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Kathleen Key

Known ForActing
Birthday1903-04-01
Age51 years old at death
Date of Death† 1954-12-22
Place of BirthBuffalo, New York, USA
Also Known AsKitty Lanahan, Kathleen Keys

Biography

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.

Filmography

poster
1925
7.3
Adventure
Drama

Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ

poster
1925
7.6
Romance
War

The Big Parade

poster
1921
6.6
War
Romance

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

poster
1935
5.7
Crime
Drama

Thunder in the Night

poster
1936
6.4
Comedy
Drama

Klondike Annie

poster
1923
Adventure
Drama

The Man from Brodney's

poster
1926
Western

Under Western Skies

poster
1924
Drama
Romance

Revelation

poster
1929
Adventure
Western

The Phantom of the North

poster
1926
Comedy

Money Talks

poster
1925
6.1
Documentary

1925 Studio Tour

poster
1923
Drama

Reno

poster
1927
Comedy

Irish Hearts

poster
1923
5.6
Action
Western

North of Hudson Bay

poster
1926
Western

The Desert's Toll

poster
1923
Western

Hell's Hole

poster
1926
6.0
Western

The Flaming Frontier

poster
1930

Sweeping Against the Winds

poster
1924
6.5
Adventure
Drama

The Sea Hawk

poster
1920
Comedy

The Rookie's Return

poster
1923
Drama
Romance

The Rendezvous

poster
1922

Where's My Wandering Boy Tonight?

poster
1925
Fantasy
Romance

A Lover's Oath

poster
1927
Comedy
Western

Hey! Hey! Cowboy

poster
1928
1.0
Comedy
Romance

Golf Widows

poster
1924
Western

The Trouble Shooter

poster
1922
Western

Bells of San Juan

poster
1921
Western

The Fighting Breed

poster
1920
Drama

The Jackeroo of Coolabong

poster
1922
Western

West of Chicago