Ethel Clayton (November 8, 1882 – June 6, 1966) was an American actress of the silent film film era.
On stage, Clayton appeared mainly in musicals or musical revues such as Ziegfeld Follies of 1911. In addition to that production, her Broadway credits include Fancy Free (1918), You're in Love (1917), Nobody Home (1915), The Red Canary (1914), The Brute (1912), and His Name on the Door (1909).
Clayton's first film was When the Earth Trembled. Following appearances on screen in Short film from 1909 to 1912, she made her feature-length film debut in For the Love of a Girl in 1912. Barry O'Neil directed the film, and Clayton later was directed by William Demille, Robert G. Vignola, George Melford and Donald Crisp in subsequent feature films. Like many silent film actors, Clayton's career was hurt by the coming of sound to motion pictures. She continued her career in small parts in films until she retired in 1948.
For her contributions to the motion picture industry, Clayton has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6936 Hollywood Boulevard.
| +Silent Film Career !Year !Title !Role !Notes | |||
| 1909 | Justified | Mrs. John Seymour | short |
| 1909 | Gratitude | Mrs. Ralph Farson | short |
| 1909 | The Brothers | Ethel Daily | short |
| 1909 | The Twelfth Juror | short | |
| 1910 | The Tout's Remembrance | Agnes Dudley | short |
| 1912 | For the Love of a Girl | Ethel | short |
| 1912 | A Romance of the Coast | Ethel Drayton | short |
| 1912 | The Doctor's Debt | Ethel Jordan | short |
| 1912 | The Last Rose of Summer | Ethel Boradon | short |
| 1912 | Pilgrim's Progress | Elizabeth | |
| 1912 | Just Maine Folk | Ethel | short |
| 1912 | An Irish Girl's Love | Kathleen | short |
| 1912 | The Wonderful One-Horse Shay | Ethel Hubbard | short |
| 1912 | Home Sweet Home | Mabel McCullum | short |
| 1913 | Art and Honor | Grace Hawkins | short |
| 1913 | His Children | Ethel Wynn | short |
| 1913 | Friend John | Ruth Rogers | short |
| 1913 | Heroes One and All | Jane Smiley | short |
| 1913 | The Faith of a Girl | Laura Mills | short |
| 1913 | A Hero Among Men | Ethel Menten | short |
| 1913 | Home, Sweet Home | Nell Barbour | short |
| 1913 | The Price Demanded | Rose Delane | short |
| 1913 | The New Gown | Elsie Biddle | short |
| 1913 | When Tony Pawned Lousia | Louisa | short |
| 1913 | The Police Inspector | short | |
| 1913 | Mary's Temptation | Mary Wilmer | short |
| 1913 | The Burning Rivet | Margaret Sullivan | short |
| 1913 | Seeds of Wealth | Aline Maxwell | short |
| 1913 | Self-Convicted | short | |
| 1913 | The Scarf Pin | Mary Forrest | short |
| 1913 | A Deal in Oil | Ethel Hammond | short |
| 1913 | His Code of Honor | Mary Dennis | short |
| 1913 | The Momentous Decision | Harry's Wife | short |
| 1913 | When the Earth Trembled | Dora Sims | Extant |
| 1913 | Partners in Crime | Esther Jansen | short |
| 1913 | The Scapegrace | Agnes Donald | short |
| 1913 | The Smuggler's Daughter | Jean Girot | short |
| 1913 | The Doctor's Romance | The Nurse | short |
| 1914 | The Lion and the Mouse | Shirley Rossmore/Sarah Green | |
| 1914 | The Catch of the Season | Frances Dean | short |
| 1914 | The Gamblers | Catherine Spencer Darwin | short |
| 1914 | A Daughter of Eve | Janet Dayton | short |
| 1914 | The House Next Door | Ulrica Cotswolt | |
| 1914 | The Wolf | Jules' Sweetheart | |
| 1914 | The Daughters of Men | Louise Stolbeck | |
| 1914 | The Fortune Hunter | Betty Graham | |
| 1915 | The Attorney for the Defense | Ruth Wingate | short |
| 1915 | The Furnace Man | Marjorie Gordon | short |
| 1915 | His Soul Mate | Nellie | short |
| 1915 | It All Depends | Clara Dean | short |
| 1915 | The Millinery Man | Nora Lyman | short |
| 1915 | A Woman Went Forth | Ethel Rogers | short |
| 1915 | Mazie Puts One Over | Mazie | short |
| 1915 | Here Comes the Bride | Reed's Stenographer | short |
