Ethel Clayton was a convent-educated girl from Champaign, Illinois, who pursued a career in stage acting after completing her education. She initially secured small roles, but her big break came when she joined the Frawley Organization, a prominent touring stock company. She began with minor parts, gradually advancing to more substantial roles, and eventually earned star billing.
However, the emergence of motion pictures soon piqued her interest, and a visit to a film studio further sparked her curiosity. Producer Siegmund Lubin offered her a starring role in one of his productions, which she initially agreed to do "just this one time." She made her film debut in "The Great Divide," but after viewing the completed film, she consented to do another, "The Lion and the Mouse," in 1914.
Soon, she abandoned the stage altogether to focus on her film career, marking the beginning of a remarkable 30-year career that spanned over 180 films. Her final appearance was in "The Perils of Pauline" (1947),where she had an uncredited bit part, after which she left the screen. Ethel Clayton passed away in Oxnard, California, in 1966.
