
local show world for the past sixteen years.
The marriage was the culmination of a romance that had its inception in
Salt Lake City some ten years ago. At that time Miss Williams was a member
of the Willard Mack Stock Company, which was playing in the Utah city. Fate
sent Mr. Eyton there to overlook a new play, in which Mr. Morosco was
interested. He met Miss Williams and was greatly attracted by her ability
and beauty. Shortly afterward they became engaged and the wedding day was
set, when the inevitable "lovers' quarrel" occurred and they drifted along
different paths, only to meet again in this city about a year ago.
Mr. and Mrs. Eyton left for an extended trip through the Eastern States.
Upon their return they will be at home to their legion of friends at their
home, 858 Bryan Street.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
August 26, 1916
MOVING PICTURE WORLD
Kathlyn Williams Joins Morosco
Kathlyn Williams, the well-known film star who has just resigned from
the Selig Company, has signed a long-term contract to appear under the
Morosco-Pallas brands on the Paramount program. Promptly upon resigning from
Selig, Miss Williams received four attractive offers to star in big subjects
but decided in favor of Morosco-Pallas in lieu of its standing in the field
and its affiliation with the Paramount program.
Although Miss Williams today enjoys a country-wide popularity, and
justly so, her success in motion pictures has not been of the "overnight"
variety. Seven years ago, in company with Mary Pickford, Arthur Johnson,
Henry Walthall, Billy Quirk and other now famous members of the "old guard"
at Biograph under D. W. Griffith, she received her early schooling in the
silent drama.
In dramatic stock she appeared under the managements of Belasco, Willard
Mack and William Morris, which fitted her well for the demands of the
photoplay. On leaving Biograph, Miss Williams became associated with the
Selig Company under whose trade-mark she appeared up until her recent
resignation. In the title role of "The Adventures of Kathlyn" she starred in
the first serial photoplay ever produced, a twenty-six-reel subject, which
resulted in adding many new admirers to her large following. Among her film
successes are "The Spoilers," "The Rosary," "The Ne'er-Do-Well," "Back to the
Primitive," "The Two Orphans," "Thou Shalt Not Covet," etc.
The new Morosco-Pallas star has also attained considerable distinction
as a writer and is a member of the Author's League. Among her offerings in
this field are "Thy Will Be Done," "The Last Dance," "Strange Case of Talmai
Lind" and many others, all of which have been produced.
Miss Williams will start on her initial subject for the Paramount
program early next month. The production has already been decided upon and,
it is understood, displays a big theme particularly suited to the dramatic
talents of the star.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
October 14, 1916
MOVING PICTURE WORLD
Kathlyn Williams, the popular Morosco-Pallas star, has just been honored
with an invitation from the Wisconsin State University, to deliver a series
of lectures on the art of making motion pictures.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
October 1917
Frances Denton
PHOTOPLAY
Kathlyn's Memory Box
Kathlyn Williams likes corn beef and cabbage, steak with fried onions,
big round sausages flavored with garlic, Epicetus, (which she says, is a
different kind of food altogether), two little puppies in a box in the best
room upstairs (little pink and white things that didn't have their eyes
open), leopards (with cages or without), Mark Twain, A Child's History of
England, and writing scenarios for George Beban. She likes to go to the
theatre and laughs in the right places and cries in the right places, too.
She frequently forgets to criticize and seldom forgets to applaud. All of
which goes to show that Kathlyn Williams is a regular highbrow, and the best
fellow in the world to have "out front" and, incidentally, an actress, with
the emphasis on the ACT--but nobody needs to be told that.
Kathlyn Williams and George Began are two stars without a spark of
jealousy between them. Miss Williams has just finished writing a scenario
for George Beban whose talents she praises highly, and he has returned the
compliment by writing a scenario for her.
(Romance hunters please note: George Beban has a perfectly good wife
and Kathlyn Williams is married to Charles Eyton, manager of the Morosco
studio, and very happy, thank you.).
From the scenario she had just written, the conversation drifted to the
moving picture of the future.
"I wonder," the famous Kathlyn said thoughtfully, "if the pictures we
are making will look as crude a few years from now as those made by the old
Biograph Company look to us know?"
Kathlyn Williams joined that famous company just a little later than
Mary Pickford, Blanche Sweet and Mae Marsh. However, she considers herself
very much of a pioneer having been the star of the first serial picture ever
made. This was the famous Adventures of Kathlyn. The "Adventures" ran about
fifteen months and many an audience sat with its collective muscles tensed
and its collective mouth wide open, while an "episode" closed with the
heroine standing on the end of a bluff and looking into the face of a yawning
tiger.
"The worst nuisance of all in those days," said Miss Williams,
reminiscing, "was the trade mark. It had to appear in every scene. Remember
how, during some particularly pathetic parting, the circle with "AB" on it,
was always the featured prop? I only appeared in three pictures with the
Biograph and then I joined Selig. There you recall the brand was the
'diamond S.' Once, after the making of a scene in one of our worst
thrillers, Mr. Bosworth and myself were both badly bruised up. Just as we
were congratulating ourselves on having finished the thing, we discovered
that the property man had forgotten to hang the trademark in a sufficiently
conspicuous place and we had to do it all over again. Sometimes we would get
miles out on location, discover that the trade-mark had been forgotten, and
be unable to do a moment's work until someone went back and got it."
