From Wikipedia
Kathleen Key (April 1, 1903 â December 22, 1954) was an
American actress who achieved a brief period of fame during the silent era. She
is best remembered for playing Tirzah in the 1925 film Ben-Hur. Key was the
great-great granddaughter of Francis Scott Key, composer of "The Star
Spangled Banner", and a distant cousin of author F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Born Kitty Lanahan in Buffalo, New York, she debuted in
films in 1920 in the film The Jackeroo of Coolabong, playing a lead role. From
that point on to the end of the 1920s, Kathleen Key, sometimes credited as
Kathleen Keys, starred in several films, but never really reached stardom, and
was never given much credit for the roles she had, although there were some
exceptions.
In the early '20s, Key had a well-known love affair with
silent-film actor Buster Keaton, who was married at the time. As told in
Keaton's biography, the actor attempted to call off the relationship, but Key
flew into a jealous rage and ransacked his MGM dressing room, which caused her
to be virtually blacklisted afterward by the movie industry. It is also stated
that Keaton refused to give Key a monetary loan. A telegram, sent by one of
Keaton's friends who had heard about the argument, comically read:
"Congratulations. Hear you are off Key."
After her retirement in 1936, Keys spent the rest of her
days in moderate comfort at the Motion Picture Country House in Woodland Hills,
California, where she died at the age of 51 in 1954. Her interment was located
at Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery.