Clara Kimball Young facts for kids

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Quick facts for kids Clara Kimball Young
Young, 1920
Born	Edith Matilda Clara Kimball (1890-09-06)September 6, 1890 Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Died	October 15, 1960(1960-10-15) (aged 70) Woodland Hills, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1909–1941
Spouse(s)	James Young (m. 1910; div. 1919) Harry Garson (m. 1920; div. 1927) Dr. Arthur Fauman (m. 1928; died 1937)
Parent(s)	Edward Kimball Pauline Kimball
Signature

Clara Kimball Young (born Edith Matilda Clara Kimball; September 6, 1890 – October 15, 1960) was a famous American actress. She was very popular during the early days of silent films, before movies had sound.

Early Life and Acting Beginnings
Rising to Stardom in Silent Films
Challenges and Later Career
Later Years and Legacy
Selected Filmography
Images for kids
See also

Early Life and Acting Beginnings

Clara Kimball Young in 1909

Clara Kimball Young was born Edith Matilda Clara Kimball in Chicago on September 6, 1890. Her parents, Edward and Pauline Kimball, were both actors who traveled with theater groups.

Clara started acting at just three years old! She traveled with her parents and performed in their theater company. She also went to St. Francis Xavier Academy in Chicago. After school, she joined another theater group and continued her acting career, traveling all over the United States.

Early in her career, she met and married a fellow actor named James Young. In 1912, Clara Kimball Young and her husband were offered contracts with Vitagraph Studios. This was a big step into the new world of movies!

Rising to Stardom in Silent Films

Clara Kimball Young as Marguerite Gautier in Camille, 1915

Clara Kimball Young quickly became a big star at Vitagraph Studios. In the early days of movies, there wasn't much competition, and her talent shone through. She often played good and honest heroines in short films. By 1913, she was one of Vitagraph's most popular leading ladies.

In 1914, Vitagraph released a drama called My Official Wife. Clara played a Russian revolutionary, and her husband, James Young, directed the film. It was a huge success! This movie made Clara and her co-star, Earle Williams, incredibly popular. After this, Clara signed a new contract with a powerful movie producer named Lewis J. Selznick.

Young, around 1916

Clara continued to have many successful roles. She became one of the main attractions at World Film Corporation. By 1915, Clara's fame was similar to other big stars of the time, like Mary Pickford and Lillian Gish.

Challenges and Later Career

Clara Kimball Young with her own film company in 1916

Lewis J. Selznick created the Clara Kimball Young Film Corporation, with himself as president. However, after making only four films together, their working relationship became difficult. Clara felt that Selznick was not being fair with her earnings.

In 1917, Clara started working with Harry Garson. He didn't have much experience in the movie business. Because of this, Clara's career started to slow down. Even though she remained popular into the early 1920s, her career was affected by Garson's inexperience.

Young in May 1919

Starring in Charge It (1921)

By 1925, her fame began to fade. Her last silent film was Lying Wives. For the rest of the 1920s, Clara performed in vaudeville shows. In 1928, she quietly married Dr. Arthur Fauman.

When movies started having sound (called "talkies"), it briefly helped her career. She appeared in a few films for RKO Radio Pictures and Tiffany Pictures. She also had small roles, including a short film with The Three Stooges. One of her more notable roles was in the mystery movie The Rogues Tavern (1936).

Clara Kimball Young officially retired from acting in 1941.

Later Years and Legacy

In March 1960, Clara had a small surgery for a breathing problem. She didn't fully recover and became weaker. Clara Kimball Young passed away from a stroke on October 15, 1960, in Woodland Hills, California. She was 70 years old.

For her important work in the movie industry, Clara Kimball Young has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. You can find it at 6513 Hollywood Boulevard.

