Anita King
Encyclopedia
Anita King was an American
stunt driver
, actress, and thoroughbred racehorse owner.
, her father committed suicide
in 1896 when she was twelve years old and two years later her mother died of pulmonary tuberculosis. Left an impoverished orphan
with siblings, Keppen went to work as a house servant and in her late teens moved to Chicago
. There, the attractive young girl found employment doing modeling and acting in minor parts in theatre
.
Around 1908 she moved to the West Coast
where she developed a fascination with powerful cars after working as a model at California
auto shows. Keppen soon learned to drive and by the early 1910s was competing in auto races. Following her hospital recovery from an accident in a race in Phoenix, Arizona
, she gave up racing and, with the rapid growth of the Hollywood film industry, returned to acting using the stage name
Anita King. Her theatre experience opened the door to small roles with the Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Company
under director Cecil B. DeMille
that evolved to good supporting parts in comedy film
s.
, and his newly formed Paramount Pictures
, they got the Kissel Motor Car Company
to provide her with a vehicle equipped with Firestone
tires. Dubbed "The Paramount Girl," amidst much publicity on August 25, she set out in her Kissel Kar from Paramount's studio in Hollywood. The Los Angeles Times
is reported to have written, "There will be nobody with her at any time on the trip. Her only companions will be a rifle
and a six shooter
." First heading north to San Francisco, King spent several days doing publicity appearances at the Panama-Pacific World's Fair
. With even more fanfare, and declaring that "if men can do it, so can a woman," she headed east. After many promotional stops along the way, and coverage by major newspapers coast to coast, on 19 October, after forty-nine days on the road, King received a hero's welcome in New York City
, with one newspaper remarking she had arrived with California air in her tires.
of a movie version of her trip titled "The Race." King made numerous public appearances on behalf of the studio, the Kissel, and Firestone, doing daredevil
auto stunts and being photographed with the likes of Barney Oldfield
driving his famous Golden Submarine. King used her fame to do charitable works and helped organize a recreation club for young girls trying to get a start in the film business. In 1918, when the U.S. had become involved in World War I
, she made a national speaking tour on behalf of the war effort, driving alone across the southern part of the United States from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C.
.
King appeared in fourteen films while at Paramount, including four with major star Wallace Reid
, but in 1918 left to work with Triangle Film Corporation
and other studios. She made her last film in 1919 and with the rapid changes in automotive technology plus new and more spectacular racing events, quickly faded from the public eye. Family members said she did not make it in the "talkies" because she had too low of a voice from years of cigarette smoking.
Her first marriage was to James Stuart McKnight, a National Guard officer serving during World War I
in Paris, France. In the early 1930s, she married Timothy M. McKenna, a wealthy steelmaker. Widowed in the 1940s, she became part of the Hollywood elite, joining such others as Louis B. Mayer
and William Goetz
as owners of thoroughbred
racehorses. In 1951, jockey
Johnny Longden
rode her colt Moonrush to victory in the Santa Anita Handicap
.
in 1963 at her home in Hollywood and is buried at Forest Lawn in Glendale, California
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
stunt driver
Stunt performer
A stuntman, or daredevil is someone who performs dangerous stunts, often as a career.These stunts are sometimes rigged so that they look dangerous while still having safety mechanisms, but often they are as dangerous as they appear to be...
, actress, and thoroughbred racehorse owner.
Early life
Born Anna Keppen to German immigrants in Michigan City, IndianaMichigan City, Indiana
Michigan City's origins date to 1830, when the land for the city was first purchased by Isaac C. Elston. Elston Middle School, formerly Elston High School, located at 317 Detroit St., is named after the founder....
, her father committed suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
in 1896 when she was twelve years old and two years later her mother died of pulmonary tuberculosis. Left an impoverished orphan
Orphan
An orphan is a child permanently bereaved of or abandoned by his or her parents. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents is called an orphan...
with siblings, Keppen went to work as a house servant and in her late teens moved to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. There, the attractive young girl found employment doing modeling and acting in minor parts in theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
.
Around 1908 she moved to the West Coast
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
where she developed a fascination with powerful cars after working as a model at California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
auto shows. Keppen soon learned to drive and by the early 1910s was competing in auto races. Following her hospital recovery from an accident in a race in Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
, she gave up racing and, with the rapid growth of the Hollywood film industry, returned to acting using the stage name
Stage name
A stage name, also called a showbiz name or screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, wrestlers, comedians, and musicians.-Motivation to use a stage name:...
Anita King. Her theatre experience opened the door to small roles with the Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Company
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
under director Cecil B. DeMille
Cecil B. DeMille
Cecil Blount DeMille was an American film director and Academy Award-winning film producer in both silent and sound films. He was renowned for the flamboyance and showmanship of his movies...
that evolved to good supporting parts in comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
s.
Across the United States
In 1915, King decided to put her automobile driving experience to the test and set out to become the first female to drive alone across the continental United States. With the backing of studio boss Jesse L. LaskyJesse L. Lasky
Jesse Louis Lasky, Sr. was a pioneer Hollywood film producer. He was a key founder of Paramount Pictures with Adolph Zukor, and father of screenwriter Jesse L...
