# Clara Kimball Young

Clara Kimball Young (born Edith Matilda Clara Kimball; September 6, 1890 – October 15, 1960) was an American film actress who was popular in the early silent film era.

## Early life

Edith Matilda Clara Kimball was born in Chicago on September 6, 1890, the only child to Edward Kimball and Pauline Madeline Kimball (née Garrette, 1860–1919), both of whom were traveling stock actors. She made her stage debut at the age of three, and throughout her early childhood traveled with her parents and acted with their theater company. She attended St. Francis Xavier Academy in Chicago. Afterward, she was hired into a stock company and resumed her stage career, traveling extensively through the United States and playing in various small town theaters.
Early in her career, she met and married a fellow stock company and known Broadway actor named James Young. Young's previous wife had been the songwriter/lyricist Rida Johnson Young. After sending a photograph to Vitagraph Studios, Clara Kimball Young, as she was then known, and her husband were both offered yearly contracts in 1912.

## Career

In the new medium of motion pictures, and without much screen competition, Young's star at Vitagraph rose quickly. Young was predominantly cast in one- and two-reel roles as the virtuous heroine. By 1913, she had become one of the more popular leading ladies at Vitagraph and placed at number 17 in a poll of public popularity. Many of Young's films from her early period with Vitagraph are now lost.
In 1914, Vitagraph released the drama My Official Wife, which starred Young as a Russian revolutionary and was directed by her husband James Young and co-starred the popular leading man Earle Williams. The film, which is now lost, was an enormous success and launched Young and Earle Williams into first place in the popularity polls, and Young immediately was signed to a contract with pioneering mogul Lewis J. Selznick.
After a string of successful roles, Young was established as one of the chief attractions of World Film Corporation and her husband James was now a much sought-after director. By 1915, Young's popularity was equivalent to that of Mary Pickford, Dorothy and Lillian Gish, Pearl White, Edna Purviance, and Mabel Normand.
She became involved in a much publicized affair with Selznick, culminating in a 1916 divorce suit accusing her of alienation of affection. James Young finally obtained a final decree on April 8, 1919, on grounds of desertion.
Selznick quickly formed the Clara Kimball Young Film Corporation, installing himself as president, and formed Selznick Productions to distribute her films and those of some other independent producers. After only four films with Selznick however, the personal and business relationship began to sour, and Young struggled to extricate herself from all business arrangements with Selznick, accusing him of defrauding her of her profits through a series of dummy corporations and by electing himself president of her company while not permitting her any input in her business affairs.
In 1917, Young became involved in an affair with Harry Garson, with whom she then teamed in a business venture. Garson had little experience in the motion picture business, and as a result, Young's career began to sputter. Although she remained a popular actress into the early 1920s, Young suffered at the inexperience and alleged mismanagement and apathy of Garson. In her 1921 diary, Young wrote "It will be wonderful to get out of debt and finish these three pictures for equity. I feel as though I had my head on a block and was waiting for the axe to descend at any moment."
She began suffering a series of press attacks for her business dealings and personal relationship with Garson. By 1925, her stardom began to fade, and she made her last silent film Lying Wives. Young spent the remainder of the 1920s performing in vaudeville, and in 1928 quietly married Dr. Arthur Fauman. The advent of sound briefly revived her career, and she appeared in several featured roles for RKO Radio Pictures and Tiffany Pictures with only modest success, appearing only in bit parts including a Three Stooges short, and extra roles in mostly lower budget pictures and having a stint on radio. One of her bigger roles is in the murder mystery The Rogues Tavern (1936) where she plays a sweet but fussy motherly woman who is hiding a very big secret.
She retired from acting in 1941.

## Death

Young underwent minor surgery to correct a chronic bronchial problem in March 1960. She did not recover her health after the surgery, and became increasingly frail. Young died of a stroke at the Motion Picture House in Woodland Hills, California on October 15, 1960. Her remains were cremated, and she was interred at Grand View Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California. For her contribution to the motion picture industry, Young was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6513 Hollywood Blvd.

