Here is a very rare very early vintage original autographed 5" by 7" photo of pioneer writer, director and silver screen star Kathlyn Williams (1879-1960), from her prime in the 1910s. Kathlyn Williams is primarily known as the spry blonde of the very first Hollywood cliffhanger, The Adventures of Kathlyn (1913), in which her real first name was used in the title. This accomplishment has resulted in many reference works mistakenly referring to her as an adventurous Pearl White-type silent serial queen. While Kathlyn did, in fact, go on to perform in a few other adventure-type pictures, including westerns, she was actually quite gentile and dignified in nature and primarily graced heavier drama on the screen. Having once been dubbed the Sarah Bernhardt of the screen, she never did appear in another serial. She was born in Butte, Montana, on May 31, 1879 (most sources incorrectly list 1888) of Norwegian and Welsh descent, Kathlyn was born to Joseph E. and Mary C. Williams. With early interest and experience as a vocal recitalist, she eventually attended the Sargent School of Acting and studied at Wesleyan University (1899). Following stage experience in local stock and touring companies (from 1902) she began to develop a solid name for herself in such plays as "When We Were Twenty One". Her early career was generously sponsored by Sen. W.A. Clarke after Kathlyn's family lost their fortunes. She eventually went to Hollywood while performing with the Belasco Stock Company and began making films as early as 1908 with D.W. Griffith at the Biograph Studio. A popular star at the Selig Polyscope Company in 1910 (she was at first publicized as "The Selig Girl"), she appeared in assorted jungle adventures for the studio as well as a number of westerns opposite cowboy star Tom Mix. She made history, however, with the very first serial adventure, which contained a number of wild animals, and it saved the faltering studio from bankruptcy. She proceeded to remain a popular item after being handed the lead in the Selig epic The Spoilers (1914), playing her signature role of Cherry Marlotte. Once the Selig Studio folded, Kathlyn signed with Paramount Pictures following her marriage to Paramount executive Charles F. Eyton in 1916 (a former actor, he later became the studio's General Manager), and while there appeared as the star of several early dramas for both Cecil B. DeMille and his brother William C. de Mille, including The Whispering Chorus (1918), We Can't Have Everything (1918), The Tree of Knowledge (1920) and Conrad in Quest of His Youth (1920). Her numerous co-stars included veteran matinée idols (Thomas Meighan, Theodore Roberts, Tyrone Power Sr.), young established stars (Wallace Reid) and western heroes (Roy Stewart). Kathlyn's fair, spunky, coquettish looks grew suddenly grim and matronly by the early 1920s and she moved swiftly into stately dramatic efforts, backing up such celebrity femmes of the day as May McAvoy, Betty Compson, Anita Page, Greta Garbo and even Joan Crawford before the advent of sound. She retired from films in 1935 after only a handful of talkies and, though comebacks were bantered about from time to time in the gossip mill, nothing came of it. A tragic car accident in 1949 resulted in the loss of a leg, ending any chances whatsoever of revitalizing her career. She was confined to a wheelchair for the remainder of her life. Married and divorced three times, her only child, Victor Hugo Kainer, from her first marriage to import/export businessman Otto Kainer, was born in 1905 but died a young teenager after developing influenza and succumbing to septic poisoning in 1922. After a brief marriage to actor Frank R. Allen, she married Eyton. That marriage ended in 1931. Due to the loss of her leg, Kathlyn became a wheelchair-bound invalid in the last decade of her life. She succumbed to massive heart attack in her Hollywood apartment on September 23, 1960, at age 81. She was cremated and her ashes interred in the Deodora Hall, South Columbarium in the Chapel of the Pines Crematory in Los Angeles. Crease right side, minor corner and edge wear, minor smudges. Very rare.
Will ship worldwide. I always combine shipping on multiple orders.