Miss Williams was so suspicious of everything connected with the
pictures at the time she met D. W. Griffith, that she was surprised when he
paid for her work.
"I was playing in stock," she explained. "One week when I was not
working, someone called me up from the Biograph studio and asked if I would
work two days for them. I was dreadfully insulted at first, but I went out
of curiosity expecting to be offered about fifty cents a day. Mr. Griffith
met me and said that he would give me ten dollars a day for two days work.
Frankly, I didn't believe him. Later, he told me that he had run out of
checks and would pay me in full the next day. Naturally I thought it was all
a bluff. The only reason I ever went back to the studio was to see how he
would wiggle out of giving me the money. That night he gave me two crisp ten
dollar bills and the shock nearly killed me."
Miss Williams' first picture with Selig was "Mazeppa," in one reel. It
was very widely advertised and was considered the greatest moving picture
ever made.
"Imagine a subject like that being put into one reel today," she said.
"Why, almost any company would give nine hundred feet to the wild ride of
Mazeppa alone. We had a real wild horse, too. A maverick fifteen years old
that had never been touched by the hand of man. Some men dragged him down
from the hills for the making of that picture.
"This sounds like a press-agent story," she added, looking at me with a
deadly-serious expression in her blue eyes, "but it really isn't. Everyone
has forgotten that picture long ago," I nodded, and she went on.
"The first three-reel picture was a great sensation. Nearly everyone in
the business said that the public would never sit through so long a picture
regardless of how good it was. In these days when many a story that could be
told in one reel is put into five, it seems funny to recall those remarks
about 'long' pictures. This picture was 'Ten Nights in a Bar Room' and, we
thought, cost a fabulous sum. But the scenery was so flimsy that whenever a
door was closed the whole set would shake. However, nobody noticed a little
thing like that."
"Kathlyn" was born in Montana, a country of magnificent distances. The
permanent effect her early surroundings must have had on her character is
shown in the design of her house, as well as in her every movement. The
house is built on the side of a hill and has very large rooms, ceilings of
extraordinary height, a wide veranda, and two wide driveways. Miss Williams'
bedroom is as large as three ordinary rooms. Her occasional gestures are
always upward and outward, never inward, toward herself. She talks in a
quiet, straight-forward manner and looks directly at one from clear blue eyes
set rather far apart.
"What did I want to be when I was a little girl?" she said, repeating my
question. "Oh, that was funny! Nearly every girl has wanted to be a nun at
one time and an actress at another, but I wanted to be both at the same time.
It was a very real tragedy to me that I couldn't figure out some way in which
the two could be reconciled. When I grew to be a little older I realized it
would be absolutely necessary to choose between them. So, I decided to be an
actress.
"Kathlyn Williams believes that the costume picture will be the most
popular picture of the future. This does not necessarily mean the big
spectacle with an involved plot, elaborate processions, and innumerable
characters. But rather the short dramatic stories that history and the Bible
abound with and the beauty of which is almost invariably lost when changed
from one period to another.
"Some day," she said, a little wistfully, "I may get a chance to try
with all the best in me to 'put over' the 'tender grace of a day that is
dead' so that people will feel the real romance and humor of it all as I do."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 1920
Doris Delvigne
MOTION PICTURE
Kathlyn of the Golden West
When the maid opened a porch door leading into an exquisite hall with a
Colonial-looking stairway, I was not quite sure whether to inquire for "Miss
Williams" or Mrs. Eyton. But the old name stuck somehow, and the maid was
evidently quite accustomed to its use.
In the five minutes' grace which I had before she appeared, I was struck
with the very first intimation of Kathlyn Williams' love of freedom. Her
rooms are arranged so one might walk about in the dark with no danger of
knocks and bruises. The big chairs and stuffed davenport are pushed to odd
corners of the room; there is a simplicity in the softly shaded, crushed
mulberry surroundings which is delightful.
And when she came into the room, her hand extended in greeting, I found
her typically the Western girl. With the mountains for her inspiration and
the unexplored mines of her native Montana to fire her imagination, she has
not lost that easy sociability, blended with a certain delightful aloofness
which would indicate her pleasure in the society of humankind, but a firm
resolve to live her own life, free from mental intrusions.
"This morning I had the highest flight I've enjoyed so far," she told
me, enthusiastically. "We rose to over four thousand feet. I do love that
feeling of freedom which one just can't get anywhere save in the air. I hope
to learn to fly alone some day. It will be a great thing to be alone with
one's thoughts, far away from everything sordid," smiled the beautiful Mrs.
Eyton.
"Evidently you associate solitude with freedom," I ventured.
"Cela va sans dire," came the positive answer, with a pretty shrug.
"I'm afraid I'm something of a radical. I hate oppression in any form--
perhaps that is why I avoid large gatherings when people get together and
talk and talk and talk."
One has no doubt about the bigness of Kathlyn Williams. In a way it is
her birthright--she is again so evidently the girl of the West. And there is
something about the Western-born girl which never enters another's make-up.
