Karen Morley (born Mildred Linton; December 12, 1909 – March 8, 2003) was an American film actress.
Life and career Born Mildred Linton in Ottumwa, Iowa, Morley lived there until she was 13 years old. When she moved to Hollywood, she attended Hollywood High School. 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.
After working at the Pasadena Playhouse, 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 (MGM) and roles in films such as Mata Hari (1931), Scarface (1932), The Phantom of Crestwood (1932), The Mask of Fu Manchu (1932), Arsene Lupin (1932), Gabriel Over the White House (1933), and Dinner at Eight (1933). She left MGM in 1934 after having a dispute with the studio over her marriage to Charles Vidor and her decision to have children.
After World War II, she returned to Hollywood and became involved in labor union activity with the Screen Actors' Guild.
Her career came to an end in 1947, 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.
After being blacklisted from Hollywood, she moved to New York City. In 1952, she appeared in The Banker's Daughter on Broadway with her second husband. In 1954, she ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor of New York on the American Labor Party ticket.
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.
Personal life In November 1932, Morley married director Charles Vidor in Santa Ana, California. They were divorced on March 2, 1943. Vidor and Morley had a son. She married actor Lloyd Gough in 1943, with whom she shared political leanings.
Death Morley lived in Santa Monica, California, at a 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. She was survived by three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Partial filmography
Thru Different Eyes (1929) 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
Further reading The Gettysburg Times, "Discovered", November 3, 1932, p. 7.
Oakland Tribune, "One Star's Family", September 9, 1935, p. 68.
External links
Photographs of Karen Morley