Kathleen B. Burke (September 5, 1913 – April 9, 1980) was an American movie actress of the 1930s and former model.

Early years

Born in Hammond, Indiana, in 1913, Burke was a graduate of Hammond High School. She moved with her parents to Chicago when she was 15, and she acted in amateur productions there. She worked as a dental assistant in Chicago.

Career

Burke was a fashion model and acted on radio in Chicago before winning a talent contest sponsored by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

to play Lota the Panther Woman in '' Island of Lost Souls'' (1932), the first sound film adaptation of H.G. Wells's novel '' The Island of Dr. Moreau''. The contest, announced in July 1932, reportedly had 60,000 applicants from around the country. Burke was announced as the winner on September 29. This success led to more than a score of screen appearances over the following six years, most notably as the leading lady in '' The Lives of a Bengal Lancer'' (1935) opposite

Gary Cooper Gary Cooper (born Frank James Cooper; May 7, 1901May 13, 1961) was an American actor known for his strong, quiet screen persona and understated acting style. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice and had a further three nominations, a ...

, and '' The Last Outpost'' with

Cary Grant Cary Grant (born Archibald Alec Leach; January 18, 1904November 29, 1986) was an English-American actor. He was known for his Mid-Atlantic accent, debonair demeanor, light-hearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing. He was one o ...

that same year. Her final film role was in 1938, whereupon she retired from screen acting at the age of 25. By the early 1940s, Burke sought to escape the Panther Woman image by acting on stage in other kinds of roles. In 1942, she acted in both a drama, ''Night Must Fall'', and a comedy, ''Yes, My Darling Daughter'' in summer theater at

Great Neck, New York Great Neck is a region on Long Island, New York, that covers a peninsula on the North Shore (Long Island), North Shore and includes nine villages, among them Great Neck (village), New York, Great Neck, Great Neck Estates, New York, Great Neck Es ...

Personal life

Burke married Glenn Rardin, a photographer whose pictures of her helped her to win a nationwide Panther Girl contest. They separated less than two months after the wedding, reconciled, then separated again and eventually divorced on November 8, 1934. She was also married to Jose Fernandez, a Spanish dancer from Mexico. Her last marriage was to Forrest Smith, who survived her.

Death

Burke died on April 9, 1980, in Chicago, at age 66.

Partial filmography

*'' Island of Lost Souls'' (1932) - Lota, the Panther Woman *''

Murders in the Zoo ''Murders in the Zoo'' is 1933 pre-Code horror film directed by A. Edward Sutherland, written by Philip Wylie and Seton I. Miller. Particularly dark, even for its time, film critic Leonard Maltin called the film "astonishingly grisly." Plot Bi ...

'' (1933) - Evelyn Gorman *'' Sunset Pass'' (1933) - Jane Preston *''

Torch Singer A torch song is a sentimental love song, typically one in which the singer laments an unrequited or lost love, either where one party is oblivious to the existence of the other, where one party has moved on, or where a romantic affair has affecte ...

'' (1933) - Sobbing Girl (uncredited) *''

The Mad Game ''The Mad Game'' is a 1933 American Pre-Code crime drama film starring Spencer Tracy and Claire Trevor. Plot The film concerns an imprisoned bootlegger (Spencer Tracy) recruited from incarceration to help capture his own gang after they kidnap ...

'' (1933) - Marilyn Kirk *''

Six of a Kind ''Six of a Kind'' is an American 1934 pre-Code comedy film directed by Leo McCarey and starring Charles Ruggles, Mary Boland, W.C. Fields, George Burns, and Gracie Allen. It is a whimsical and often absurd road movie about two couples who decid ...

'' (1934) - Woman (uncredited) *''

Good Dame ''Good Dame'' is a 1934 American pre-Code drama film directed by Marion Gering and written by Sam Hellman, Vincent Lawrence and William R. Lipman. The film stars Sylvia Sidney, Fredric March, Jack La Rue, Noel Francis, Russell Hopton, Bradley P ...

'' (1934) - Zandra *''

School for Girls ''School for Girls'' is a 1935 American drama film directed by William Nigh and starring Sidney Fox, Paul Kelly and Lois Wilson.

'' (1934) - Gladys Deacon *'' Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back'' (1934) - Jane Sothern (uncredited) *''

The Merry Widow ''The Merry Widow'' (german: Die lustige Witwe, links=no ) is an operetta by the Austro-Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. The librettists, Viktor Léon and Leo Stein, based the story – concerning a rich widow, and her countrymen's attempt t ...

'' (1934) - Prisoner (uncredited) *'' The Lives of a Bengal Lancer'' (1935) - Tania Volkanskaya *'' Rocky Mountain Mystery'' (1935) - Flora Ballard *'' Mutiny Ahead'' (1935) - Carol Bixby *''

The Awakening of Jim Burke ''The Awakening of Jim Burke'' is a 1935 American drama film directed by Lambert Hillyer and written by Michael L. Simmons. The film stars Jack Holt, Florence Rice, Jimmy Butler, Kathleen Burke, Robert Middlemass and Ralph Remley. The film was ...

'' (1935) - Laura *'' Navy Wife'' (1935) - Serena Morrison *'' The Last Outpost'' (1935) - Ilya *''

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

'' (1935) - Hettie Ide *''

The Lion Man ''The Lion Man'' is a New Zealand television documentary series about a New Zealand big cat park called Zion Wildlife Gardens. The series was named after Craig Busch, the park's founder, who had styled himself as "the Lion Man". The series foll ...

'' (1936) - Adelaide Passmore *''

Craig's Wife ''Craig's Wife'' is a 1925 play written by American playwright George Kelly. It won the 1926 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and has been adapted for three feature films. Production ''Craig's Wife'' premiered on Broadway at the Morosco Theatre on ...

'' (1936) - Eulilah *''

The Sheik Steps Out ''The Sheik Steps Out'' is a 1937 American musical film directed by Irving Pichel and written by Adele Buffington and Gordon Kahn. The film stars Ramon Novarro, Lola Lane, Gene Lockhart, Kathleen Burke, Stanley Fields and Billy Bevan. The film w ...

'' (1937) - Gloria Parker *''

Boy of the Streets ''Boy of the Streets'' is a 1937 American drama film directed by William Nigh and written by Gilson Brown and Scott Darling. The film stars Jackie Cooper, Maureen O'Connor, Kathleen Burke, Robert Emmett O'Connor, Marjorie Main and Matty Fain. Th ...

'' (1938) - Julie Stone *'' Rascals'' (1938) - Dr. Carter's Nurse (final film role)

References

External links

* *
Photographs and literature

Kathleen Burke Wins Nationwide Contest! The Road to Panther Woman in Island of Lost Souls
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burke, Kathleen American film actresses 1913 births 1980 deaths Actresses from Indiana Actresses from Chicago People from Hammond, Indiana 20th-century American actresses American radio actresses American stage actresses