Kathleen O'Connor (actress)


Kathleen O'Conner was an American actress active in Hollywood during the silent era.

Biography

Early life

Kathleen was born in Dayton, Ohio, to John O'Connor and Elizabeth Kinney. Her parents were both Irish immigrants. She graduated from high school and began working as a telephone operator in Toledo.

Hollywood career

After touring with a local stock company, she convinced her parents to let her go to Hollywood around 1917 to seek her fortune in the movies. Early on, she secured work as an extra in Mack Sennett comedies, but she was soon discovered by Tom Mix and selected to be the cowboy's leading lady. She became known as a leading lady in 1920s Westerns.

Death of Lynn Reynolds

She married prolific directer Lynn Reynolds in 1921. Reynolds committed suicide in front of Kathleen and a handful of guests at a dinner party in 1927. Witnesses report that Reynolds had beaten Kathleen before retrieving the gun.

Later life

O'Connor withdrew from the film industry after Lynn Reynolds's death. She later married Clark Reynolds. She died in 1957 after a long illness.

Selected filmography