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

Birth Location Buffalo, New York, USA
Born 1903-04-01
Died 1954-12-22

Movies

Thunder in the Night as Party Guest
1935
1929
Irish Hearts as Clarice
1927
Hey! Hey! Cowboy as Emily Decker
1927
The Desert's Toll as Muriel Cooper
1926
The Flaming Frontier as Lucretia
1926
Money Talks as Vamp
1926
Under Western Skies as Milly Lewis
1926
The Big Parade as Miss Apperson (uncredited)
1925
A Lover's Oath as Sherin
1925
1925
Revelation as Madonna
1924
The Sea Hawk as Andalusian Slave Girl
1924
The Trouble Shooter as Nancy Brewster
1924
1923
Reno as Yvette - The Governess
1923
North of Hudson Bay as Estelle MacDonald
1923
Hell's Hole as Mabel Grant
1923
Bells of San Juan as Florrie Engel
1922
West of Chicago as Señoria Gonzales
1922
The Fighting Breed as Enid MacDonald (as Ethel Payton)
1921
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse as Georgette (uncredited)
1921
1920
Kathleen Key hasn't worked on any movies or TV shows