## Selected filmography
### Short subjects

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1909 | Washington Under the British Flag | | Lost film |
| 1909 | Washington Under the American Flag | | Lost film |
| 1909 | A Midsummer Night's Dream | Penelope | |
| 1910 | Richelieu; or: The Conspiracy | | Lost film |
| 1910 | Uncle Tom's Cabin | | Lost film |
| 1910 | The Sepoy's Wife | The Sepoy's Wife | |
| 1910 | Ransomed; or, A Prisoner of War | Captain Jack's Wife | Status unknown |
| 1910 | The Last of the Saxons | Aldyth | Lost film |
| 1911 | Lady Godiva | Coventry resident praying | |
| 1912 | Cardinal Wolsey | Anne Boleyn | Incomplete film |
| 1912 | The Haunted Rocker | Madge Boggs, the Daughter | Status unknown |
| 1912 | The Jocular Winds of Fate | Alice De Voe | Status unknown |
| 1912 | The Pipe | Dingley's Wife | Status unknown |
| 1912 | The Old Kent Road | Sue Simmonds, Their Daughter | Status unknown |
| 1912 | Dr. LaFleur's Theory | the Criminal's Moll | Status unknown |
| 1912 | Professor Optimo | Clara | Lost film |
| 1912 | The Picture Idol | Beth Ward, a Passionate Fan of Howard Hanson's | Status unknown |
| 1912 | Mockery | Princess Dolorosa | Status unknown |
| 1912 | Half a Hero | Mabel Kemp | Status unknown |
| 1912 | Lulu's Doctor | Aunt Madge Marion | |
| 1912 | When Roses Wither | Howard's Wife | Status unknown |
| 1912 | Lincoln's Gettysburys Address | | Lost film |
| 1912 | The Troublesome Step-Daughters | Assistant in the Toy Shop | Lost film |
| 1912 | The Money Kings | | Status unknown |
| 1912 | A Lively Affair | Dorothy, the Maid | |
| 1912 | Rock of Ages | | Status unknown |
| 1912 | Wanted, a Sister | Evelyn Marshall | Lost film |
| 1912 | Popular Betty | Betty Wilson | Status unknown |
| 1912 | A Vitagraph Romance | Caroline, the Senator's Daughter | Lost film |
| 1912 | The Irony of Fate | | Status unknown |
| 1912 | Mrs. Lirriper's Lodgers | Mrs. Edson | Status unknown |
| 1912 | A Mistake in Spelling | Mabel Moore, Fred's Fiancée | Status unknown |
| 1912 | Poet and Peasant | Toinette Savard, the Daughter | Status unknown |
| 1912 | Lord Browning and Cinderella | Cinderella | Status unknown |
| 1912 | In the Flat Above | Priscilla Putnam, a Music Teacher | Status unknown |
| 1912 | The Eavesdropper | Alice | Status unknown |
| 1913 | Love Hath Wrought a Miracle | Rose Graham | Status unknown |
| 1913 | The Little Minister | Lady Babbie | Lost film |
| 1913 | The Interrupted Honeymoon | Mrs. Adele Young, the Wife | Status unknown |
| 1913 | What a Change of Clothes Did | John Mason's Fiancée | |
| 1913 | The Volunteer Strike Breakers | Harris's Fiancée | Status unknown |
| 1913 | When Mary Grew Up | Mary | Status unknown |
| 1913 | Beau Brummel | Helen Ballarat | Lost film |
| 1913 | The Old Guard | Melanie | |
| 1913 | Put Yourself in Their Place | Mr. Kent's Daughter | Status unknown |