| 1915 | The Blessed Miracle | Gail Bowman | short |
| 1915 | Monkey Business | Gerald's Fiancee | short |
| 1915 | The Unmarried Husband | Nell | short |
| 1915 | Capturing the Cook | Mabel Dinsmore | short |
| 1915 | Just Look at Jake | Elsie Bond | short |
| 1915 | The College Widow | Jane Witherspoon | Lost |
| 1915 | In the Dark | Julia Duval | short |
| 1915 | The Sporting Duchess | Lady Muriel Desborough | short |
| 1915 | The Darkness Before Dawn | Elsie Moore | short |
| 1915 | Money! Money! Money! | May | short |
| 1915 | When the Light Came In | Julia | short |
| 1915 | The Earl's Adventure | Sylvia Vantine | short |
| 1915 | A Day of Havoc | Estelle Adair | short |
| 1915 | The Deception | Frances Wharton | short |
| 1915 | It Was to Be | Anne Winton | short |
| 1915 | The Mirror | The Mountain Girl | short |
| 1915 | In Spite of Him | Elsie Biddle | short |
| 1915 | The Orgy | Nan Fuller | short |
| 1915 | The Great Divide | Ruth Jordan | Her last film produced by Lubin. Extant. |
| 1916 | Ophelia | Ophelia | |
| 1916 | Dollars and the Woman | Madge Hilyer | Lost |
| 1916 | His Brother's Wife | Helen Barton | |
| 1916 | A Woman's Way | Marion Livingstone | |
| 1916 | Husband and Wife | Doris Baker | |
| 1916 | The Hidden Scar | Janet Hall | |
| 1916 | Beyond the Wall | Helen Carlton/Virginia Carlton | |
| 1916 | The New South | Georgia Gwynne, as adult | |
| 1917 | The Bondage of Fear | Vesta Wheatley | |
| 1917 | The Woman Beneath | Betty Fairchild | |
| 1917 | The Web of Desire | Grace Miller | |
| 1917 | Man's Woman | Violet Galloway | |
| 1917 | Yankee Pluck | Polly Pollard | |
| 1917 | The Stolen Paradise | Joan Merrifield | Incomplete copy held by Library of Congress |
| 1917 | Souls Adrift | Elma Raybourne | |
| 1917 | The Dormant Power | Christine Brent | A copy is held at the EYE Filmmuseum |
| 1917 | Easy Money | Lois Page | |
| 1918 | Stolen Hours | Diana Lester | Copies are held by the LOC and National Archives of Canada |
| 1918 | The Whims of Society | Nora Carey | |
| 1918 | The Witch Woman | Marie Beaupre | Incomplete copy held by the LOC |
| 1918 | Journey's End | Aline Marsden | |
| 1918 | The Man Hunt | Betty Hammond | |
| 1918 | The Girl Who Came Back | Lois Hartner | |
| 1918 | A Soul Without Windows | Hopama | |
| 1918 | Women's Weapons | Anne Elliot | |
| 1918 | The Mystery Girl | Countess Therese/Driver 477 | |
| 1919 | Maggie Pepper | Maggie Pepper | |
| 1919 | Pettigrew's Girl | Daisy Heath | |
| 1919 | The Woman Next Door | Mrs. Randolph Schuyler/Vicky Van | |
| 1919 | Men, Women, and Money | Marcel Middleton | |
| 1919 | A Sporting Chance | Carey Brent | |
| 1919 | More Deadly Than the Male | Helen O'Hara | |
| 1920 | The Thirteenth Commandment | Daphne Kip | |
| 1920 | Young Mrs. Winthrop | Constance Winthrop | |
| 1920 | A Lady in Love | Barbara Martin | |
| 1920 | The Ladder of Lies | Edith Parrish | |
| 1920 | Crooked Streets | Gail Ellis | A copy is held at the LOC |
| 1920 | A City Sparrow | Milly West | |
| 1920 | The Sins of Rosanne | Rosanne Ozanne | A copy is held at the LOC |
| 1921 | Suppose Nobody Cared | Stenographer | |
| 1921 | The Price of Possession | Helen Carston | |
| 1921 | Sham | Katherine Van Riper | |
| 1921 | Wealth | Mary McLeod | |
| 1921 | Beyond | Avis Langely | A copy is held at the LOC |
| 1921 | Exit the Vamp | Marion Shipley | |
| 1922 | Her Own Money | Mildred Carr | |
| 1922 | The Cradle | Margaret Harvey | A copy is held at the LOC |
| 1922 | For the Defense | Anne Woodstock | |
| 1922 | If I Were Queen | Ruth Townley | |
| 1923 | Can a Woman Love Twice? | Mary Grant | |
| 1923 | The Remittance Woman | Marie Campbell | |
| 1925 | The Mansion of Aching Hearts | Pauline Craig | |
| 1925 | Wings of Youth | Katherine Manners | Lost |
| 1925 | Lightnin' | Margaret Davis | A copy is held by MoMA |
| 1926 | The Bar-C Mystery | Mrs. Lane | Lost |
| 1926 | The Merry Widower | The Hunter's Wife | |
