Kathlyn Williams

Kathlyn Williams
Williams from Picture Progress magazine (1916)
Born	Kathleen Mabel Williams (1879-05-31)May 31, 1879 Butte, Montana, United States
Died	September 23, 1960(1960-09-23) (aged 81) Hollywood, California, United States
Cause of death	Heart attack
Occupation	Actress

Kathlyn Williams (May 31, 1879 – September 23, 1960) was an American actress, known for her blonde beauty and daring antics, who performed on stage as well as in early silent film.

Kathleen Mabel Williams was born in Butte, Montana, the only child born to Joseph Edwin "Frank" Williams, a boarding house proprietor, and Mary C. Boe (1846–1908) of Welsh and Norwegian descent. Other sources cite 1885 and 1888 as potential years of birth. However, she is listed on the 1880 United States Census as being one year old as of June 1, 1880.

Williams displayed an early interest in becoming an actress in her youth, which led her to become a member of a community thespian group. She also joined the Woman's Relief Corps that allowed her to showcase her vocal prowess at local recitals. Although she was known for having an adequate singing voice, acting became Williams' main vocation. Williams attended Montana Wesleyan University (now Rocky Mountain College) in Helena during the late 1890s and graduated in 1901, where she excelled in elocution and voice, and her performances were highly praised. In May 1899, she recited "The Gypsy Flower Girl" at her university's annual competition. On May 29, 1900, she received a gold medal for her recitation of "Old Mother Goose" at Wesleyan's declamation contest. She lost her father around 1894 when she was a teenager, and her mother remarried Fred Lavoie in 1895. They divorced the next year.

In order to make ends meet, her mother made extra money by renting out homes in nearby Centerville. Her family was of limited means; therefore, Kathlyn had to rely on the charity of others to pay her way through school. Her acting aspiration also caught the attention of William A. Clark, a wealthy Montana industrialist and politician, who helped finance her education and acting classes. He paid her tuition to the Sargent School of Acting, better known as the American Academy of Dramatic Art in New York City.

In 1900, her friends held a concert at Sutton's Theater for "Katie", as she was affectionately called, to gather funds to help pay her college tuition. By 1902, she joined a theater touring group called Norris & Hall and Company where she played "Phyllis Ericson" in When We Were Twenty One, mostly to good reviews. The play toured across the United States toward the end of 1903.

In the January 16, 1903 issue of the Dallas Morning News, an article in Amusements critiqued Williams' performance in "When We Were Twenty-One": "Miss Kathlyn Williams, who assumed the role of Phyllis, is an actress of rare ability, attractiveness, and grace of delivery". Williams began her career with Selig Polyscope Company in Chicago, Illinois and made her first film in 1908 under the direction of Francis Boggs. By 1910, she was transferred to the company's Los Angeles film studio. Williams played "Cherry Malotte" in the first movie based upon Rex Beach's 1906 novel The Spoilers in 1914.