You may fetter her with ties, put her in a dramatic school, give her city
environment instead of her dearly loved mountains, but you cannot obliterate
that indefinable air of freedom--her independence and innate dignity.
"I'm not working constantly, you know," she was saying. "I did that
years ago in the Selig serials. Then, too, my marriage to Mr. Eyton makes me
independent, and I enjoy working in the pictures now and then when I can
choose my roles. I shall never give up pictures entirely, but I do want
little vacations in between, when I can keep house, enjoy our home and
aviate."
We drifted back to the days when Miss Williams had done "The Spoilers,"
journeying to Panama, where the company worked for eight weeks. ["The
Spoilers" was made in Southern California. "The Ne-er Do Well" was filmed in
Panama.]
"What do you think of 'The Spoilers,' now that you have done so many
other pictures?" I asked.
"I still consider it a very great picture in some respects. It is crude
as we judge the photoplay today, of course, just as all the old productions
are. However, the story was good--it had dramatic value, and that means so
much. It means," she mused, "that 'The Spoilers' is still being shown and
making money. It proves the necessity of a good story."
"What are you doing now?"
"Nothing at this special time--I have done five pictures this last year
and will soon start on another with Mr. De Mille. I can't tell you anything
about it save the fact that it will be a stupendous thing like 'Joan the
Woman.' I have done 'Her Kingdom of Dreams' with Anita Stewart and 'A Girl
Named Mary,' with Marguerite Clark. And I want to say right here that she is
a dear little thing. She's one girl who is tailor-made when it comes to
business. She is never known to keep a director waiting. If the rest of us
have to be on hand in make-up at 7 p.m. Miss Clark is there also.
"I've just finished a fine part in 'The Tree of Knowledge,'--it's a
heavy, the second time I have played a role of this sort, but it is real,
--true,--about a resourceful woman and it allows one's imagination full
play."
"The year before last you were not seen much on the screen?" We gently
led the star of "The Perils [sic] of Kathlyn" back to the silversheet when
the talk again drifted. She would so much rather talk about her hobby--it
being animals--not an unnatural hobby either when one remembers her old Selig
pictures with the lions and jaguars.
"I was very ill," she told me, "and for several months I was compelled
to rest and recuperate, which made a trip with Mr. Eyton to New York
possible. Then he was ill with the flu, and just when I was recovering I had
to take full charge of his sickroom, for it was impossible to get a nurse
during that epidemic, as you'll remember. The very fact that I had to nurse
one so ill helped me to get well--I ceased to have time to be depressed and
nervous over my own state."
It doesn't take one long to know Kathlyn Williams as self-sufficient.
She belittles domesticity in no way, yet she feels that a person satisfied to
do nothing but make the social rounds, with no thought of things outside of
her clubs, is more or less stagnant, and even though the screen work is not a
necessity to her, she will always find time for a characterization now and
then, perhaps in later years less frequently than at present.
She is essentially not the type to talk--she is a doer. Her life
contains many interests, varied interests. She detests notoriety and only
lends her name to an enterprise if it will assist in bringing in funds for a
good purpose.
She is sweet, gracious--and big--a typical Girl o' the Golden West, with
a heart stretching to cover every living thing with a benevolent purpose.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
July 9, 1921
MOVIE WEEKLY
Co-Starring with Death
Ten years ago an actress visited a circus in Florida. A successful
leading woman, her path of life had been far from those whose profession is
the subjugation of wild animals. And yet in a few months to stroll calmly in
the cages of lions and leopards was but part of her daily work and she had
accomplished feats of courage that are still a by-word with animal trainers.
In the next few years, Death was her leading man, not once, but many times.
Although now she confines herself entirely to straight acting, there are
etched on the tablets of her memory unforgettable moments when steel-strong
claws tore at her scalp and ton-heavy elephant hoofs missed her helpless body
only by inches.
She can tell the same tales of early days around the studios that one
hears from other experienced actors; tales of sets that swayed in the wind,
and of present day stars who then thankfully played in crowd scenes.
But she can surpass these with experiences that no one else has equaled
or ever will equal. For in the days when animal pictures were in special
vogue, she reigned supreme.
Kathlyn Williams gained international renown for her remarkable feats
with wild beasts in "The Adventures of Kathlyn," but seldom can she be
induced to tell of them. The following article will relate many experiences
which are seeing print for the first time.
"They were so terribly real," she explains, "that I didn't want to talk
about them. And when I did, nobody would believe me. But as quite a number
of years have passed, perhaps they will be of historical value in recording
some of the things we underwent while the photoplay was being developed from
an experiment to an art form.
"Take 'The Adventures of Kathlyn' for instance. That has been acclaimed
as the first of the great thrillers. And yet nine people out of ten would
probably sit with me in a projection room and term as 'faked' many scenes in
which members of our cast risked their lives and were often painfully injured-
-not to speak of the excitement for all Los Angeles when a lioness escaped
and roamed around the city for several hours.
"Perhaps one of my biggest personal thrills came from the well-known
habit of domestic kittens in jumping at moving string or other such object.
