Karen Morley
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Karen Morley | |
|---|---|
 Promotional photograph of Morley in 1930s | |
| Born | Mildred Linton December 12, 1909 Ottumwa, Iowa, U.S. |
| Died | March 8, 2003 (aged 93) Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Education | Hollywood High School |
| Alma mater | UCLA Pasadena Playhouse |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1929–1975 |
| Known for | |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 1 |
Karen Morley (born Mildred Linton; December 12, 1909 – March 8, 2003)[1] was an American film actress.
Life and career
Born Mildred Linton[2] in Ottumwa, Iowa,[1] Morley lived there until she was 13 years old. When she moved to Hollywood, she attended Hollywood High School.[3] She went on to attend the University of California, but she dropped out to join the Los Angeles Civic Repertory Theatre and the Pasadena Playhouse.[4]
After working at the Pasadena Playhouse,[3] she came to the attention of the director Clarence Brown, at a time when he had been looking for an actress to stand in for Greta Garbo in screen tests. This led to a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and roles in films such as Mata Hari (1931), Scarface (1932), The Phantom of Crestwood (1932), The Mask of Fu Manchu (1932), Arsene Lupin (1933), Gabriel Over the White House (1933), and Dinner at Eight (1933).
Her career came to an end in 1947 (November 1952) [citation needed] when she testified before the House Un-American Activities Committee and refused to answer questions about her alleged American Communist Party membership. She maintained her political activism for the rest of her life. In 1954, she ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor of New York on the American Labor Party ticket.[1]
In December 1999, at the age of 90, she appeared in Vanity Fair in an article about blacklist survivors, and she was honored at the San Francisco Film Festival.[5]
Personal life
In November 1932, Morley married director Charles Vidor in Santa Ana, California.[6] They were divorced on March 2, 1943.[7] Vidor and Morley had a son.[7]
Death
Morley lived in Santa Monica, California at the now demolished retirement facility the Beautiful Montana Gardens during her later years. She died of pneumonia at the age of 93 in Woodland Hills, California.[5]
Partial filmography
- Thru Different Eyes (1929) as bit part (uncredited)
- Inspiration (1931) as Liane Latour
- Daybreak (1931) as Emily Kessner
- Never the Twain Shall Meet (1931) as Maisie
- Politics (1931) as Myrtle Burns
- High Stakes (1931) as Anne Cornwall
- The Sin of Madelon Claudet (1931) as Alice
- The Cuban Love Song (1931) as Crystal
- Mata Hari (1931) as Carlotta
- Arsene Lupin (1932) as Sonia
- Are You Listening? (1932) as Alice Grimes
- Scarface (1932) as Poppy
- The Man About Town (1932) as Helena
- The Washington Masquerade (1932) as Consuela Fairbanks
- Downstairs (1932) as Karl's New Employer (uncredited)
- The Phantom of Crestwood (1932) as Jenny Wren
- The Mask of Fu Manchu (1932) as Sheila Barton
- Flesh (1932) as Laura Nash
- Gabriel Over the White House (1933) as Pendola Molloy
- Dinner at Eight (1933) as Mrs. Lucy Talbot
- The Crime Doctor (1934) as Andra
- Our Daily Bread (1934) as Mary Sims
- Straight Is the Way (1934) as Bertha
- Wednesday's Child (1934) as Kathryn Phillips
- Black Fury (1935) as Anna Novak
- $10 Raise (1935) as Emily Converse
- The Healer (1935) as Evelyn Allen
- Thunder in the Night (1935) as Madalaine
- The Littlest Rebel (1935) as Mrs. Cary
- Devil's Squadron (1936) as Martha Dawson
- Beloved Enemy (1936) as Cathleen O'Brien
- Outcast (1937) as Margaret Stevens
- The Girl from Scotland Yard (1937) as Linda Beech
- The Last Train from Madrid (1937) as Baroness Helene Rafitte
- On Such a Night (1937) as Gail Stanley
- Kentucky (1938) as Mrs. Goodwin - 1861
- Pride and Prejudice (1940) as Mrs. Collins
- Jealousy (1945) as Dr. Monica Anderson
- The Unknown (1946) as Rachel Martin Arnold
- The Thirteenth Hour (1947) as Eileen Blair
- Framed (1947) as Beth
- Samson and Delilah (1949) (uncredited)
- M (1951) as Mrs. Coster
- Born to the Saddle (1953) as Kate Daggett
References
- ^ a b c Lentz, Harris M. III (2004). Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2003: Film, Television, Radio, Theatre, Dance, Music, Cartoons and Pop Culture. McFarland. p. 280. ISBN 978-0-7864-5208-8. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
- ^ "Karen Morley Secretly Married". The New York Times. December 8, 1932. p. 24. ProQuest 99822719. Retrieved February 16, 2021 – via ProQuest.
- ^ a b Scheuer, Philip K. (December 11, 1932). "Karen Morley's Honesty Makes Her 'Black Sheep'". The Los Angeles Times. California, Los Angeles. p. 48. Retrieved July 25, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Who's Who in Pictures". The New York Times. May 29, 1932. p. X 4. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
- ^ a b Bergan, Ronald (April 21, 2003). "Obituary: Karen Morley". The Guardian – via www.theguardian.com.
- ^ "Karen Morley Secretly Married". The New York Times. Associated Press. December 8, 1932. p. 24. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
- ^ a b "Karen Morley Divorces Vidor". The New York Times. United Press. March 3, 1943. p. 20. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
Further reading
- The Gettysburg Times, "Discovered", November 3, 1932, Page 7.
- Los Angeles Times, "Karen Morley, 93, A Movie Star Until a Congressional Hearing", April 27, 2003, Page N47.
- McGilligan, Patrick and Paul Buhle (1997). Tender Comrades: A Backstory of the Hollywood Blacklist. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-17046-7.
- Oakland Tribune, "One Star's Family", September 9, 1935, Page 68.
External links
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
- 1909 births
- 2003 deaths
- 20th-century American actresses
- American stage actresses
- Actresses from Iowa
- American film actresses
- American television actresses
- Hollywood blacklist
- American Labor Party politicians
- Deaths from pneumonia in California
- People from Ottumwa, Iowa
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract players
- American actor-politicians