Kenneth Harlan was an American leading man of the silent film

Silent film

A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...

 era, playing mostly romantic leads or adventurer types.

Career

A graduate from Fordham University

Fordham University

Fordham University is a private, nonprofit, coeducational research university in the United States, with three campuses in and around New York City. It was founded by the Roman Catholic Diocese of New York in 1841 as St...

 in New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, Harlan first appeared on the stage in 1899's More Than A Queen in support of actress Julia Arthur

Julia Arthur

Julia Arthur Although 1868 is accepted as the year of her birth, both The National Cyclopaedia of National Biography and Who Was Who in America give 1869 as the year. was a Canadian-born stage and film actress.-Early life:...

. Throughout much of 1916 Harlan toured with a company of dancers that headlined future Ziegfeld performer Evan Burrows Fontaine

Evan Burrows Fontaine

-Early life:Evan-Burrows Fontaine was born on October 3, 1898 at Huron, Texas, a present day ghost town with the Cedar Creek Baptist Church as its last surviving structure.; She would later move to Dallas, where by the turn of the twentieth century her family was rooming at a boarding house...

. His career spanned over 25 years and included nearly 200 features and serials, Harlan first entered the motion picture world in 1916 as the leading man under D.W. Griffith. Harlan later played with Constance Talmadge

Constance Talmadge

Constance Talmadge was a silent movie star born in Brooklyn, New York, USA, and was the sister of fellow actresses Norma Talmadge and Natalie Talmadge.-Early life:...

, Lois Weber

Lois Weber

Lois Weber was an American silent film actress, screenwriter, producer, and director, who is considered "the most important female director the American film industry has known", and "one of the most important and important and prolific film directors in the era of silent films". Film historian...

, Mary Pickford

Mary Pickford

Mary Pickford was a Canadian-born motion picture actress, co-founder of the film studio United Artists and one of the original 36 founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...

, Katherine MacDonald

Katherine MacDonald

Katherine Agnew MacDonald was an American actress and film producer. She was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.- Career :...

, Anna May Wong

Anna May Wong

Anna May Wong was an American actress, the first Chinese American movie star, and the first Asian American to become an international star...

, and others. Harlan was skilled at drama and comedy, and made several western movies. He made a smooth transition to talkies, even singing in a few films, but his film roles remained minor throughout his career. Harlan worked until the 1940s and retired in 1943.

Family

Harlan was married eight times, including a marriage to silent screen star Marie Prevost

Marie Prevost

Marie Prevost was a Canadian-born actress of the early days of cinema. During her twenty year career, she made 121 silent and talking pictures.-Early life:...

. He was the nephew of long-time actor and comedian Otis Harlan

Otis Harlan

-Biography:Harlan was born in Zanesville, Ohio in 1865. He married Nellie Harvey and had a daughter named Marion. Harlan was the uncle of silent actor Kenneth Harlan.-Career:...

.

Date of Birth

Harlan was most likely far older than his given 1895 birth date. In 1909 he was playing adult leads or costars with the likes of Ethel Barrymore

Ethel Barrymore

Ethel Barrymore was an American actress and a member of the Barrymore family of actors.-Early life:Ethel Barrymore was born Ethel Mae Blythe in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the second child of the actors Maurice Barrymore and Georgiana Drew...

. A still survives of him in Barrymore's play "Lady Frederick" which she starred with Harlan in the cast in Seattle in July 1909. If the 1895 birth year is to be believed then Harlan would have been only 14 years old. The man in the still with Ethel Barrymore and the rest of the cast is considerably older than 14. There is no evidence that Harlan had a family member in the theater at that time with the same name.

Filmography

• Nearly Eighteen (1943)
• The Masked Marvel
  The Masked Marvel
  The Masked Marvel was a 12-chapter film serial created by Republic Pictures, who produced many of the best known of the serials. It was Republic's thirty-first serial, of the sixty-six they produced.-Plot:...
  
  (1943)
• The Underdog (1943)
• Melody Parade (1943)
• The Law Rides Again
  The Law Rides Again
  - Cast :*Ken Maynard as U.S. Marshal Ken Maynard*Hoot Gibson as U.S. Marshal Hoot Gibson*Jack La Rue as Duke Dillon*Betty Miles as Betty Conway*Emmett Lynn as Eagle-Eye the Scout*Kenneth Harlan as John Hampton, Indian Agent*Chief Thundercloud as Thundercloud...
  
