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Karen Morley

Personal Profile

Karen Morley
  • Birth Name:
    Mildred Linton
  • Date of Birth:
    December 12, 1909
  • Zodiac Sign:
    Sagittarius
  • Place of Birth:
    Ottumwa, Iowa, USA
  • Place of Death:
    Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA
  • Date of Death:
    March 8, 2003
  • Cause of Death:
    Pnuemonia
  • Sex:
    Female
  • Hair Color:
    Blonde
  • Eye Color:
    Brown
  • Nationality:
    American
  • Education:

    Hollywood High School, Hollywood, California

    University of California, Los Angeles

Family

Karen Morley
  • Spouse:
    Lloyd Gough - Deceased, Charles Vidor - Divorced
  • Son:
    Michael

Career

Karen Morley
  • Profession:
    Actress
  • Claim to Fame:
    Gabriel Over the White House
  • Debut:
    Thru Different Eyes

Trivia

Karen Morley
  • Karen Morley was an American film actress.
  • In December 1999, at the age of 90, she appeared in the magazine Vanity Fair in an article about blacklist survivors.
  • In 1954, she ran unsuccessfully for Lieutenant Governor of New York on the American Labor Party ticket.
  • She maintained her political activism for the rest of her life.
  • 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 continued to work as a freelance performer, and appeared in Michael Curtiz's Black Fury, and The Littlest Rebel with Shirley Temple.
  • She received the role, it would have been her fifth with a member of the Barrymore family.
  • She had been considered for the role of Mrs. Connelly in the 2003 Drew Barrymore film, Duplex (2003).
  • Her MGM career fell apart after marrying director Charles Vidor, one of Hollywood's bright promises at the time. It seems it didn't sit well that she had nabbed him over prettier stars and it affected the way the public viewed her as an ingenue. By the late 30s she was reduced to small roles.
  • She was so convincing that director Clarence Brown cast her in a prime role.

Quotes

Karen Morley
  • "I think Poppy (Scarface (1932)) was my favorite role. . . I always liked playing poor girls who have their sights on something. That's the most colorful character. You can show off. . ."
  • "I know I'm not pretty. I cannot make a place for myself on the screen as a beauty. I am not even an exciting person. There is, therefore, only one thing left. I must be an actress. And the more variety I can get, the more they will think of me as a capable actress."
  • "Nobody could imagine just how terrible McCarthyism would be. So many careers went down the toilet."
View all Quotes: Karen Morley

Biography

Karen Morley
Last Updated: Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Karen MorleyBorn Mildred Linton in Ottumwa, Iowa on December 12, 1909, Karen Morley was adopted by a well-to-do family who moved to Los Angeles in the mid-1920s. She enrolled at Hollywood High School and studied for a career in medicine at UCLA, but a class in theater changed her career ambitions.

After studying at Pasadena Playhouse, she was signed by Fox Studios and her big chance came when producer Howard Hughes selected her to play the blond moll in the 1932 crime epic, Scarface (1932), Morley was put on a contract by MGM and starred in such early 1930s movies as Mata Hari (1931) (with Greta Garbo), Arsène Lupin (1932) (with John Barrymore), Dinner at Eight (1933) (with Jean Harlow), as well as films with Lionel Barrymore, Wallace Beery and Boris Karloff.

In 1934, Morley left MGM after arguments about her roles and her private life, including her intention to start a family and her marriage to director Charles Vidor. She continued working as a freelance performer, appearing in King Vidor's Our Daily Bread (1934), Michael Curtiz' Black Fury (1935) and Pride and Prejudice (1940).

In 1947, her screen career came to a halt when she testified before the House Committee on Un-American Activities and refused to answer questions about her possible enrollment in the Communist Party. Afterward, she continued promoting left-wing causes and married actor Lloyd Gough. In 1954, she ran unsuccessfully as a New York lieutenant governor candidate for the American Labor Party. Morley died March 8, 2003 at the Motion Picture Country House in Woodland Hills.

Filmography

Karen Morley

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