The scene called for me to be alone 'in the jungle' as a pack of twenty-four
lions rushed on.
"Now lions are called 'cats' by animal trainers because of their
relation in appearance, habits and family to the ordinary fire-side pet. And
under ordinary circumstances there would have been no danger, as the twenty-
four beasts, while young, had been carefully trained. But just as the door
to their cage was opened, a breeze sprang up, and the loose bits of my
costume flew here and there. This produced in the young lions all of the
'kittenish' impulses common to young cats--and as individuals they playfully
jumped for the tassels. Had I ever gone down it would have been really
serious, as even the most carefully trained lion is liable to grow panicky
with a human under its paws.. But fortunately I reached the safety cage in
time.
"And there are always little accidents that bring unexpected crises.
One day a leopard went 'bad' and started for me. There was plenty of room
for me to run--but just before I reached the safety cage, I tripped and fell.
In my scalp today are ten claw marks where the leopard 'got home' before I
was dragged to safety, and in my mind the thought of what might have happened
had the attendant keepers been less adept at my rescue.
"Now I know you're sure to ask the question--so let me say right now
that I'm deathly afraid of a mouse! I've never been afraid of big animals
because I have always liked them--and when you like them they return your
friendship--but little crawling things--ugh!"
Certainly Kathlyn Williams in appearance is truly feminine. Modishly
slender and with a grace of movement that has long been a characteristic of
her stage and screen work, Miss Williams today presides graciously over a
beautiful hill-top home that overlooks all of Los Angeles, and as one wanders
through rooms decorated in perfect taste and abounding in those alluring
touches which are so truly feminine--it is hard to believe that the fair
mistress of this "home" home has perhaps faced death more often than any
other living woman; or at any rate, that she has gone through such
experiences and remained just the same sweet representative of the gentler
sex.
For some years before entering pictures, Miss Williams had been
extremely successful as a stage leading woman. At the close of one season
she entered motion pictures with that master David Wark Griffith, playing
with Mary Pickford, Dell Henderson and Arthur Johnson in a one-reel drama,
entitled "All Is Not Gold." Upon leaving Mr. Griffith, Miss Williams
appeared in such famous old pictures as "Ten Nights in a Bar Room" and "The
Two Orphans," the first and second three-reel pictures ever made. She also
starred in "The Landing of Columbus," the first picture to reach the $50,000
mark.
It was while she was in Florida doing a drama for the Selig company that
Miss Williams received the urge for animal work. A wintering circus
fascinated her, and she spent hours around the animals, getting so that she
would reach between the bars and pet with impunity lions and tigers that even
the keepers feared.
"I liked animals," she says, "and that's really all there is to it--that
and not being afraid of them. Animals are very sensitive to your feelings
toward them and react accordingly. If you fear an animal, it will sense your
fear immediately, no matter how bold a front you may put up. And if you
can't get along with dogs and cats, don't waste your time by attempting to
work professionally with lions, tigers and other wild beasts. For they are
all of the same blood and the instinct for friends or enemies is bred in the
bone. And 'cats,' lions, tigers and leopards, are especially sensitive and
high-strung. Place the wrong sort of a keeper with them, and a feud may
start that will throw the animals off their disposition for weeks and make it
exceedingly difficult to win them back again.
"When the proposal was made that I appear in animal pictures, I gladly
accepted, because it was unusual and promised a real change from regular
dramatic work. Besides, if I were to succeed, it would give me all the
prestige of a pioneer in a new field. And while I knew nothing of the
professional tricks of the animal trainer, I felt positive that my love for
the beasts would carry me through. And it did!"
And it was not all with the "cats" that Miss Williams had her most
thrilling experiences. It was while she was working with elephants, the
"bulls" as they are called, that she came closest to Death's door.
"Lions you can fight if they go 'bad,'" says Miss Williams, "or at least
it is possible to hold them off until the endangered one gets to safety. But
when a herd of elephants goes berserk, they are absolutely uncontrollable.
Their force is so irresistible that all one can do is trust to luck.
"Thomas Santschi and I were working together when the group of six
elephants we were using stampeded. The next few minutes were the most
terrifying in all my life. In the Selig enclosure there is a small forest of
towering eucalyptus trees, with a ten-foot board fence at the farther side.
Those elephants went through the trees as if they weren't there, snapping
them off like so many matches, shoving the fence to one side as easily as the
ordinary persons turns the pages of the morning paper.
"Mr. Santschi and I were in a howdah on the back of one, holding on for
dear life. Then our 'bull' knocked the howdah off against a tree and all we
could do was hang to a ring on his cinch and pray.
"We expected to be killed at any moment, so decided to take a chance and
jump. Mr. Santschi jumped first and fell free. Then I jumped, just in time
to see another 'bull' come up past the tail of mine. When I hit the ground I
rolled up into a ball, expecting to feel the following elephant's massive
hoof at any instant. But whether or not my prayers were heard--the fact
remains that just at the last fraction of a second he turned and passed on
the other side of the 'bull' from which I had jumped."
Miss Williams laughed.
"One of the funniest things about my animal work is the fact that I've
never actually gotten out of it--even now when I am doing straight dramatic
parts. Whenever they use cats, kittens and dogs which must act just so--I'm
generally called upon. I'm the one who must see that the acting cat turns
its head at just the proper moment or makes entrances and exists as required.
It was like that in 'A Private Scandal,' Realart's birthday special, and also
'Everything For Sale.' I don't think Director Frank O'Connor, of the latter
offering, has quite forgiven me yet for using his sweater to wrap up a half
dozen shivering little kittens I found huddled in the rain when we on
location at Del Monte, Cal.!
"And wild 'cats' aren't much harder to handle--when you have the
instinct for them. At the Selig zoo there is a female jaguar called 'Minna.'
'Minna' was one of my best friends. It grew to be quite a habit with me to
stop by and play with her. I would put my arm in her cage and she would turn
over on her back and play with it just like a kitten. My arms used to be
marked the full length of the elbow with her teeth marks, but she never
pressed hard enough to break the skin.
"'Minna' was also possessed of a most remarkable memory. Two years
passed before I saw her again--and I had no sooner arrived in the door of the
zoo building than up she came to the bars of the cage to be petted.
"And the most interesting feature was that no one else could touch her.
One of the keepers grew jealous of my success and tried to duplicate it.
'Minna' nearly bit his thumb off!"
Miss Williams has been in the motion picture business since it was first
recognized as an art. Equal in her mind with the memories of her startling
animal experience, is a great wonder over the marvelous growth of this newest
of arts.
"I have just finished work in 'A Private Scandal' for Realart," she
said. "We were on the picture just six weeks. We had splendid lights, the
very latest obtainable; the last word in camera equipment; sets that
represented the artistic effort of many hands and minds. My costumes alone
took weeks of preparation. And in 1913 we used to do two pictures a week!
And we acted quite as well in them, I believe as the players do nowadays.
The great difference has been in the advance of technical perfection, the
obviating of the crudities which were a part and parcel of filmdom's infancy.
In those days people came to see pictures because they were absolutely novel
--and we kept them coming with new novelties such as the animal thrillers in
which I appeared.
"But there came a day when novelties alone would not suffice. The
photoplay found it necessary to present stories and sets equally attractive
with those of the longer established stage--and from then on we have been
growing towards an ideal of film art."
Today Miss Williams is one of the ablest players in the profession. Her
beautiful figure and wonderful blond hair added to a matured mind and
completely artistic acting ability have made her greatly in demand for
important productions. Playgoers will recall "Cherry Mallotte" in "The
Spoilers," and the great characterization in "The Ne'er Do Well," which was
acclaimed as one of the finest acting triumphs of its year. Her more recent
appearances have been in Cecil B. De Mille's production, "Forbidden Fruit,"
and the William De Mille productions, "The Prince Chap" and "Conrad in Quest
of His Youth."
In "A Private Scandal" and "Everything for Sale," she has society parts,
which give her excellent opportunities for a display of her interpretative
ability.
And it is certain the years in which Kathlyn Williams "Co-Starred With
Death," in the cages of lions and leopards, have been largely responsible for
the firm, sure poise which makes her acting today so delightful.
* * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
August 1921
Aline Carter
MOTION PICTURE
Untouched by Ennui
Ennui could never touch Kathlyn Williams--she is so keenly alive with a
diversity of absorbing interests. Most of us might be tempted to believe
that being beautiful--with lovely blonde hair, deep blue eyes and exquisite
coloring, as well as being one of the most finished actresses on the screen
today, were quite enough distinctive characteristics, but Miss Williams has
added several others to her credit.
She is domestically inclined and makes a real home for her husband,
Charles Eyton, manager of the Lasky studio, and her young son, Victor.
Recently she finished a course of aeronautics, winning her pilot's license
after working steadily for two whole months learning the art of managing an
airplane. She reads the best French literature in the original, and has
written several successful scenarios. She designs her own lovely frocks and
hats, and as she is conceded to be one of the most smartly gowned members of
the local film colony, this is some achievement, and--she always seems to
have time to devote to her family and friends.
At the present moment her new home, an Italian villa, perched atop a
high point in Hollywood, holds first place in Miss Williams' thoughts, and
she has proved herself as much of an artist in building it as she has in
creating some of her well-known screen characters.
The house is of perfect architectural design, of soft grey plaster, set
in a picturesque grove of olive trees. With its winding stairways, high
ceilings, balconies and broad terraces, it suggests an atmosphere of the
romantic that is seldom encountered.
Through the open doorway, as we chatted, we could see Hollywood
stretched at our feet, glistening in the morning sun. In the background lay
the city of Los Angeles and beyond were valleys and mountains--the farthest
peaks white with snow--all forming a panoramic view of enchanting beauty.
The world with its crowded Broadways, its triumphs and applause, its mad
rush and useless hurry, all seemed far removed from this peaceful spot.
"That is one reason why I love it," remarked Miss Williams, when I spoke
of this. "I feel so close to life's activities yet detached from its
annoyances.
"Hidden in that clump of shrubs and trees," she continued, pointing down
the sharply sloping lawn, "are fifty quail which we protect from the hunter's
gun. That is indicative of seclusion, isn't it? We have built them a
spacious bathing pool, and they believe they are miles from any dangers.