  (1943)
• Girls in Chains
  Girls in Chains
  Girls in Chains is a 1943 American film directed by Edgar G. Ulmer.- Cast :*Arline Judge as Helen Martin*Roger Clark as Frank Donovan*Robin Raymond as Rita Randall*Barbara Pepper as Ruth*Dorothy Burgess as Mrs...
  
  (1943)
• Daredevils of the West
  Daredevils of the West
  Daredevils of the West is a Republic Movie serial.Daredevils of the West is a lightning-fast-paced Western cliffhanger serial released by Republic Pictures in 1943 starring Allan Lane and Kay Aldridge...
  
  (1943)
• Wild Horse Stampede (1943)
• You Can't Beat the Law
  You Can't Beat the Law
  You Can't Beat the Law is a 1943 American film directed by Phil Rosen.The film is also known as Prison Mutiny .- Cast :*Edward Norris as Johnny Gray*Joan Woodbury as Amy Duncan...
  
  (1943)
• Foreign Agent (1942)
• Phantom Killer (1942)
• Bandit Ranger (1942)
• Deep in the Heart of Texas (1942)
• Perils of the Royal Mounted
  Perils of the Royal Mounted
  Perils of the Royal Mounted was the 18th serial released by Columbia Pictures.-Plot:This serial shows as the trading post of Sitkawan, Canada is taken by surprise when an Indian tribe attack and massacre the settlers aboard a fur-bearing wagon train. Sergeant MacLane of the Royal Canadian Mounted...
  
  (1942)
• The Corpse Vanishes (1942)
• The Dawn Express (1942)
• Klondike Fury (1942)
• Black Dragons (1942)
• Sleepytime Gal (1942)
• Dick Tracy vs. Crime Inc. (1941)
• Fighting Bill Fargo (1941)
• Dangerous Lady (1941)
• King of Dodge City (1941)
• Wide Open Town (1941)
• Bullets for O'Hara (1941)
• Desperate Cargo
  Desperate Cargo
  Desperate Cargo is a 1941 American film directed by William Beaudine based on the 1937 magazine story Loot Below by Eustace Lane Adams.-Plot:...
  
  (1941)
• Paper Bullets (1941)
• Secret Evidence (1941)
• Pride of the Bowery (1940)
• Mysterious Doctor Satan
  Mysterious Doctor Satan
  Mysterious Doctor Satan is a 1940 film serial named after its chief villain. Doctor Satan's main opponent is The Copperhead, a masked mystery man secretly Bob Wayne....
  
  (1940)
• A Little Bit of Heaven (1940)
• Prairie Schooners (1940)
• Doomed to Die
  Doomed to Die
  Doomed to Die is a 1940 horror-mystery film directed by William Nigh and starring Boris Karloff.-Cast:* Boris Karloff - James Lee Wong* Marjorie Reynolds - Roberta 'Bobbie' Logan* Grant Withers - Capt...
  
  (1940)
• Murder in the Air (1940)
• Santa Fe Marshal (1940)
• Heroes in Blue (1939)
• Dick Tracy's G-Men
  Dick Tracy's G-Men
  Dick Tracy's G-Men is a 15-Chapter Republic Movie Serial based on the Dick Tracy comic strip by Chester Gould. It was directed by William Witney and John English....
  
  (1939)
• Range War (1939)
• Port of Hate (1939)
• On Trial (1939)
• Sunset Trail (1939)
• The Duke of West Point (1938)
• Little Adventuress (1938)
• The Headleys at Home (1938)
• Law of the Texan (1938)
• The Wages of Sin (1938)
• Pride of the West (1938)
• Held for Ransom (1938)
• Whirlwind Horseman (1938)
• Under Western Stars (1938)
• Accidents Will Happen (1938)
• Blondes at Work (1938)
• Swing It, Sailor!
  Swing It, Sailor!
  - Cast :*Wallace Ford as Pete Kelly*Ray Mayer as Husky Stone*Isabel Jewell as Myrtle Montrose*Mary Treen as Gertie Burns*Max Hoffman Jr. as Bos'n Hardy*Cully Richards as Shamus O'Shay*George Humbert as Pet Shop Proprietor*Tom Kennedy as Policeman...
  