Selected Filmography

Washington Under the British Flag (1909, short)
Washington Under the American Flag (1909, short)
A Midsummer Night's Dream (1909, short) as Penelope
Richelieu; or: The Conspiracy (1910, short)
Uncle Tom's Cabin (1910, short)
The Sepoy's Wife (1910, short) as The Sepoy's Wife
Ransomed; or, A Prisoner of War (1910, short) as Captain Jack's Wife
The Last of the Saxons (1910, short) as Aldyth
Lady Godiva (1911, short)
Cardinal Wolsey (1912, short) as Anne Boleyn
The Haunted Rocker (1912, short) as Madge Boggs, the Daughter
The Jocular Winds of Fate (1912, short) as Alice De Voe
The Pipe (1912, short) as Dingley's Wife
The Old Kent Road (1912, short) as Sue Simmonds, Their Daughter
Dr. LaFleur's Theory (1912, short) as the Criminal's Moll
Professor Optimo (1912, short) as Clara
The Picture Idol (1912, short) as Beth Ward, a Passionate Fan of Howard Hanson's
Mockery (1912, short) as Princess Dolorosa
Half a Hero (1912) as Mabel Kemp
Lulu's Doctor (1912, short) as Aunt Madge Marion
When Roses Wither (1912, short) as Howard's Wife
Lincoln's Gettysburys Address (1912, short)
The Troublesome Step-Daughters (1912, short) as an Assistant in the Toy Shop
The Money Kings (1912, short)
A Lively Affair (1912, short) as Dorothy, the Maid
Rock of Ages (1912, short)
Wanted, a Sister (1912, short) as Evelyn Marshall
Popular Betty (1912, short) as Betty Wilson
A Vitagraph Romance (1912, short) as Caroline, the Senator's Daughter
The Irony of Fate (1912, short)
Mrs. Lirriper's Lodgers (1912, short) as Mrs. Edson
A Mistake in Spelling (1912, short) as Mabel Moore, Fred's Fiancée
Poet and Peasant (1912, short) as Toinette Savard, the Daughter
Lord Browning and Cinderella (1912, short) as Cinderella
In the Flat Above (1912, short) as Priscilla Putnam, a Music Teacher
The Eavesdropper (1912, short) as Alice
Love Hath Wrought a Miracle (1913, short) as Rose Graham
The Little Minister (1913, short) as Lady Babbie
The Interrupted Honeymoon (1913, short) as Mrs. Adele Young, the Wife
What a Change of Clothes Did (1913, short) as John Mason's Fiancée
The Volunteer Strike Breakers (1913, short) as Harris's Fiancée
When Mary Grew Up (1913, short) as Mary
Beau Brummel (1913, short) as Helen Ballarat
The Old Guard (1913, short) as Melanie
Put Yourself in Their Place (1913, short) as Mr. Kent's Daughter
The Way Out (1913, short) as Emma Bindley – a Spinster
Getting Up a Practice (1913, short) as Emily Irving, Dr. Lyons' Sweetheart
The Mystery of the Stolen Child (1913, short) as The Nurse
Mr. Mintern's Misadventures (1913, short) as Muriel Leach
The Mystery of the Stolen Jewels (1913, short) as First Thief
The Wrath of Osaka (1913, short) as Miro
The White Slave; or, The Octoroon (1913, short) as Zoe – the Octoroon
Delayed Proposals (1913, short) as Marion Van Sicklen
Jack's Chrysanthemum (1913, short) as Kichimatsu, a Japanese Maiden
The Spirit of the Orient (1913, short) as Normallee
The Taming of Betty (1913, short) as Betty
A Faithful Servant (1913, short) as Nina, Count Gullio's Sweetheart
A Maid of Mandalay (1913, short) as Ma May
The Lonely Princess (1913, short) as The Princess, Prince Raffaello's Daughter
When Women Go on the Warpath; or, Why Jonesville Went Dry (1913, short) as Minor Role
Cupid Versus Women's Rights (1913, short) as Madge Trenton
The Hindoo Charm (1913, short) as Phyllis – the Step-Mother
John Tobin's Sweetheart (1913, short) as Minor Role
Extremities (1913, short) as Gladys Robinson
The Test (1913, short) as Eleanor Anstruther
The Pirates (1913, short) as Helen Merwin
On Their Wedding Eve (1913, short) as Edna Morvell
Jerry's Mother-In-Law (1913, short) as Jerry's Wife
Fellow Voyagers (1913, short) as Jerry's Wife
Betty in the Lions' Den (1913, short) as Betty
A Lesson in Jealousy (1913, short) as Mabel – the Wife
Beauty Unadorned (1913, short) as Helen Preston
Love's Sunset (1913, short) as Nita Travers
