Anita King (August 14, 1884 – June 10, 1963) was an American stunt driver, actress, and thoroughbred racehorse owner. In 1915, she became the first woman to drive a car unaccompanied across the United States, with her 49-day journey from Hollywood to New York City.

Early life

Born Anna Keppen to German immigrants in Michigan City, Indiana, her father committed suicide in 1896 when she was twelve years old and two years later her mother died of

pulmonary tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

. Left an impoverished

orphan An orphan (from the el, ορφανός, orphanós) is a child whose parents have died. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents due to death is called an orphan. When referring to animals, only the mother's condition is usuall ...

with siblings, Keppen went to work as a house servant and in her late teens moved to

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. There, the attractive young girl found employment doing modeling and acting in minor parts in

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

. Around 1908 she moved to the West Coast where she developed a fascination with powerful cars after working as a model at

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

auto shows. Keppen soon learned to drive and by the early 1910s was competing in auto races. The Lasky studio historian, Boswell McGaffey, claimed that she was the first woman automobile racing driver. Following her hospital recovery from an accident in a race in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the on ...

, 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 roles with the

Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Company Jesse Louis Lasky (September 13, 1880 – January 13, 1958) was an American pioneer motion picture producer who was a key founder of what was to become Paramount Pictures, and father of screenwriter Jesse L. Lasky Jr. Early life Born in to ...

under director

Cecil B. DeMille Cecil Blount DeMille (; August 12, 1881January 21, 1959) was an American film director, producer and actor. Between 1914 and 1958, he made 70 features, both silent and sound films. He is acknowledged as a founding father of the American cine ...

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. Lasky, and his newly formed Paramount Pictures, they got the

Kissel Motor Car Company The Kissel Motor Car Company was an American automobile and truck manufacturer founded by Louis Kissel and his sons, in Hartford, Wisconsin. The company custom built high-quality automobiles, hearses, Fire engine, fire trucks, taxicabs, and truck ...

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 The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'' wrote, "Her only companions will be a rifle and a six shooter." Lasky arranged for

Geraldine Farrar Alice Geraldine Farrar (February 28, 1882 – March 11, 1967) was an American lyric soprano who could also sing dramatic roles. She was noted for her beauty, acting ability, and "the intimate timbre of her voice." She had a large following a ...

to bid farewell to King at the start of the trip. First heading north to

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, 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 at Paramount theaters 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, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, with ''Motor Age'' remarking she had arrived with "Los Angeles air in the front tires of her car".

Fame

King's accomplishment made her a national celebrity and Paramount Studios quickly began production of a movie version of her trip titled "The Race", directed by

George Melford George H. Melford (born George Henry Knauff, February 19, 1877 – April 25, 1961) was an American stage and film actor and director. Often taken for granted as a director today, the stalwart Melford's name by the 1920s was, like Cecil B. DeMil ...

. 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 Berna Eli "Barney" Oldfield (January 29, 1878 – October 4, 1946) was an American pioneer automobile racer; his "name was synonymous with speed in the first two decades of the 20th century". After success in bicycle racing, he began auto ...

driving his famous '' Golden Submarine''. She 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 (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, 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

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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 Triangle Film Corporation (also known as Triangle Motion Picture Company) was a major American motion-picture studio, founded in July 1915 in Culver City, California and terminated 7 years later in 1922. History The studio was founded in July 1 ...

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 James Stuart McKnight (November 15, 1884 – December 25, 1950) was a National Guard officer who served in World War I, an attorney and a member of the City Council in Los Angeles, California, in 1931 and 1932. He also served in the California St ...

, a

National Guard National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. Nat ...

officer serving during

Paris, France Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

."English Tots Most Ill-Fed," ''Los Angeles Times,'' October 12, 1919, page II-7
code>Library card required In the early 1930s, she married Thomas Morrison McKenna, a wealthy steelmaker. Widowed in the 1940s, she became part of the Hollywood elite, joining such others as

Louis B. Mayer Louis Burt Mayer (; born Lazar Meir; July 12, 1882 or 1884 or 1885 – October 29, 1957) was a Canadian-American film producer and co-founder of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios (MGM) in 1924. Under Mayer's management, MGM became the film industr ...

and

William Goetz William B. Goetz (March 24, 1903 – August 15, 1969) was an American film producer and studio executive. Goetz was one of the founders of Twentieth Century Pictures, and later served as vice president of 20th Century Fox after the merger with ...

as owners of

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. Thoroughbreds are ...

racehorses. In 1951, jockey Johnny Longden rode her colt Moonrush to victory in the

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 was once considered the most important race for o ...

Death

King died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

in 1963 at her home in Hollywood and is buried at Forest Lawn in Glendale, California.

Partial filmography

*'' The Man from Home'' (1914) *'' The Virginian'' (1914) *''

Temptation Temptation is a desire to engage in short-term urges for enjoyment that threatens long-term goals.Webb, J.R. (Sep 2014). Incorporating Spirituality into Psychology of temptation: Conceptualization, measurement, and clinical implications. Sp ...

'' (1915) *'' The Girl of the Golden West'' (1915) *'' Snobs'' (1915) *'' The Race'' (1916) *''

Anton the Terrible ''Anton the Terrible'' is a 1916 American drama silent film directed by William C. deMille and written by Marion Fairfax, Jules Eckert Goodman and Charles Sarver. The film stars Theodore Roberts, Anita King, Horace B. Carpenter, Harrison Ford ...

'' (1916) *'' Maria Rosa'' (1916) *'' The Heir to the Hoorah'' (1916) *'' The Golden Fetter'' (1917) *'' The Squaw Man's Son'' (1917)

Other sources

* Tejera, P. (2018).
Reinas de la carretera
'. Madrid. Ediciones Casiopea. (paper) / (digital). Spanish edit.

References

External links

* * * * *Tejera, P. (2018).
Reinas de la carretera
'. Madrid: Ediciones Casiopea.
"A Reliable Car and a Woman Who Knows It" by Curt McConnell - Google Books
{{DEFAULTSORT:King, Anita American racehorse owners and breeders American silent film actresses American women in World War I American people of German descent Actresses from Indiana People from Michigan City, Indiana 1884 births 1963 deaths Racing drivers from Indiana Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale) 20th-century American actresses