Ralph Bellamy, Valerie Hobson, and Irene Ware in Rendezvous at Midnight (1935)
Rendezvous at Midnight
Mrs. Arthur Dewey
1935
George Bancroft in Blood Money (1933)
Blood Money
Nightclub Woman Wearing Monocle (uncredited)
1933
Unholy Love (1932)
Unholy Love
Mrs. Bradford
1932
Janet Gaynor in Daddy Long Legs (1931)
Daddy Long Legs
Mrs. Paula Pendleton
1931
Road to Paradise (1930)
Road to Paradise
Mrs. Wells
1930
Olive Borden and Hallam Cooley in Wedding Rings (1929)
Wedding Rings
Agatha
1929
Greta Garbo, Nils Asther, Johnny Mack Brown, and Fred Solm in The Single Standard (1929)
The Single Standard
Mrs. Glendenning
1929
Her Husband's Women
Short
1929
Lew Cody and Marceline Day in A Single Man (1929)
A Single Man
Mrs. Cottrell
1929
Joan Crawford and Johnny Mack Brown in Our Dancing Daughters (1928)
Our Dancing Daughters
Ann's Mother
1928
John Boles, George J. Lewis, Edward Martindel, Eddie Phillips, George Sidney, and Michael Visaroff in We Americans (1928)
We Americans
Mrs. Bradleigh
1928
Ward Crane, Dorothy Gulliver, George J. Lewis, Phillips Smalley, Bryant Washburn, Kathlyn Williams, and Jane Winton in Honeymoon Flats (1928)
Honeymoon Flats
Mrs. Garland
1928
Shirley Mason in Sally in Our Alley (1927)
Sally in Our Alley
Mrs. Gordon Mansfield
1927
Warner Baxter, Esther Ralston, and Kathlyn Williams in The Best People (1925)
The Best People
Mrs. Lenox
1925
William Collier Jr., Greta Nissen, and Ernest Torrence in The Wanderer (1925)
The Wanderer
Huldah
1925
Betty Compson and Theodore von Eltz in Locked Doors (1925)
Locked Doors
Laura Carter
1925
The Painted Flapper (1924)
The Painted Flapper
Isabel Whitney
1924
The City That Never Sleeps (1924)
The City That Never Sleeps
Mrs. Kendall
1924
Corinne Griffith in Single Wives (1924)
Single Wives
Dorothy Van Clark
1924
The Enemy Sex (1924)
The Enemy Sex
Mrs. Massingale
1924
Noah Beery and Jim Mason in Wanderer of the Wasteland (1924)
Wanderer of the Wasteland
Magdalene Virey
1924
When a Girl Loves
Helen - Michael's Wife
1924
Pola Negri in The Spanish Dancer (1923)
The Spanish Dancer
Queen Isabel of Bourbon
1923
Elaine Hammerstein in Broadway Gold (1923)
Broadway Gold
Jean Valjean
1923
Robert Agnew, Lucille Ricksen, Phillips Smalley, Eve Southern, Roy Stewart, David Torrence, and Kathlyn Williams in Trimmed in Scarlet (1923)
Trimmed in Scarlet
Cordelia EbbingMadame de laFleur
1923
Eleanor Boardman in Souls for Sale (1923)
Souls for Sale
Kathlyn Williams
1923
Bebe Daniels in The World's Applause (1923)
The World's Applause
Elsa Townsend
1923
Wallace Reid in Clarence (1922)
Clarence
Mrs. Wheeler
1922
May McAvoy in A Virginia Courtship (1921)
A Virginia Courtship
Constance Llewellyn
1921
May McAvoy in Morals (1921)
Morals
Judith Mainwaring
1921
Faire Binney, Matt Moore, Harry T. Morey, Grace Valentine, and Kathlyn Williams in A Man's Home (1921)
A Man's Home
Frances Osborn
1921
May McAvoy and A. Edward Sutherland in Everything for Sale (1921)
Everything for Sale
Mrs. Wainwright
1921
May McAvoy and Lloyd Whitlock in A Private Scandal (1921)
A Private Scandal
Carol Lawton
1921
