Katharine Alexander


Katharine Alexander was an American actress on stage and screen. She appeared in 44 films between 1930 and 1951.

Biography

Alexander was born on September 22, 1897, in Fort Smith, Arkansas, the daughter of Joseph Hall "Josiah" Alexander and Susan Sophronia Duncan. She was an enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation, listed as 1/16th Cherokee on the Dawes Rolls. As a young woman, she planned to be a concert artist, but Samuel Goldwyn saw her giving a violin recital and gave her a chance on stage. She became one of Broadway's leading ladies but went into films in 1930.

Theatrical productions

Alexander debuted on stage in A Successful Calamity with William Gillette.
Her Broadway credits included Time for Elizabeth, Little Brown Jug, Letters to Lucerne, The Party's Over, Honeymoon, Best Years, The Left Bank, Stepdaughters of War, Hotel Universe, The Boundary Line, Little Accident, The Queen's Husband, Hangman's House, Gentle Grafters, The Call of Life, Arms and the Man, It All Depends, Ostriches, The Stork, That Awful Mrs. Eaton, Leah Kleschna, Chains, Love Laughs, Good Morning, Judge, and A Successful Calamity.

Personal life

On January 5, 1926, Alexander married producer William A. Brady Jr. in New York City. Brady was the son of William A. Brady a theatre actor, producer, and sports promoter; and the actress Grace George. They had a daughter, Barbara Alexander Brady, who became an actress.

Death

Alexander died in Tryon, North Carolina on January 10, 1981, aged 82. She was buried in the Fairmount addition to Forest Park Cemetery in her native Fort Smith.

Partial filmography

  • Should Ladies Behave as Mrs. Winifred Lamont
  • Death Takes a Holiday as Alda
  • The Barretts of Wimpole Street as Arabel Barrett
  • Operator 13 as Pauline
  • The Painted Veil as Mrs. Townsend
  • Enchanted April as Mrs. Rose Arbuthnot
  • After Office Hours as Julia Patterson
  • Cardinal Richelieu as Queen Anne
  • Alias Mary Dow as Evelyn Dow
  • The Girl from 10th Avenue as Valentine French Marland
  • Ginger as Mrs. Elizabeth Parker
  • She Married Her Boss as Gertrude Barclay
  • Splendor as Martha Lorrimore
  • Sutter's Gold as Anna Sutter
  • Moonlight Murder as Louisa Chiltern
  • The Devil Is a Sissy as Hilda Pierce
  • Reunion as Mrs. Crandall
  • As Good as Married as Alma Burnside
  • The Girl from Scotland Yard as Lady Helen Lavering
  • That Certain Woman as Mrs. Rogers
  • Stage Door as Cast of Stage Play
  • Double Wedding as Claire Lodge
  • Rascals as Mrs. Agatha Adams
  • The Great Man Votes as Miss Billow
  • Broadway Serenade as Harriet Ingalls
  • In Name Only as Laura
  • Three Sons as Abigail Pardway
  • The Hunchback of Notre Dame as Madame de Lys
  • Anne of Windy Poplars as Ernestine Pringle
  • Dance, Girl, Dance as Miss Olmstead
  • Play Girl as Mrs. Dice
  • Sis Hopkins as Clara Hopkins
  • Angels with Broken Wings as Charlotte Lord
  • The Vanishing Virginian as Marcia Marshall
  • On the Sunny Side as Mrs. Mary Andrews
  • Small Town Deb as Mrs. Randall
  • Now, Voyager as Miss Trask
  • The Human Comedy as Mrs. Steed
  • Kiss and Tell as Janet Archer
  • For the Love of Mary as Miss Harkness
  • John Loves Mary as Phyllis McKinley