I find it hard to finish dressing in the mornings while I watch them proudly
strut about their domain."
It is in this serene quiet, a few blocks from the Lasky studio, that
Miss Williams studies the film roles that have made her known to all the
motion picture public as a genuine artist. She possesses a rare capacity for
identifying herself with her characters, while her work is always finely
tempered, subtle and well balanced.
She has recently returned from a seven weeks' stay in New York, where
she played a leading part in a Selznick production, "A Man's House."
"New environment always acts as a spur to me and I thoroughly enjoyed
the change," Miss Williams said. "I had a splendid role, that of a frivolous
society butterfly, who, later, in the face of the crisis, proved a true
woman. It is these human roles that I love to portray--real women with their
temptations, development and regeneration.
"I had many interesting experiences while East, and it seemed good to be
in New York again. I rushed madly every minute, for besides my work at the
studio I was trying to visit the shops, see all the new plays as well as
meeting many celebrities.
"One night at a director's dinner I saw Dr. Frank Crane and was
delighted to find he was just as I had pictured him. I have always enjoyed
his writings so much, and particularly last summer when my boy was ill it
seemed as if his messages were meant especially for me. I was tempted to
tell him this, yet hesitated--he probably has many admirers.
"Then, one afternoon, while at tea at the Claridge, I met Rex Beach for
the first time. Rather odd, for though I have played in several of his
stories on the screen, and he had frequently been in Los Angeles, I had to go
to New York to be introduced. As I had been told that his wife suggested the
description of his Cherry Malotte, I was naturally interested in seeing Mrs.
Beach. I found them both charming."
We all recall Rex Beach's epic making film, "The Spoilers," which
created a sensation a few years ago with what has since proved to be an all-
star cast, and Kathlyn Williams is possibly more vividly identified with her
famous role of Cherry Malotte than anything else she has ever done in motion
pictures. She made this dance-hall girl of the North so splendidly human, so
superbly alive, that it still stands out as one of the big roles seen on the
screen.
"The last time I saw this picture," laughed Miss Williams, "I was amused
to see how hopelessly old-fashioned the clothes had become even in this short
time. That is one thing in favor of the costume picture, which the American
producers so vigorously taboo, the date would not be screaming at you from
every gown and hat as it does in the modern drama."
Kathlyn Williams is a western girl, having been born in Butte, Montana.
She began her stage career as a child, and early became the protege of
Senator W. A. Clark, of whom she speaks with much admiration as a man who is
ever ready to help talent in its development.
She attended the Wesleyan University, then studied at the Empire School
of Acting in New York, later appearing in a number of well-known stage plays,
both in the city and on tour.
Coming to Los Angeles, Miss Williams became a member of the famous old
Belasco stock company and was also with Willard Mack in Salt Lake City for a
time. These two stock experiences she considers to be the most valuable of
all her stage training.
"Pictures came along just then, I joined the Biograph Company under Mr.
Griffith, and have been playing before the camera ever since," and she took
up the story. "I love the work now even more than at first, for there have
been such remarkable strides made in every phase of this great art.
"It offers many advantages over the stage, one of the most interesting
being that we can see our own acting. I make it a rule to have the rushes
shown each night before leaving the studio, and this keeps me from repeating
my mistakes or permitting little mannerisms to creep in. It also shows how
to improve our make-up. You would think after all my years in pictures I
would know all about make-up, but the continual advancement in the lighting
methods keeps us changing our methods too, and I learn something new in this
direction with each picture."
Doubtless, much of Kathlyn Williams' success is due to her own charming
womanliness, her beauty and her dignity, but it is her rare intelligence that
gives her the power of discerning the dramatic values of her roles no matter
in what social realm they may abide. The whole-hearted manner in which she
interprets the woman who has made a mistake, the shallow society leader, the
demi-moral of the early West, all display her splendid understanding of the
feminine mind and heard.
"I enjoy what we call a sympathetic heavy," went on Miss Williams,
"there are so many good-bad women--you know what I mean--and they are very
human. However, I will not play a really vicious part. I do not want that
wave of thought turned against me that necessarily follows the portrayal of a
character in which there is no saving grace and most of all, I do not want my
son to see me in such roles.
"Victor is growing up so fast--" she added, happily, while I tried to
realize this radiant young woman was the mother of a strapping boy. "He is
learning to dance and we practice all over the house, tearing up the rugs and
bumping the furniture against my precious walls--" and she laughed,
indulgently.
So, again we say, ennui can never bring its blight to Kathlyn Williams.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
November 1921
Marion Lake
MOTION PICTURE CLASSIC
The Patrician
...Kathlyn Williams is inevitably an aristocrat. The word is
unfortunate. It has lost much of its value on ignorant tongues.
"Democracy!" we cry--not realizing that true aristocracy is democracy.
However--
There is a patrician quality which one may not deny, although she
probably would. It is supplemented by kindliness, humor, energy.
She came to the interview bravely, smiling and offering her hand.
I was surprised by the suggestion of uncertainty which shaded her manner.