, and his newly formed Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
, they got the Kissel Motor Car Company
Kissel Motor Car Company
The Kissel Motor Car Company was an American automobile manufacturing company founded by Louis Kissel and his sons, George and William, on June 5, 1906 in Hartford, Wisconsin. The company custom built high-quality automobiles, hearses, fire trucks, taxicabs, and utility vehicles from their plant at...
to provide her with a vehicle equipped with Firestone
Firestone Tire and Rubber Company
The Firestone Tire and Rubber Company is an American tire company founded by Harvey Firestone in 1900 to supply pneumatic tires for wagons, buggies, and other forms of wheeled transportation common in the era. Firestone soon saw the huge potential for marketing tires for automobiles. The company...
tires. Dubbed "The Paramount Girl," amidst much publicity on August 25, she set out in her Kissel Kar from Paramount's studio in Hollywood. The Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
is reported to have written, "There will be nobody with her at any time on the trip. Her only companions will be a rifle
Rifle
A rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves cut into the barrel walls. The raised areas of the rifling are called "lands," which make contact with the projectile , imparting spin around an axis corresponding to the...
and a six shooter
Revolver
A revolver is a repeating firearm that has a cylinder containing multiple chambers and at least one barrel for firing. The first revolver ever made was built by Elisha Collier in 1818. The percussion cap revolver was invented by Samuel Colt in 1836. This weapon became known as the Colt Paterson...
." First heading north to San Francisco, King spent several days doing publicity appearances at the Panama-Pacific World's Fair
Panama-Pacific International Exposition (1915)
The Panama-Pacific International Exposition was a world's fair held in San Francisco, California between February 20 and December 4 in 1915. Its ostensible purpose was to celebrate the completion of the Panama Canal, but it was widely seen in the city as an opportunity to showcase its recovery...
. With even more fanfare, and declaring that "if men can do it, so can a woman," she headed east. After many promotional stops along the way, and coverage by major newspapers coast to coast, on 19 October, after forty-nine days on the road, King received a hero's welcome in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, with one newspaper remarking she had arrived with California air in her tires.
Fame
King's accomplishment made her a national celebrity and Paramount Studios quickly began production with director George MelfordGeorge Melford
George H. Melford was an American stage and film actor, director, producer, and screenwriter.-Career:...
of a movie version of her trip titled "The Race." King made numerous public appearances on behalf of the studio, the Kissel, and Firestone, doing daredevil
Stunt performer
A stuntman, or daredevil is someone who performs dangerous stunts, often as a career.These stunts are sometimes rigged so that they look dangerous while still having safety mechanisms, but often they are as dangerous as they appear to be...
auto stunts and being photographed with the likes of Barney Oldfield
Barney Oldfield
Berna Eli "Barney" Oldfield was an automobile racer and pioneer. He was born on a farm on the outskirts of Wauseon, Ohio. He was the first man to drive a car at 60 miles per hour on an oval...
driving his famous Golden Submarine. King used her fame to do charitable works and helped organize a recreation club for young girls trying to get a start in the film business. In 1918, when the U.S. had become involved in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, she made a national speaking tour on behalf of the war effort, driving alone across the southern part of the United States from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
.
King appeared in fourteen films while at Paramount, including four with major star Wallace Reid
Wallace Reid
Wallace Reid was an actor in silent film referred to as "the screen's most perfect lover".-Early life:Born William Wallace Reid in St...
, but in 1918 left to work with Triangle Film Corporation
Triangle Film Corporation
Triangle Film Corporation was a major American motion-picture studio, founded in the summer of 1915 in Culver City, California, and envisioned as a prestige studio based on the producing abilities of filmmakers D. W. Griffith, Thomas Ince and Mack Sennett...
and other studios. She made her last film in 1919 and with the rapid changes in automotive technology plus new and more spectacular racing events, quickly faded from the public eye. Family members said she did not make it in the "talkies" because she had too low of a voice from years of cigarette smoking.
Her first marriage was to James Stuart McKnight, a National Guard officer serving during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
in Paris, France. In the early 1930s, she married Timothy M. McKenna, a wealthy steelmaker. Widowed in the 1940s, she became part of the Hollywood elite, joining such others as Louis B. Mayer
Louis B. Mayer
Louis Burt Mayer born Lazar Meir was an American film producer. He is generally cited as the creator of the "star system" within Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in its golden years. Known always as Louis B...
and William Goetz
William Goetz
William Goetz was an American Hollywood film producer and studio executive. William Goetz died of cancer in 1969 at his home in Los Angeles and was buried in Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in Culver City, California....
as owners of thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
racehorses. In 1951, jockey
Jockey
A jockey is an athlete who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing.-Etymology:...
Johnny Longden
Johnny Longden
John Eric Longden was an American Hall of Fame jockey. He was born in Wakefield, Yorkshire, England but his father wanted to build a better life for his family so in 1909 emigrated to Canada, settling in Taber, Alberta. By 1912 Longden Sr. had saved enough money to send for his wife and young son...
rode her colt Moonrush to victory in the Santa Anita Handicap
Santa Anita Handicap
The Santa Anita Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in early March at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. It is a Grade I race for horses four years old and up , and is considered the most important race for older horses in North America during the winter racing season...
.
Death
King died of a heart attackMyocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
in 1963 at her home in Hollywood and is buried at Forest Lawn in Glendale, California
Glendale, California
Glendale is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the city population is 191,719, down from 194,973 at the 2000 census. making it the third largest city in Los Angeles County and the 22nd largest city in the state of California...
.