  (1938)
• Saleslady (1938)
• Wallaby Jim of the Islands (1937)
• The Mysterious Pilot
  The Mysterious Pilot
  The Mysterious Pilot is a Columbia movie serial based on the book by William Byron Mowery and starring the record-breaking aviator Frank Hawks...
  
  (1937)
• The Shadow Strikes
  The Shadow Strikes
  The Shadow Strikes is a 1937 American film directed by Lynn Shores starring Rod La Rocque as Lamont Cranston, The Shadow. Both this film and its sequel, International Crime, were released by Grand National Pictures.-Synopsis:...
  
  (1937)
• Renfrew of the Royal Mounted (1937)
• Wine, Women and Horses (1937)
• Paradise Isle (1937)
• Blazing Sixes (1937)
• Gunsmoke Ranch (1937)
• Marked Woman
  Marked Woman
  Marked Woman is a crime melodrama film released by Warner Bros. in 1937. It was directed by Lloyd Bacon, and stars Bette Davis and Humphrey Bogart, with featured performances by Lola Lane, Isabel Jewell, Rosalind Marquis, Mayo Methot, Jane Bryan, Eduardo Ciannelli and Allen Jenkins...
  
  (1937)
• A Million to One (1937)
• Penrod and Sam (1937)
• Trail Dust (1936)
• Flying Hostess (1936)
• Hideaway Girl (1936)
• They Met in a Taxi (1936)
• The Case of the Velvet Claws
  The Case of the Velvet Claws
  The Cases of the Velvet Claws is a 1936 mystery film, the fourth and final appearance of Warren William as defense attorney Perry Mason. Mason finally marries his longtime secretary Della Street, but has to cut their honeymoon short in order to defend a woman accused of murder.-Cast:*Warren William...
  
  (1936)
• China Clipper (1936)
• Public Enemy's Wife (1936)
• San Francisco (1936)
• The Walking Dead
  The Walking Dead (1936 film)
  The Walking Dead is a 1936 horror film starring Boris Karloff as a wrongly executed man who is restored to life by a scientist . The film was directed by Michael Curtiz, and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures.-Plot:...
  
  (1936)
• Song of the Saddle (1936)
• Movie Maniacs (1936)
• Man Hunt (1936)
• Cappy Ricks Returns (1935)
• Wanderer of the Wasteland (1935)
• The Widow in Scarlet
  The Widow in Scarlet
  -Cast:* Dorothy Revier as Baroness Orsani* Kenneth Harlan as Peter Lawton-Bond* Lloyd Whitlock as Mandel* Glenn Tryon as Spuffy* Myrtle Stedman as Alice Lawton-Bond* Lloyd Ingraham as Bradley* Harry Strang as Hymie* Hal Price as Eddie...
  
  (1932)
• The Shadow of the Eagle
  The Shadow of the Eagle
  The Shadow of the Eagle is a Mascot film serial starring John Wayne in his first serial role. This serial is now in the public domain.-Plot:...
  
  (1932)
• Danger Island
  Danger Island (serial)
  Danger Island is a Universal film serial. It is considered to be lost.-Plot:Bonnie Adams is told by her father on his death bed of his discovery of a radium deposit on an island off the coast of Africa. Ben Arnold and his girlfriend Aileen Chandos want the radium for themselves and befriend...
  
  (1931)

• Air Police (1931)
• Finger Prints
  Finger Prints (serial)
  Finger Prints is a Universal movie serial. It is considered to be lost.-Plot:Secret Service agent Gary Gordon is working on shutting down the River Gang, a smuggling ring that his girlfriend's father is secretly a member...
  
