Karen Morley
Karen Morley 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 and roles in films such as Mata Hari, Scarface, The Phantom of Crestwood, The Mask of Fu Manchu, Arsene Lupin, Gabriel Over the White House, and Dinner at Eight. 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 2, she returned to Hollywood and became involved in labor union activity with the Screen Actor's 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. 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 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. She was survived by three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Partial filmography
Thru Different Eyes as bit part Inspiration as Liane LatourDaybreak as Emily KessnerNever the Twain Shall Meet as MaisiePolitics as Myrtle BurnsHigh Stakes as Anne CornwallThe Sin of Madelon Claudet as AliceThe Cuban Love Song as CrystalMata Hari as CarlottaArsene Lupin as SoniaAre You Listening? as Alice GrimesScarface as PoppyThe Man About Town as HelenaThe Washington Masquerade as Consuela FairbanksDownstairs as Karl's New Employer The Phantom of Crestwood as Jenny WrenThe Mask of Fu Manchu as Sheila BartonFlesh as Laura NashGabriel Over the White House as Pendola MolloyDinner at Eight as Mrs. Lucy TalbotThe Crime Doctor as AndraOur Daily Bread as Mary SimsStraight Is the Way as BerthaWednesday's Child as Kathryn PhillipsBlack Fury as Anna Novak$10 Raise as Emily ConverseThe Healer as Evelyn AllenThunder in the Night as MadalaineThe Littlest Rebel as Mrs. CaryDevil's Squadron as Martha DawsonBeloved Enemy as Cathleen O'BrienOutcast as Margaret StevensThe Girl from Scotland Yard as Linda BeechThe Last Train from Madrid as Baroness Helene RafitteOn Such a Night as Gail StanleyKentucky as Mrs. Goodwin – 1861Pride and Prejudice as Mrs. CollinsJealousy as Dr. Monica AndersonThe Unknown as Rachel Martin ArnoldThe Thirteenth Hour as Eileen BlairFramed as BethSamson and Delilah M as Mrs. CosterBorn to the Saddle as Kate Daggett