Clara Kimball Young in Hush (1921)
Hush
Isabel Dane
1921
Forbidden Fruit (1921)
Forbidden Fruit
Mrs. Mallory
1921
The U.P. Trail (1920)
The U.P. Trail
'Beauty' Stanton
1920
Thomas Meighan and Mabel Van Buren in Conrad in Quest of His Youth (1920)
Conrad in Quest of His Youth
Mrs. Adaile
1920
Thomas Meighan in The Prince Chap (1920)
The Prince Chap
Alice Travers
1920
Just a Wife (1920)
Just a Wife
Eleanor Lathrop
1920
The Tree of Knowledge (1920)
The Tree of Knowledge
Belle
1920
A Girl Named Mary (1919)
A Girl Named Mary
Mrs. Jaffrey
1919
Spottiswoode Aitken, Wesley Barry, Ralph Graves, Mahlon Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, Tully Marshall, Marshall Neilan, James Neill, Anna Q. Nilsson, Tom Santschi, Edwin Stevens, Anita Stewart, Edwin B. Tilton, and Kathlyn Williams in Her Kingdom of Dreams (1919)
Her Kingdom of Dreams
Penelope Warren
1919
Bessie Barriscale in Her Purchase Price (1919)
Her Purchase Price
Diana Vane
1919
Nigel Barrie and Clara Kimball Young in The Better Wife (1919)
The Better Wife
Lady Beverly
1919
Cecil B. DeMille in We Can't Have Everything (1918)
We Can't Have Everything
Charity Coe Cheever
1918
The Whispering Chorus (1918)
The Whispering Chorus
Jane Tremble
1918
The Thing We Love (1918)
The Thing We Love
Margaret Kenwood
Short
1918
I Hear Her Calling Me (from the Heart of Africa) (1917)
I Hear Her Calling Me (from the Heart of Africa)
Daisy EverymanMary Skillman (dual role)
Short
1917
Pioneer Days (1917)
Pioneer Days
Short
1917
Tom Santschi and Kathlyn Williams in A Man, a Girl, and a Lion (1917)
A Man, a Girl, and a Lion
Gene Davis
Short
1917
Kathlyn Williams in In the African Jungle (1917)
In the African Jungle
Edith Wayne, Robert Waynes Daughter
Short
1917
Wallace Reid and Kathlyn Williams in Big Timber (1917)
Big Timber
Stella Benton
1917
The Highway of Hope (1917)
The Highway of Hope
Lonely Lou
1917
Theodore Roberts and Kathlyn Williams in The Cost of Hatred (1917)
The Cost of Hatred
Elsie GravesSarita Graves
1917
Kathlyn Williams in Out of the Wreck (1917)
Out of the Wreck
Agnes Aldrich
1917
Sweet Lady Peggy
Short
1916
Redeeming Love (1916)
Redeeming Love
Naomi Sterling
1916
Kathlyn Williams in The Brand of Cain (1916)
The Brand of Cain
Edith Lennox
Short
1916
Guy Oliver and Kathlyn Williams in The Return (1916)
The Return
Ione
Short
1916
The Valiants of Virginia (1916)
The Valiants of Virginia
Shirley Dandridge
1916
Into the Primitive (1916)
Into the Primitive
Jennie Leslie
1916
The Temptation of Adam (1916)
The Temptation of Adam
Rose Addison
Short
1916
The Devil, the Servant and the Man (1916)
The Devil, the Servant and the Man
Alice Foster
Short
1916
Number 13, Westbound (1916)
Number 13, Westbound
Marion Culmer
Short
1916
Tom Santschi and Kathlyn Williams in The Adventures of Kathlyn (1916)
The Adventures of Kathlyn
Kathlyn Hare
1916
Kathlyn Williams in The Black Orchid (1916)
The Black Orchid
Viola Morton
Short
1916
Tyrone Power Sr. and Kathlyn Williams in Thou Shalt Not Covet (1916)
Thou Shalt Not Covet
My Neighbor's Wife
1916
Rex Beach and Kathlyn Williams in The Ne'er Do Well (1915)
The Ne'er Do Well
Mrs. Edith Cortlandt - a Diplomat
1915
Kathlyn Williams in The Coquette's Awakening (1915)
The Coquette's Awakening
The Flirt
Short
1915
Wheeler Oakman, Tyrone Power Sr., Kathlyn Williams, and Baby Jean Fraser in Sweet Alyssum (1915)
Sweet Alyssum
Daisy Brooks
1915
A Sultana of the Desert (1915)
A Sultana of the Desert
Jean
Short
1915
The Strange Case of Talmai Lind (1915)
The Strange Case of Talmai Lind
Hilda Lind - the MotherTalmai Lind - the Daughter
Short
1915
Kathlyn Williams in Ebb Tide (1915)
Ebb Tide
Estelle Velaine
Short
1915
Kathlyn Williams in The Rosary (1915)
The Rosary
Vera Wallace
1915
The Carpet from Bagdad (1915)
The Carpet from Bagdad
Fortuna Chedsoye
1915
The Vision of the Shepherd (1915)
The Vision of the Shepherd
Nell - the Shepherd's Daughter
Short
1915
Till Death Us Do Part
Anne Brewster
Short
1914
Kathlyn Williams in The Lady or the Tigers (1914)
The Lady or the Tigers
Annette Delancey
Short
1914
Her Sacrifice
Kitty
Short
1914
Charles Clary in The Story of the Blood Red Rose (1914)
The Story of the Blood Red Rose
Godiva
Short
1914
The Losing Fight
Kitty
Short
1914
The Tragedy That Lived (1914)
The Tragedy That Lived
Mary
Short
1914
Charles Clary and Kathlyn Williams in The Woman of It (1914)
The Woman of It
The Woman
Short
1914
Hearts and Masks
Miss Hawthorne
Short
1914
Fred Huntley and Kathlyn Williams in Chip of the Flying U (1914)
Chip of the Flying U
Della Whitmore - the 'Little Doctor'
Short
1914
Wheeler Oakman and Kathlyn Williams in The Speck on the Wall (1914)
The Speck on the Wall
Pauline St. John
Short
1914
Kathlyn Williams in In Tune with the Wild (1914)
In Tune with the Wild
Mrs. Robert WayneEdith Wayne as an Adult (dual role)
Short
1914
Bessie Eyton, Harry Lonsdale, Edwin Wallock, and Kathlyn Williams in A Woman Laughs (1914)
A Woman Laughs
Clara
Short
1914
Caryl of the Mountains
Caryl of the Mountains
Short
1914
The Leopard's Foundling (1914)
The Leopard's Foundling
Balu - as an Adult
Short
1914
Kathlyn Williams in The Court of Death (1914)
The Court of Death
Kathlyn Hare
Short
1914
The King's Will (1914)
The King's Will
Kathlyn Hare
Short
1914
The Forged Parchment
Kathlyn Hare
Short
1914
Kathlyn Williams in The Warrior Maid (1914)
The Warrior Maid
Kathlyn Hare
Short
1914
Charles Clary and Kathlyn Williams in The Spellbound Multitude (1914)
The Spellbound Multitude
Kathlyn Hare
Short
1914
Bessie Eyton, William Farnum, and Tom Santschi in The Spoilers (1914)
The Spoilers
Cherry Malotte
1914
Charles Clary and Kathlyn Williams in The Cruel Crown (1914)
The Cruel Crown
Kathlyn Hare
Short
1914
Kathlyn Williams in The Garden of Brides (1914)
The Garden of Brides
Kathlyn Hare
Short
1914
Three Bags of Silver (1914)
Three Bags of Silver
Kathlyn Hare
Short
1914
Kathlyn Williams in A Colonel in Chains (1914)
A Colonel in Chains
Kathlyn Hare
Short
1914
Kathlyn Williams in The Royal Slave (1914)
The Royal Slave
Kathlyn Hare
1914
Kathlyn Williams in The Temple of the Lion (1914)
The Temple of the Lion
Kathlyn Hare
Short
1914
Goldie Colwell and Kathlyn Williams in The Two Ordeals (1914)