  (1931)
• Women Men Marry (1931)
• Under Montana Skies (1930)
• Paradise Island (1930)
• Man, Woman and Wife (1929)
• United States Smith (1928)
• Midnight Rose (1928)
• Code of the Air (1928)
• Willful Youth (1927)
• Streets of Shanghai (1927)
• Cheating Cheaters (1927)
• Stage Kisses (1927)
• Easy Pickings (1927)
• Twinkle Toes (1926)
• The Ice Flood (1926)
• The Sap (1926)
• The King of the Turf (1926)
• The Fighting Edge (1926)
• The Golden Strain (1925)
• Bobbed Hair (1925)
• Ranger of the Big Pines (1925)
• The Marriage Whirl (1925)
• Drusilla with a Million (1925)
• The Crowded Hour (1925)
• The Re-Creation of Brian Kent (1925)
• Two Shall Be Born (1924)
• On the Stroke of Three (1924)
• For Another Woman (1924)
• Soiled (1924)
• White Man (1924)
• Butterfly (1924)
• The Man Without a Heart (1924)
• The Virgin (1924)
• Poisoned Paradise (1924)
• April Showers (1923)
• The Virginian
  The Virginian (1923 film)
  The Virginian is a 1923 silent film based upon the Owen Wister novel, with Kenneth Harlan as the Virginian and Russell Simpson as Trampas. The film was directed by Tom Forman and has been overshadowed by the 1929 movie with Gary Cooper and Walter Huston. There have been several versions of the...
  
  (1923)
• The Broken Wing (1923)
• A Man's Man (1923)
• East Side - West Side (1923)
• Temporary Marriage (1923)
• Little Church Around the Corner (1923)
• The Girl Who Came Back (1923)
• The Beautiful and Damned (1922)
• Thorns and Orange Blossoms (1922)
• The Toll of the Sea
  The Toll of the Sea
  The Toll of the Sea is an American drama film, directed by Chester M. Franklin, produced by the Technicolor Motion Picture Corporation, released by Metro Pictures, and featuring Anna May Wong in her first leading role....
  
  (1922)
• The World's a Stage (1922)
• The Married Flapper (1922)
• I Am the Law
  I Am the Law (film)
  I Am the Law is a film starring Alice Lake and Kenneth Harlan, and featuring Noah Beery, Sr. and Wallace Beery. The movie was written by James Oliver Curwood and Raymond L. Schrock, and directed by Edwin Carewe.-Cast:*Alice Lake as Joan Cameron...
  
  (1922)
• The Primitive Lover (1922)
• Polly of the Follies (1922)
• Received Payment (1922)
• Dawn of the East (1921)
• Woman's Place (1921)
• The Barricade (1921)
• Nobody (1921)
• Lessons in Love (1921)
• Mama's Affair
  Mama's Affair
  Mama's Affair is a 1921 silent film by Victor Fleming, based on the play of the same title by Rachel Barton Butler.A print of this film survives in the Library of Congress.-Cast:* Constance Talmadge - Eve Orrin* Effie Shannon - Mrs. Orrin...
  
  (1921)
• Dangerous Business (1920)
• Love, Honor and Obey (1920)
• The Penalty (1920/I)
• Going Some (1920)
• Dollars and Sense (1920)
• The Turning Point (1920)
• The Trembling Hour (1919)
• The Hoodlum (1919)
• The Microbe (1919)
• The Law That Divides (1918)
• Her Body in Bond (1918)
• Midnight Madness (1918)
• A Model's Confession (1918)
• The Marriage Lie (1918)
• The Wine Girl (1918)
• The Wife He Bought (1918)
• My Unmarried Wife (1918)
• A Man's Man (1918)
• The Lash of Power (1917)
• The Price of a Good Time (1917)
• The Flame of the Yukon (1917)
• Cheerful Givers (1917)
• Betsy's Burglar (1917)

Death

Harlan died from an aneurysm

Aneurysm

An aneurysm or aneurism is a localized, blood-filled balloon-like bulge in the wall of a blood vessel. Aneurysms can commonly occur in arteries at the base of the brain and an aortic aneurysm occurs in the main artery carrying blood from the left ventricle of the heart...

 in Sacramento, California

Sacramento, California

Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...

 and is buried at Hollywood Forever Cemetery

Hollywood Forever Cemetery

Hollywood Forever Cemetery, originally called Hollywood Memorial Park Cemetery, is one of the oldest cemeteries in Los Angeles, California. It is located at 6000 Santa Monica Boulevard in the Hollywood...

.

External links

• Kenneth Harlan at IBDb
• still of Ken, Ethel Barrymore & others in Lady Frederick Univ of Washington J. Willis Sayre Collection
• Kenneth Harlan portrait gallery NY Public Library Billy Rose Collection