| 1926 | Sunny Side Up | Cissy Cason | |
| 1926 | Risky Business | Mrs. Stoughton | |
| 1926 | His New York Wife | Alicia Duval | |
| 1927 | The Princess from Hoboken | Mrs. O'Brien | Lost |
| 1927 | The Princess on Broadway | Mrs. Seymour | Lost |
| 1928 | Mother Machree | unknown role | Incomplete |
| +Sound Film Career !Year !Title !Role !Notes | |||
| 1929 | Hit the Deck | Mrs. Payne | Sound debut |
| 1930 | Call of the Circus | The Woman | |
| 1932 | Hotel Continental | Mrs. Underwood | |
| 1932 | Thrill of Youth | Alice Fenwick | |
| 1932 | The Crooked Circle | Yvonne | |
| 1932 | The All American | Mrs. Bowen | |
| 1933 | Secrets | Audrey Carlton | |
| 1933 | Private Jones | Mrs. Winthrop | (uncredited) |
| 1933 | The Whispering Shadow | The Countess Helen | Chapters 5-8 |
| 1933 | Let's Fall in Love | Star | (uncredited) |
| 1936 | Yours for the Asking | Casino Patron | (uncredited) |
| 1936 | Hollywood Boulevard | Ethel Clayton | (uncredited) |
| 1936 | Easy to Take | Relative | (uncredited) |
| 1936 | The Accusing Finger | Unknown role | (uncredited) |
| 1937 | Rich Relations | Mrs. Blair | |
| 1937 | Waikiki Wedding | Tourist | (uncredited) |
| 1937 | King of Gamblers | Matron | (uncredited) |
| 1937 | Make Way for Tomorrow | Customer | (uncredited) |
| 1937 | Turn Off the Moon | Lady | (uncredited) |
| 1937 | Easy Living | Unknown role | (uncredited) |
| 1937 | Exclusive | Matron | (uncredited) |
| 1937 | Artist and Models | Seamstress | (uncredited) |
| 1937 | Blonde Trouble | Townswoman | (uncredited) |
| 1937 | Souls at Sea | Passenger | (uncredited) |
| 1937 | Partners in Crime | Minor role | (uncredited) |
| 1937 | Hold 'Em Navy | Girl | |
| 1937 | Bulldog Drummond's Revenge | Minor role | (uncredited) |
| 1937 | Well's Fargo | Pioneer Woman | (uncredited) |
| 1938 | The Buccaneer | Woman selecting perfumes | (uncredited) |
| 1938 | The Big Broadcast of 1938 | Woman | (uncredited) |
| 1938 | Scandal Street | Minor role | (uncredited) |
| 1938 | Bulldog Drummond's Peril | Minor role | (uncredited) |
| 1938 | Cocoanut Grove | Unknown role | (uncredited) |
| 1938 | You and Me | Employment Agency Clerk | (uncredited) |
| 1938 | Men with Wings | Woman | (uncredited) |
| 1938 | Sing, You Sinners | Minor role | (uncredited) |
| 1938 | If I Were King | Old Woman | (uncredited) |
| 1938 | The Arkansas Traveler | Townswoman | (uncredited) |
| 1938 | Say It in French | Minor role | (uncredited) |
| 1938 | Ride a Crooked Mile | Prison Visitor | (uncredited) |
| 1938 | Artists and Models Abroad | Woman | (uncredited) |
| 1938 | Tom Sawyer, Detective | Minor role | (uncredited) |
| 1938 | Paris Honeymoon | Unknown role | (uncredited) |
| 1939 | Ambush | Bank Customer | (uncredited) |
| 1939 | Boy Trouble | Small Town Woman | (uncredited) |
| 1939 | St. Louis Blues | Dancer | (uncredited) |
| 1939 | Cafe Society | Woman | (uncredited) |
| 1939 | The Sap Takes a Wrap | Mrs. Wallace | Short |
| 1939 | King of Chinatown | Nightclub Patron | (uncredited) |
| 1939 | I'm from Missouri | Minor role | (uncredited) |
| 1939 | Geronimo | Settler | (uncredited) |
| 1940 | Love Thy Neighbor | Minor role | (uncredited) |
| 1941 | West Point Widow | Nurse | (uncredited) |
| 1941 | New York Town | Minor role | (uncredited) |
| 1942 | Beyond the Blue Horizon | Guest at Chase's Residence | (uncredited) |
| 1942 | The Major and the Minor | Cadet Ball Guest | (uncredited) |
| 1942 | Lucky Jordan | Minor role | (uncredited) |
| 1943 | Lady Bodyguard | Woman | (uncredited) |
| 1943 | Dixie | Woman | (uncredited) |
| 1943 | Mardi Gras | Mardi Gras Woman | Short (uncredited) |
| 1943 | True to Life | Minor role | (uncredited) |
| 1944 | Henry Aldrich's Little Secret | Minor role | (uncredited) |
| 1947 | The Perils of Pauline | Lady Montague in Show | Final Role (uncredited) |
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