The Two Ordeals
Kathlyn Hare
Short
1914
The Unwelcome Throne (1913)
The Unwelcome Throne
Kathlyn Hare
Short
1913
The Adventures of Kathlyn (1913)
The Adventures of Kathlyn
Kathlyn Hare
1913
The Tide of Destiny
Hazel White
Short
1913
Thor, Lord of the Jungles (1913)
Thor, Lord of the Jungles
Gene Brant
Short
1913
In the Midst of the Jungle
Alice Jackson
Short
1913
The Love of Penelope
Penelope Blair
Short
1913
Harold Lockwood and Kathlyn Williams in The Young Mrs. Eames (1913)
The Young Mrs. Eames
Mrs. Dorris Eames
Short
1913
Two Too Many
Dorothy Armfield
Short
1913
Herbert Rawlinson and Kathlyn Williams in The Child of the Sea (1913)
The Child of the Sea
Capt. Warren's WifeNell Warren - Capt. Warren's Grown Daughter
Short
1913
The Flight of the Crow (1913)
The Flight of the Crow
Edwina Washburn
Short
1913
The Mansion of Misery
Marjorie Main
Short
1913
Man and His Other Self
Mary Vale - the Farmer's Daughter
Short
1913
The Tree and the Chaff
Grace Cole - the Tree
Short
1913
Mrs. Hilton's Jewels
Mrs. Frederick Hilton
Short
1913
Woman: Past and Present
Miss America
Short
1913
The Girl and the Judge
Grace Green - the Farmer's Daughter
Short
1913
The Stolen Melody
Miss Burmeister - the Musician's Daughter
Short
1913
Lieutenant Jones
Mary Thompson
Short
1913
A Welded Friendship
Mary WiltonViolet Trevor
Short
1913
Their Stepmother
Constance - the Stepmother
Short
1913
The Burglar Who Robbed Death
Mrs. Harrison
Short
1913
Hobart Bosworth and Kathlyn Williams in A Wise Old Elephant (1913)
A Wise Old Elephant
Zara Haskins
Short
1913
With Love's Eyes
Virginia - the Girl
Short
1913
Two Men and a Woman
Carrie Conrad, The Woman
Short
1913
Her Only Son
Drowning Victim Saved by Jack
Short
1913
The Artist and the Brute
Alice Atkins - the Artist
Short
1913
The Governor's Daughter
Kate Millbank - the Governor's Daughter
Short
1913
A Little Child Shall Lead Them
Helen Brant
Short
1913
The Lipton Cup: Introducing Sir Thomas Lipton (1913)
The Lipton Cup: Introducing Sir Thomas Lipton
May Boardman
1913
Harbor Island
Isabel Arieno
Short
1912
The House of His Master
Mrs. Robert Steem
Short
1912
Gladys Wynne in As the Fates Decree (1912)
As the Fates Decree
Mrs. Bertha Wilson - the Widow
Short
1912
The Girl at the Cupola (1912)
The Girl at the Cupola
Jessie Wilson
Short
1912
An Unexpected Fortune
Lady Margaret Lonsdale
Short
1912
On the Trail of the Germs
Ruth Hilton
Short
1912
The Adopted Son
Mrs. Hugh Kenyon
Short
1912
The Girl with the Lantern
Mary Davis - the City Girl
Short
1912
The Turning Point
Mrs. John Carewe
Short
1912
The Stronger Mind
Alice Wells - Locksley's Fiancee
Short
1912
The Coming of Columbus (1912)
The Coming of Columbus
Queen Isabella
Short
1912
Charles Clary and Kathlyn Williams in The Devil, the Servant and the Man (1912)
The Devil, the Servant and the Man
The Wife
Short
1912
When the Heart Rules
Winnifred - George's Sweetheart
Short
1912
Driftwood
Katherine Dalton
Short
1912
Charles Clary in Sons of the North Woods (1912)
Sons of the North Woods
Janie MacKisson
Short
1912
The Brotherhood of Man
