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In the interest of speed and timeliness, this story is fed directly from the Associated Press newswire and may contain spelling or grammatical errors.
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Karen Morley, blacklisted blond star of 1930's movies, dies at 93
Saturday April 19, 2003
By BOB THOMAS
Associated Press Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) Karen Morley, the blond star of 1930's movies
whose career was cut short in 1947 when she refused to answer
questions at a Congressional hearing about her possible involvement
with the Communist Party, has died. She was 93.
Morley died March 8 at the Motion Picture Country House in
Woodland Hills, a friend, Marvin Paige, said Saturday. Her
grandson, John Vidor, said she died of pneumonia.
Born Mildred Linton in Ottumwa, Iowa on Dec. 12, 1909, she was
adopted by a well-to-do family who moved to Los Angeles in the
mid-1920's. 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.''
Morley was put on a contract by MGM and starred in such early
1930's movies as ``Mata Hari'' (with Greta Garbo), ``Arsene Lupin''
(with John Barrymore), ``Dinner at Eight'' (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,''
Michael Curtiz' ``Black Fury,'' ``The Littlest Rebel,'' (with
Shirley Temple) and ``Pride and Prejudice.''
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.
When she moved back to California in the early 1960's, Morley
remained active politically and occasionally appeared in films and
television. After Gough's death in 1984, she made few public
appearances.
Morley is survived by two grandsons, a granddaughter, a
great-grandson and a great-granddaughter.
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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