Opera Singer, Actress. A respected mezzo soprano in a number of major venues, she later gained success in Hollywood. After early vocal training in Buffalo, New York, she studied in Berlin, then in Paris, at the school of the great Polish tenor Jean de Reszke, before making her 1907 operatic bow at Metz as Azucena in Verd's "Il Trovatore." She was a member of the company in Darmstadt between 1909 and 1912, toured London and St. Petersburg, and briefly joined the New York Century Opera Company before her 1916 debut at New York's Metropolitan Opera as the Third Lady in Mozart's "The Magic Flute." A Metropolitan regular until 1928, she sang 39 roles at the house, and, on December 14, 1918, was the greedy Aunt Zita in the world premiere of Puccini's comic masterpiece "Gianni Schicchi," under the baton of Roberto Moranzoni, with Giuseppe de Luca as the title crooked lawyer and Florence Easton as his daughter, Lauretta. As Kathleen's voice began to fade, she switched to acting, specializing in comedic character roles in several dozen Hollywood features. She made her silver screen debut with the 1934 "Death Takes a Holiday." Probably her best known roles were two as W. C. Fields' nagging wife in 1934's "It's a Gift" and in 1935's "Man on the Flying Trapeze." She left the screen with the 1950 "Born to Be Bad," and was, for a time, the fashion editor of "Harper's Bazaar." Kathleen published a 1918 autobiography, "Confessions of an Opera Singer." Little remains of her small recorded legacy, though she can be seen in clips from several of her films.
Opera Singer, Actress. A respected mezzo soprano in a number of major venues, she later gained success in Hollywood. After early vocal training in Buffalo, New York, she studied in Berlin, then in Paris, at the school of the great Polish tenor Jean de Reszke, before making her 1907 operatic bow at Metz as Azucena in Verd's "Il Trovatore." She was a member of the company in Darmstadt between 1909 and 1912, toured London and St. Petersburg, and briefly joined the New York Century Opera Company before her 1916 debut at New York's Metropolitan Opera as the Third Lady in Mozart's "The Magic Flute." A Metropolitan regular until 1928, she sang 39 roles at the house, and, on December 14, 1918, was the greedy Aunt Zita in the world premiere of Puccini's comic masterpiece "Gianni Schicchi," under the baton of Roberto Moranzoni, with Giuseppe de Luca as the title crooked lawyer and Florence Easton as his daughter, Lauretta. As Kathleen's voice began to fade, she switched to acting, specializing in comedic character roles in several dozen Hollywood features. She made her silver screen debut with the 1934 "Death Takes a Holiday." Probably her best known roles were two as W. C. Fields' nagging wife in 1934's "It's a Gift" and in 1935's "Man on the Flying Trapeze." She left the screen with the 1950 "Born to Be Bad," and was, for a time, the fashion editor of "Harper's Bazaar." Kathleen published a 1918 autobiography, "Confessions of an Opera Singer." Little remains of her small recorded legacy, though she can be seen in clips from several of her films.
Bio by: Bob Hufford
Family Members
Advertisement
See more Howard memorials in:
Explore more
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
