A vast majority of cat actors whose heyday happened to fall within the era of silent film are lost to history simply because the movies they starred in have disappeared over time. What we’re often left with are tantalizing snippets of these famous felines via press releases to print media. Of course many of these tales are likely only flights of fancy; concoctions of some imaginative publicist who saw a way of getting a tidbit of notoriety for their clients . . . but darn it if they don’t manage to capture our attention yet today.

Such is the case with Leo Paxton, a ginger tabby cat (purported to be either Angora or Persian) who had a few brief moments of fame in the movie world of Hollywood in the early 1920’s. Not under contract to any one studio, it seemed that Leo was a freelancer, or perhaps better described as an animal extra, available to any and all studios. However, we suspect Leo made more money than his human counterparts, having unique qualifications not found amongst the other hopefuls lining up each morning at the various studio gates. And chances are Leo was lucky enough to be called to the studios for specific work, unlike those who sat by their phones hoping for a ring from Central Casting.

Indeed, Leo must have been raking in some dough, since his most notable claim to fame was having his own bank account, a story which was first told in the Los Angeles Evening Express on July 15, 1922:

Feline Movie Star Boasts Bank Account

    The only cat in the world having a bank account and safety deposit box is Leo Paxton, famous movie feline, who has just opened an account with the Citizens Trust and Savings Bank, — Hill Street.
    Leo is an orange Persian, the distinguished pet of Mrs. Lillian Paxton (Mrs. Lillian Peddersen), —- Wilcox Avenue, Hollywood. It may be more than a coincidence that the cat has chosen a banking institution which affords night banking facilities and his account, established for convenience at the Hollywood branch of the Citizens Trust and Savings bank, runs into four figures.
    His salary each week equals that of many professional actors. Some day it is planned to divert this savings account into a trust for cats and dumb animals less fortunate than Leo.
    Almost any morning Leo can be seen on his way to one of the great film studios. He darts in and out of traffic like a great orange ball. If a motor car is standing at the curb he often climbs into the seat to ask for a lift. Straight to the casting office he goes to gates that always swing open when Leo arrives. Even the gate of the teller’s window at the bank is unlocked at the entrance of this pedigreed depositor. Leo has the privileges of a great screen star.
    Society dramas are his favorites. Unlike some screen stars, he is said to “act natural” at all times. He will pose for hours undaunted by the grinding of the camera and the blinding glare of the “Kleig” light. Often he does a comedy bit and seems to enjoy the mirth-provoking situations as much as his human companions.
    Among his screen successes are “The Marriage of William Ashe,” in which his co-star was May Allison; he has “worked” with Doris May and will also be remembered in “The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.” He is now completing work in a new Valentino picture with a Persian background for Lasky.
    Leo is also a clever impersonator of other animals. His latest release is a Hamilton White comedy in which this versatile comedian doubles for a red fox. Because of his great beauty, his extraordinary intelligence and his cunning mannerisms, Leo has been many times judged the ideal cat and a prize winner. Two awards were given him as the best orange Persian and the most cleverly trained cat among all the entries at the Los Angeles cat show.

Of the films mentioned above, The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse is the only one to apparently survive (we can’t even find any reference to an actor named Hamilton White) and Leo does appear in a very brief scene beating up a poor tiny dog. The Valentino picture with a Persian background may very well be The Shiek, but we are not aware of any cat appearing in that classic film.

The Los Angeles Evening Express couldn’t seem to get enough of Leo and repeated a short version of the story on July 27, 1922:

Puss Signs His Own Checks
Feline Movie Star Is Well Known To Tellers In Los Angeles Banks

    A new depositor, whose checks will be almost impossible to forge, is on record at the Citizens Trust and Savings Bank.
    His name is Leo Paxton and he signs his own checks with an ink-dipped paw. Furthermore he is a movie-actor, which accounts for the checks.
    Leo has quite an account as he is one of the feline stars at a local motion picture studio and the account is in his own name. His master writes out the checks, but Leo signs them and there is no mistaking the signature. His paw is well known by tellers at the bank.

Shortly after this the story was picked up nationally and appeared in various papers around the United States. The gist of the article in each publication was a variation of the one printed in The Indianapolis News on August 5, 1922:

Cat Has Bank Account

    Leo, an Angora, is the only cat in the world to have his own bank account and safety deposit box — at the Citizens Trust and Savings Bank, Hollywood, Cal. He signs his own checks and makes his own deposits — a “finger print” of his inked right fore paw being his signature.
    The cat is a movie actor in various studios and all the money he earns is deposited in his own name, while his playing contracts go in his safe deposit box. When Leo’s savings are large enough a home for stray cats will be established in his name.

We could find nothing else about Leo after this but hope they he was smart enough to keep his money in the bank to retire on just in case his career went bust.