Volume III: Biographies

KINGSTON, Winifred *

Actress (1915)

Winifred Kingston Courtesy Q. David Bowers (N-4)

Thanhouser Career Synopsis: Winifred Kingston appeared in Thanhouser films in 1915.

Biographical Notes: Winifred Kingston was born in London, England on November 11, 1894 (one account says 1886), and was educated in Edinburgh, Scotland, in France, and at the Convent of the Sacred Heart in Brussels, Belgium. Languages in which she was fluent included German, Italian, and French, in addition to her native English. Her stage debut was as Polly Love in 1906, in the London performance of The Christian. While in London, Miss Kingston achieved recognition under the management of Charles Frohman and with Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree. In the United States, where she arrived around 1909, Winifred Kingston appeared in many productions, including The Servant in the House, Thais, Pomander Walk, The Elixir of Youth, and Seven Sisters, under the management of Joseph Gaites, Henry Miller, and others.

In 1913, a news article told of her hobby, collecting shoes, of which she had 40 pairs of all sorts by that time. Her other hobbies included horticulture, horseback riding, tennis, and reading. In 1914 she appeared on the screen in the January All Star release of Soldiers of Fortune. In the same year she was a member of the Jesse Lasky Feature Play Company and appeared in such 1914 and 1915 films as The Squaw Man, The Call of the North, The Only Son, Brewster's Millions, Where the Trail Divides, Cameo Kirby and The Virginian. In 1914 she posed for artist Cole Phillips, known for his "fade-away girls," for a magazine cover.

The New Rochelle Pioneer, July 31, 1915, noted that she was a newcomer at the Thanhouser studio. An article in Reel Life, August 14, 1915, told of her arrival: "Winifred Kingston, well remembered for her work in The Servant in the House, also as a member of the all-star cast of Thais, and who, at times, was leading woman for Cyril Scott and other noted stars of the legitimate, recently became a member of the Thanhouser stock company. It is almost certain that Miss Kingston will make her debut to Mutual audiences in a three-reel Thanhouser release, which is being prepared for her by Phil Lonergan. Miss Kingston, is, however, not unknown to film fans for, under the Paramount trade-mark, she was starred in several feature productions released by that concern. Miss Kingston has been in this country about six years. In London, where she was the featured player in a number of notable stage successes, Miss Kingston won an enviable name for herself. For several seasons she played leading roles at the Scala Theatre. Later she scored on of her biggest successes in Hypocrites, which was presented under the management of Charles Frohman."

The October 1916 Motion Picture News Studio Directory noted that she was 5'3" tall, weighed 110 pounds, and had a fair complexion and red hair. A biographical sketch in The Moving Picture World, March 10, 1917, gave her height as 5', her weight as 107 pounds, and noted that she had a fair complexion, chestnut hair, and gray eyes. According to an article in the same publication, March 18, 1916, her mother was her constant companion.

In 1916 she appeared in the Pallas releases of David Garrick and Davy Crockett, after which she was in Durand of the Bad Lands (Fox, 1917), The Light of Western Stars (Sherman Productions for United Pictures, 1918), and other films, remaining in pictures through at least 1929. A nationwide news release, issued by the Fox Film Corporation on May 19, 1917, told of Miss Kingston's part in supporting American troops overseas. By that time she had personally knitted more than 50 mufflers to keep American soldiers warm. In 1918 she lived at 1862 Cherokee Avenue in Hollywood. Winifred Kingston was married to famous stage and screen actor Dustin Farnum (1874-July 3, 1929) and was the sister-in-law of screen actor William Farnum (July 4, 1876-June 5, 1953). She later married Carman R. Runyon, a New York oil company executive. Winifred Kingston died on February 3, 1967 in LaJolla, California and was survived by a daughter, Mrs. Louise J. Bitterlin, of San Diego; a sister, and five grandchildren.

Thanhouser Filmography:

1915: The Road to Fame (9-28-1915), The Light on the Reef (10-5-1915), The Seventh Noon (Mutual 11-4-1915)

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