From Wikipedia Ethel Clayton November 8 1882 June 6 1966 was an American actress of the silent film era Claytons screen debut came in 1909 in a short called Justified She jockeyed her early film appearances with a burgeoning stage career Her pretty blond looks were reminiscent of the famous Gibson Girl drawings by Charles Dana Gibson On the stage she appeared mainly in musicals or musical reviews such as The Ziegfeld Follies of 1911 These musical appearances indicate a singing talent Clayton may have possessed but went unused in her many silent screen performances In 1912 she appeared in The Country Boy on stage at the Lyceum Theatre in Rochester New York and made her feature length film debut in For the Love of a Girl The film was directed by Barry ONeil She was cast with Harry Myers Charles Arthur and Peter Lang She was also directed by William Demille Robert G Vignola George Melford Donald Crisp Dallas M Fitzgerald and Clifford Sanforth Like many silent film actors Claytons career was hurt by the coming of sound to motion pictures She continued her career in small parts in movies until she retired in 1948 Her screen credits number more than 180 Clayton was first married to actordirector Joseph Kaufman until his death in 1918 in the Spanish Influenza epidemic She later married silent film actor and former star Ian Keith twice and they divorced twice In both cases Clayton cited cruelty and excessive drinking Clayton and Keith were first married in Minneapolis in 1928 and first separated on January 13 1931 Ethel Clayton died on June 6 1966 at St Johns Hospital in Oxnard California aged 83 She was buried at Ivy Lawn Memorial Park in Ventura California For her contributions to the motion picture industry Ethel Clayton has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
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