Up in a Balloon (1913, short) as Betty Simpson
The Perplexed Bridegroom (1914, short) as Lucy Demly, the Bride
Goodness Gracious (1914, short) as Gwendoline
Some Steamer Scooping (1914, short) as Clara Lane, a Journalist
Her Husband (1914, short) as Dora Allen, Mrs. Tom Harcourt
The Silver Snuff Box (1914, short) as Amy, Julian's Granddaughter
The Awakening of Barbara Dare (1914, short) as Dorothy Clayton
The Violin of M'sieur (1914, short) as Yvonne – Gerome's Daughter
Happy-Go-Lucky (1914, short) as Happy-Go-Lucky
My Official Wife (1914) as Helene Marie
David Garrick (1914, short) as Ada Ingot
Taken by Storm (1914, short) as Betty, the Willful Wife
The Fates and Flora Fourflush (1914) as Flora Fourflush
Lola (1914) as Lola Barnhelun
The Deep Purple (1915) as Doris Moore
Hearts in Exile (1915) as Hope Ivanovna
Marrying Money (1915) as Mildred Niles
Trilby (1915) as Trilby O'Ferral
The Heart of the Blue Ridge (1915) as Plutina
Camille (1915) as Camille
The Yellow Passport (1916) as Sonia Sokoloff
The Feast of Life (1916) as Aurora Fernandez
The Dark Silence (1916) as Mildred White
The Foolish Virgin (1916) as Mary Adams
The Common Law (1916) as Valerie West
The Rise of Susan (1916) as Susan
A Race for Life (1916, short)
The Price She Paid (1917) as Mildred Gower
The Easiest Way (1917) as Laura Murdock
Magda (1917) as Magda
Shirley Kaye (1917) as Shirley Kaye
The Marionettes (1918) as Fernande de Monclars
The House of Glass (1918) as Margaret Case
The Reason Why (1918) as Zara Zenova
The Claw (1918) as Mary Saurin
The Savage Woman (1918) as Renee Benoit
The Road Through the Dark (1918) as Gabrielle Jardee
Cheating Cheaters (1919) as Ruth Brockton
The Better Wife (1919) as Charmian Page
Eyes of Youth (1919) as Gina Ashling
Soldiers of Fortune (1919) (uncredited)
The Forbidden Woman (1920) as Diane Sorel
For the Soul of Rafael (1920) as Marta Raquel Estevan
Mid-Channel (1920) as Zoe Blundell
Hush (1921) as Vera Stanford
Straight from Paris (1921) as Lucette Grenier
Charge It (1921) as Julia Lawrence
What No Man Knows (1921) as Norma Harvey
The Worldly Madonna (1922) as Lucy Trevor, Dancer/Janet Trevor, Nun
The Hands of Nara (1922) as Nara Alexieff
Enter Madame (1922) as Prima Donna Lisa Della Robia
The Woman of Bronze (1923) as Vivian Hunt
Cordelia the Magnificent (1923) as Cordelia Marlowe
A Wife's Romance (1923) as Joyce Addisonn
Lying Wives (1925) as Patricia Chase
Kept Husbands (1931) as Mrs. Henrietta Post
Mother and Son (1931) as Faro Lil
Women Go on Forever (1931) as Daisy Bowman
Love Bound (1932) as Mrs. Jane Randolph
Probation (1932) as Mrs. Humphries
File 113 (1933) as Mme. Fauvel
I Can't Escape (1934) as Mrs. Wilson
Romance in the Rain (1934) as Mlle. Fleurette Malevinsky
The Return of Chandu (1934) as Dorothy Regent
The Drunkard (1935) as Mrs. Karns
Hollywood Extra Girl (1935, documentary short) as Grace
She Married Her Boss (1935) as Parsons
His Night Out (1935) as Mrs. Davis
Fighting Youth (1935) as Mrs. Stewart, House Mother
The Fighting Coward (1935) as Mrs. Gordon
Ants in the Pantry (1936, 3 Stooges short) as Mrs. Beulah Burlap
Dangerous Waters (1936) as Kind Lady Passenger (uncredited)
Love in September (1936, short) as Mrs. Thompson
Three on the Trail (1936) as Rose Peters
The Rogues Tavern (1936) as Mrs. Jamison
Oh, Susanna (1936) as Aunt Peggy Lee
The Black Coin (1936) as Donna Luise Navarro
They Wanted to Marry (1937) as Wedding Guest Talking to Hunter (uncredited)
New News (1937, short) as Mrs. Van Gage
Hills of Old Wyoming (1937) as Ma Hutchins
Dangerously Yours (1937) as Mrs. Prentiss (uncredited)
The Mysterious Pilot (1937, Serial) as Martha, Fritz's Wife [Chs.3-5,9,14-15]
The Secret of Treasure Island (1938, Serial) as Cortez Hotel Maid (uncredited)
The Wages of Sin (1938) as Fat Pearl
The Frontiersmen (1938) as Mrs. Peters
The Round Up (1941) as Mrs. Wilson
Mr. Celebrity (1941) as Herself (final film role)