Kate Bruce

A David Wark Griffith favourite matriarchal figure often playing mother characters. Kate Bruce appeared 292 times on the screen from 1908 to 1930, in movies including "Intolerance", "The Idol Dancer", "Way Down East", "The Mother" and "The Law and or The Two Orphans". She was a close friend of actresses Lillian and Dorothy Gish, who supported Bruce financially for much of her life, including paying her rent in a little Hotel on Madison Avenue in New York. Lillian's maid would take care of her room once a week. Bruce would dine at Lillian's apartment several times a week. A very secretive and shy person, Bruce did not talk about her past or background. Lillian often compared her to a nun since her life was very austere and lonely.