Marion Wendell
Short
1912
When Memory Calls
Mrs. Andrew Grimes
Short
1912
The Horseshoe
Mrs. Sumner
Short
1912
Charles Clary and Harry Lonsdale in The Prosecuting Attorney (1912)
The Prosecuting Attorney
Nina Brooks
Short
1912
Busy Day at the Selig General Office
Short
1911
Paid Back
Mary Darrow
Short
1911
Thomas Carrigan, Charles Clary, Lillian Leighton, and Kathlyn Williams in Getting Married (1911)
Getting Married
Sally Featherstone
Short
1911
The Inner Mind
Madge Haggerty - Elinore's Maid
Short
1911
Kathlyn Williams in Lost in the Jungle (1911)
Lost in the Jungle
Meta Kruga
Short
1911
How They Stopped the Run on the Bank
Dorothy Church - the President's Daughter
Short
1911
Maud Muller (1911)
Maud Muller
Maud Muller
Short
1911
James O'Burrell and Leighton Stark in The Two Orphans (1911)
The Two Orphans
Henriette (orphan)
Short
1911
The Wheels of Justice
Alice Hazen
Short
1911
Dad's Girls
Rose
Short
1911
Life on the Border
The Pioneer Wife
Short
1911
Jealous George (1911)
Jealous George
Mary Wife
Short
1911
Kathlyn Williams in Captain Kate (1911)
Captain Kate
Captain Kate
Short
1911
Ten Nights in a Bar Room (1911)
Ten Nights in a Bar Room
Mrs. Morgan
Short
1911
The Rose of Old St. Augustine
Dolores, the Rose of St. Augustine
Short
1911
Jim and Joe
Mary - Jim's Wife
Short
1911
Back to the Primitive (1911)
Back to the Primitive
Helen Wilton
Short
1911
In Old California When the Gringos Came (1911)
In Old California When the Gringos Came
Short
1911
Kathlyn Williams in The Witch of the Everglades (1911)
The Witch of the Everglades
Dora - the Witch
Short
1911
1861 (1911)
1861
Virginia Johnson
Short
1911
The Man from the East (1911)
The Man from the East
Elsie Dean
Short
1911
The Survival of the Fittest (1911)
The Survival of the Fittest
Capria - Pride of the Circus
Short
1911
Tom Santschi in The Curse of the Redman (1911)
The Curse of the Redman
Short
1911
Taming Wild Animals
Short
1910
The Queen of Hearts
May Allen
Short
1910
The Merry Wives of Windsor
Mrs. Ford
Short
1910
Blasted Hopes
Sallie
Short
1910
Dora Thorne
Dora Thorne
Short
1910
Mazeppa, or the Wild Horse of Tartary (1910)
Mazeppa, or the Wild Horse of Tartary
Olinska
Short
1910
Kathlyn Williams in The Fire Chief's Daughter (1910)
The Fire Chief's Daughter
Ellen
Short
1910
Thou Shalt Not
The Actress
Short
1910
A Romance of the Western Hills
Second Woman
Short
1910
Gold Is Not All
Tom's Mistress
Short
1910
Lines of White on a Sullen Sea (1909)
Lines of White on a Sullen Sea
Extra
Short
1909
On Thanksgiving Day
Short
1908
Writer
Lost in Transit (1917)
Lost in Transit
story
1917
A Sultana of the Desert (1915)
A Sultana of the Desert
Writer
Short
1915
The Strange Case of Talmai Lind (1915)
The Strange Case of Talmai Lind
Writer
Short
1915
The Leopard's Foundling (1914)
The Leopard's Foundling
Writer
Short
1914
Harold Lockwood and Kathlyn Williams in The Young Mrs. Eames (1913)
The Young Mrs. Eames
writer
Short
1913
Winifred Greenwood in The Last Dance (1912)
The Last Dance
Writer
Short
1912
Director
The Leopard's Foundling (1914)
The Leopard's Foundling
Director
Short