"You will ask me questions?" she said, when she had at last got me into
a chair. "I don't quite know what to say, what you want to know--?"
My assurance, I am afraid, was a little vague. I didn't really know
myself. I was busy noting the pale gold of her hair, her blue smiling eyes,
the tremendous energy with which her whole being seemed to be vibrant, the
high carriage of her head. The thought came to me that here was one, of
beautiful maturity, who would, so long as she lived, remain ever young and in
tune with young things. I have met many women, but among them there was only
one other who had that divine gift, that sympatico.
Perhaps that was why, because I sensed that thing, that I proceeded to
talk about the Futility of Life, my cherished doctrine, about religion and
the paradox of Faith. She listened, with apparent willingness, and then was
charming enough to differ with me. She is deeply interested in Science, in
Christian Science, and that is founded on Faith. As yet, she does not
profess to be a Scientist. She is merely a student and investigator.
How long we talked of religion, I don't know. I remember that she
suddenly dismissed it with at "Goodness! How did we ever get into these
depths? I am not usually this way at all."
She is as dynamic in her conversation as in her person. She seizes upon
a subject, shakes it out thoroughly, rinses it, and hangs it up to dry. She
is anticipatory of your ideas in a decisive way that at times verges on
abruptness, yet never rudely so.
"I am planning to take a trip around the world very soon," she said, "to
the Orient and to Europe. I shall collect things then to put into my house.
I have been urged not to go. The unrest of the world is dangerous, say my
friends. In almost every country there is revolution. In India, where I
want particularly to go, there are extensive uprisings. It is probable that
I would be refused a passport. But I don't like to put it off. I want to go
now, while I am young enough to have a good time, to endure hardship and
enjoy it if it is necessary."
One has come to associate Kathlyn Williams with the Lasky players. Her
consistent appearance in a good many of their productions, in "Conrad in
Quest of His Youth," in "Forbidden Fruit," and more recently with May McAvoy
in "A Virginia Courtship," and "A Private Scandal," have tended to confirm
the belief of a contract. But she is independent, and apparently prefers to
remain so. She has no longer any need to tie herself to labor. Her very
happy marriage, the interests of her big place on the hill, have tended to
draw her away from that.
We rose presently from our chairs and walked slowly out toward the door.
The hallway arched over our heads, and through different doors I caught brief
vistas of rooms finished in the same warm, rich quietness that typified the
studio.
"When I talked with you last," I said to her, "we were at the studio.
You were in a magnificent trailing gown of yellow gold, and behind, in
faithful attendance, was a negro maid, carrying your handkerchief and your
make-up materials. I have been anxious ever since to know whether you were
always like that."
Kathlyn Williams laughed.
"Well! You see!" She motioned to her simple white dress. "I suppose I
might have got myself up for the occasion, have appeared in a gorgeous gown
at the head of those stairs there, but I don't like ostentation."
I smiled. I had not meant her dress. I had mentioned that because it
had seemed to be the reason for that fine stateliness. But I knew now. In
simple frock or in evening gown, or in robes of any kind, Kathlyn Williams
could not escape magnificence. It is an innate part of her.
We stood for a while on the drive outside, gazing off at the distant
hills, half lost in the summer haze, or watching her company of pheasants
feeding on the hillside.
"They are very tame," she said. "I go down every evening to feed them.
They will eat from my hand."
For long minutes we idled there, she sitting on the low coping that
lined the steps, I standing before her, with the warm California sun shining
down on us and a pleasant breeze stirring about us. We talked of many
things, of her adventures during her course in aviation, of her riding--one
knows instinctively that she does ride horses--of England and the English, of
the condition of our government, or religion again.
It is impossible to put into words the charm of Kathlyn Williams. It is
definite, fine unaffected. One can say little more than that one would like
to talk with her, to walk with her, to know her, as one can only talk and
walk and know a friend.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
May 1922
PHOTOPLAY
The entire film colony of Hollywood has felt the deepest sorrow and
depression over the recent death of Kathlyn Williams' son.
The boy was sixteen, a student at the Hollywood High School, and he
passed on during the "flu" epidemic that invaded the west.
Kathlyn Williams is married to Charles Eyton, manager of the Lasky
studio.
The actress was prostrated at her home by the boy's death. He was her
only child. [The child was from an earlier marriage, to Victor Kainer.]
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
September 1924
Herbert Howe
PHOTOPLAY
[from an interview with Kathlyn Williams]...She avers that the animals
of those Selig serials absolutely terrified her--and charmed her. When she
had to ride on elephants she was panic-stricken. That is why she cherishes
such a profound regard for elephants that she wants to ride them in India.
She craves adventure. It is probably a Viking heritage, she muses. Her
father was Norwegian, her mother Welsh. The Nordic blood is dominant in her.
She is made two expeditions into China. Last year she just missed the
Chinese bandits by one day when they made their celebrated raid and capture
of travelers.
"I was terribly disappointed to have missed them," she observed with an
airy laugh. "I wanted to go back and say, 'Here I am.'"...
"There are two things I love in life," says Kathlyn, "work and travel.