| 1913 | The Way Out | Emma Bindley – a Spinster | Status unknown |
| 1913 | Getting Up a Practice | Emily Irving, Dr. Lyons' Sweetheart | Status unknown |
| 1913 | The Mystery of the Stolen Child | The Nurse | Status unknown |
| 1913 | Mr. Mintern's Misadventures | Muriel Leach | Status unknown |
| 1913 | The Mystery of the Stolen Jewels | First Thief | Status unknown |
| 1913 | The Wrath of Osaka | Miro | Status unknown |
| 1913 | The White Slave; or, The Octoroon | Zoe – the Octoroon | Status unknown |
| 1913 | Delayed Proposals | Marion Van Sicklen | Status unknown |
| 1913 | Jack's Chrysanthemum | Kichimatsu, a Japanese Maiden | Status unknown |
| 1913 | The Spirit of the Orient | Normallee | Status unknown |
| 1913 | The Taming of Betty | Betty | Status unknown |
| 1913 | A Faithful Servant | Nina, Count Gullio's Sweetheart | Status unknown |
| 1913 | A Maid of Mandalay | Ma May | Status unknown |
| 1913 | The Lonely Princess | The Princess, Prince Raffaello's Daughter | Status unknown |
| 1913 | When Women Go on the Warpath; or, Why Jonesville Went Dry | Minor Role | Status unknown |
| 1913 | Cupid Versus Women's Rights | Madge Trenton | Status unknown |
| 1913 | The Hindoo Charm | Phyllis – the Step-Mother | Status unknown |
| 1913 | John Tobin's Sweetheart | Minor Role | Lost film |
| 1913 | Extremities | Gladys Robinson | Status unknown |
| 1913 | The Test | Eleanor Anstruther | Status unknown |
| 1913 | The Pirates | Helen Merwin | Status unknown |
| 1913 | On Their Wedding Eve | Edna Morvell | Status unknown |
| 1913 | Jerry's Mother-In-Law | Jerry's Wife | Status unknown |
| 1913 | Fellow Voyagers | Jerry's Wife | Status unknown |
| 1913 | Betty in the Lions' Den | Betty | Status unknown |
| 1913 | A Lesson in Jealousy | Mabel – the Wife | Status unknown |
| 1913 | Beauty Unadorned | Helen Preston | Incomplete film |
| 1913 | Love's Sunset | Nita Travers | Status unknown |
| 1913 | Up in a Balloon | Betty Simpson | Status unknown |
| 1914 | The Perplexed Bridegroom | Lucy Demly, the Bride | Status unknown |
| 1914 | Goodness Gracious | Gwendoline | Status unknown |
| 1914 | Some Steamer Scooping | Clara Lane, a Journalist | Status unknown |
| 1914 | Her Husband | Dora Allen, Mrs. Tom Harcourt | Status unknown |
| 1914 | The Silver Snuff Box | Amy, Julian's Granddaughter | Status unknown |
| 1914 | The Awakening of Barbara Dare | Dorothy Clayton | Status unknown |
| 1914 | The Violin of M'sieur | Yvonne – Gerome's Daughter | Status unknown |
| 1914 | Happy-Go-Lucky | Happy-Go-Lucky | Status unknown |
| 1914 | David Garrick | Ada Ingot | Status unknown |
| 1914 | Taken by Storm | Betty, the Willful Wife | Status unknown |
| 1916 | A Race for Life | | Status unknown |
| 1935 | Hollywood Extra Girl | Grace | Documentary |
| 1936 | Ants in the Pantry | Mrs. Beulah Burlap | |
| 1936 | Love in September | Mrs. Thompson | |
| 1937 | New News | Mrs. Van Gage | |