Not travel among the capitals of Europe but among the places untracked by
civilization.
"...I crave adventure, and that is not to be found in Hollywood. The
one thing you are sure to find in Hollywood is disillusionment.
"I was always looking for the great opportunity. Always, just over the
hill, I expected to find what I wanted. And always what I found fell short
of my ambition. Now I haven't ambition--that is, I pretend I haven't. But I
suppose I still dream on, for I am still fascinated with my work."...
In serious confession she admits she has but two fears. One alone she
would name--the fear of living too long.
"The tragedy is not in death. I shrink from pain but not death. The
real tragedy of life is in living beyond one's time, beyond the time when
work and adventure can give zest. Weariness of soul and body, the sense of
futility, the age when hope flickers low, these constitute the tragedy. It
is not disappointment in love, failure in business, loss of fortune that
makes for stark tragedy but tedium, relentless tedium."...
In her home that reigns on a queenly eminence, commanding a view of the
purple hills and the valley that sweeps to the sea, we talked of philosophy
in the comfortable glow of the library. There were books on the table and on
the shelves.
"I've grasped at them all, but when I've finished I confess honestly
that I do not know," observed Miss Williams. "Of course, there is always
Omar Khayyam for final resort, but his philosophy is really one of despair.
I reject it."
Again that gay, whimsical laugh that is characteristic of her. "We are
getting too serious. It is the twilight."...
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
April 1925
Tom Mix
PHOTOPLAY
[Kathlyn Williams' scalp was once clawed by a leopard. The incident was
retold many times, with a wide variation in the details. Cowboy star Tom Mix
was working for Selig at that time, and in 1925 he wrote a highly-fanciful
series of autobiographical articles, giving this account of the incident:]
...Right here, before going into some of the adventures that befell us
in Florida, I'd like to say that Miss Kathlyn Williams was a wonderful woman
and that it sure was a privilege to work with her. It wasn't only that she
was a mighty brave woman, but she had a fine disposition, and she was sweet
and smiling no matter how tough the going might be, and sometimes it was
pretty bad, for we worked under great difficulties and most of the time lived
the same way. Making that kind of pictures was a heap different than the
things they do nowadays and the animals were the chief part of it, too.
I remember that we had a troup of leopards with us, and their trainer
allowed that they were tame leopards, but I have seen a lot tamer things in
my time. We had build a great big corral, or cage of wire, and we worked
inside that, with all the tropical atmosphere, but still where the animals
couldn't get away. I had one experience with a leopard down there that was
like what you read about in books but that is the only time I ever saw it
happen in real life.
We wanted to show on the screen, the leopard finding Miss Williams
asleep under a log and springing on her. And the way we planned to get it
was like this--Miss Williams laid down on one side of the log, right close to
it, and on the other side was the leopard. We had a chicken pegged on the
same side as Miss Williams, and we'd move the chicken and the leopard would
leap high in the air, right over Miss Williams, and land on the chicken.
Then we'd cut with him in midair. Then with another leopard trained for the
part would continue the fight.
It went great the first time. The second time, just as the leopard
started to spring, the breeze caught Miss Williams' hair and blew it around.
It caught his attention and before anyone could move, he had sprung right on
Miss Williams, one paw putting five deep cuts in her head. She fainted.
It was so quick no one could realize it. My gun was some five feet
away, and I was afraid to move for fear the sound would make him strike
instantly. I was only a few feet from him, and right in front of me was his
tail. I could see it twitching back and forth, back and forth, like the tail
of a cat with a mouse.
As I told you, cats are my natural enemies, and for a second I didn't
know what I could do, that wouldn't make him kill Miss Williams, or maim her,
before I could stop him. Then an idea came to me, and I just reached forward
and with all my strength grabbed that moving tail and swung. He was a big
leopard, but I just managed to lift him clean, and someone snatched Miss
Williams.
He turned on me in a fury, and we stood there looking at each other,
just staring. Some folks that was watching, thought I was right cool and
collected on that occasion, but the truth was I was paralyzed with fear,
though I was trying to figure out if maybe I couldn't get him by the throat
when he sprang.
And then, as we stared, that leopard suddenly began to shift, dropped
his head and his tail, and slunk away into the trees...
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
September 25, 1960
LOS ANGELES EXAMINER
Kathlyn Williams, Former Star, Dies
Silent film star Kathlyn Eyton Williams was found dead Saturday in her
apartment at 1428 N. Crescent Heights Blvd., West Hollywood.
She was discovered sitting in the wheel chair to which she had been
confined since losing a leg in a near fatal auto crash in Death Valley in
1949. Death was from natural causes.
...She married producer Charles Eyton at Riverside in 1916. They were
divorced at Reno in 1931 but remained friends. Each remembered the other in
their wills and when Eyton died in 1941 Miss Williams inherited 20 per cent
of his estate, worth $10,000 annually.
She had lived in her handsome apartment since the early 1930s and was
known as a gracious hostess who entertained socialites and motion picture
celebrities frequently.
The years following her auto crash were dark ones for the vivacious
actress. Confinement to the wheel chair altered her active way of life and
she once confessed "I wanted to die when I realized how bad off I was."...
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