### Features

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1914 | My Official Wife | Helene Marie | Lost film |
| 1914 | The Fates and Flora Fourflush | Flora Fourflush | Film serial Lost film |
| 1914 | Lola | Lola Barnhelun | |
| 1915 | The Deep Purple | Doris Moore | Lost film |
| 1915 | Hearts in Exile | Hope Ivanovna | |
| 1915 | Marrying Money | Mildred Niles | |
| 1915 | Trilby | Trilby O'Ferral | |
| 1915 | The Heart of the Blue Ridge | Plutina | Lost film |
| 1915 | Camille | Camille | Lost film |
| 1916 | The Yellow Passport | Sonia Sokoloff | Lost film |
| 1916 | The Feast of Life | Aurora Fernandez | |
| 1916 | The Dark Silence | Mildred White | |
| 1916 | The Foolish Virgin | Mary Adams | Lost film |
| 1916 | The Common Law | Valerie West | Lost film |
| 1916 | The Rise of Susan | Susan | Incomplete film |
| 1917 | The Price She Paid | Mildred Gower | Lost film |
| 1917 | The Easiest Way | Laura Murdock | Lost film |
| 1917 | Magda | Magda | Lost film |
| 1917 | Shirley Kaye | Shirley Kaye | |
| 1918 | The Marionettes | Fernande de Monclars | Lost film |
| 1918 | The House of Glass | Margaret Case | Lost film |
| 1918 | The Reason Why | Zara Zenova | Lost film |
| 1918 | The Claw | Mary Saurin | Lost film |
| 1918 | The Savage Woman | Renee Benoit | Lost film |
| 1918 | The Road Through the Dark | Gabrielle Jardee | Lost film |
| 1919 | Cheating Cheaters | Ruth Brockton | Lost film |
| 1919 | The Better Wife | Charmian Page | Lost film |
| 1919 | Eyes of Youth | Gina Ashling | |
| 1919 | Soldiers of Fortune | | Uncredited Lost film |
| 1920 | The Forbidden Woman | Diane Sorel | |
| 1920 | For the Soul of Rafael | Marta Raquel Estevan | Lost film |
| 1920 | Mid-Channel | Zoe Blundell | |
| 1921 | Hush | Vera Stanford | Lost film |
| 1921 | Straight from Paris | Lucette Grenier | |
| 1921 | Charge It | Julia Lawrence | |
| 1921 | What No Man Knows | Norma Harvey | Incomplete film |
| 1922 | The Worldly Madonna | Lucy Trevor, Dancer/Janet Trevor, Nun | |
| 1922 | The Hands of Nara | Nara Alexieff | Lost film |
| 1922 | Enter Madame | Prima Donna Lisa Della Robia | |
| 1923 | The Woman of Bronze | Vivian Hunt | Lost film |
| 1923 | Cordelia the Magnificent | Cordelia Marlowe | Lost film |
| 1923 | A Wife's Romance | Joyce Addisonn | Lost film |
| 1925 | Lying Wives | Patricia Chase | |
| 1931 | Kept Husbands | Mrs. Henrietta Post | |
| 1931 | Mother and Son | Faro Lil | |
| 1931 | Women Go on Forever | Daisy Bowman | |
| 1932 | Love Bound | Mrs. Jane Randolph | |
| 1932 | Probation | Mrs. Humphries | |
| 1933 | File 113 | Mme. Fauvel | |
| 1934 | I Can't Escape | Mrs. Wilson | |
| 1934 | Romance in the Rain | Mlle. Fleurette Malevinsky | |
| 1934 | The Return of Chandu | Dorothy Regent | |
| 1935 | The Drunkard | Mrs. Karns | |
| 1935 | She Married Her Boss | Parsons | |
| 1935 | His Night Out | Mrs. Davis | |
| 1935 | Fighting Youth | Mrs. Stewart, House Mother | |
| 1935 | The Fighting Coward | Mrs. Gordon | |
| 1936 | Dangerous Waters | Kind Lady Passenger | Uncredited |
| 1936 | Three on the Trail | Rose Peters | |
| 1936 | The Rogues Tavern | Mrs. Jamison | |
| 1936 | Oh, Susanna | Aunt Peggy Lee | |
| 1936 | The Black Coin | Donna Luise Navarro | |
| 1937 | They Wanted to Marry | Wedding Guest Talking to Hunter | Uncredited |
| 1937 | Hills of Old Wyoming | Ma Hutchins | |
| 1937 | Dangerously Yours | Mrs. Prentiss | Uncredited |
| 1937 | The Mysterious Pilot | Martha, Fritz's Wife | Film serial Chs.3-5,9,14-15 |
| 1938 | The Secret of Treasure Island | Cortez Hotel Maid | Film serial Uncredited |
| 1938 | The Wages of Sin | Fat Pearl | |
| 1938 | The Frontiersmen | Mrs. Peters | |
| 1941 | The Round Up | Mrs. Wilson | |
| 1941 | Mr. Celebrity | Herself | |

## Gallery

* Trilby (1915)
* The Common Law, 1916
* Advertisement, 1916
* The Dark Silence, 1916
* The Foolish Virgin, 1916
* The Rise of Susan, 1917
* Advertisement, 1917
* Advertisement, 1917
* Advertisement, 1917
* Advertisement, 1917
* Advertisement, 1917
* The Price She Paid, 1917
* The Marionette, 1918
* Shirley Kate, 1918