Kay B. Barrett
Encyclopedia
Kay Brown Barrett was a Hollywood talent scout and agent beginning in the 1930s. She is most famous for bringing Margaret Mitchell
's novel Gone with the Wind
to the attention of David O. Selznick
, for whom she worked, in 1936. She had a long career as representative, talent scout and agent with Leland Hayward
, MCA and International Creative Management
("ICM").
. In later years, her Hollywood friends were amused by the fact that she was listed in the New York Social Register
.
In 1924, she graduated from Wellesley College with a B.A. in English and an interest in drama. After graduation, she went to work for the Mary Arden Theater School in Peterborough, New Hampshire
, which was owned by Joseph Kennedy and Boston lawyer Guy Currier. In 1926, Kennedy and Currier acquired the movie studio Film Booking Offices of America
and offered Brown a job in New York reading and acquiring literary properties for the company, with the title "Eastern Story Editor". She stayed with the company, renamed RKO in 1928 after its acquisition by Radio Corporation of America, and achieved her first major success by acquiring Edna Ferber
's novel Cimarron
. which was being sought by many movie companies, for a then-record $125,000. The movie of the book
won the 1931 Academy Award for Best Picture
.
Later in 1931, David O. Selznick
took over RKO. Selznick left RKO in 1933 to return to MGM, but in 1935 he found a financial backer, John Hay Whitney, who allowed him to set up his own studio, Selznick International Pictures
. One of his first hires was Brown, still in the role of Eastern Story Editor, but later as "Eastern Representative" as Selznick expanded her role at the studio to that of his primary assistant. In addition to Gone with the Wind, she brought Daphne du Maurier
's Rebecca
to the attention of Selznick. She also persuaded Ingrid Bergman
to leave Stockholm for Hollywood for the Selznick production Intermezzo: A Love Story
; signed Laurence Olivier
to his first American contract for Rebecca, and convinced Alfred Hitchcock
to sign a seven-year contract with Selznick International so that he could direct Rebecca. She also acquired the rights to Rose Franken
's Claudia: The Story of a Marriage in 1939 and was involved in the screen tests for that story that led to Phylis Walker (later renamed Jennifer Jones
by Brown and Selznick) being signed by the studio.
For tax reasons, Selznick International Pictures
was liquidated in 1942, and the "tall, elegant and formidable" Brown, following the example of Selznick's brother Myron
, became a talent agent, joining MCA at first and picking up many new clients after MCA acquired Leland Hayward
's talent agency. She eventually moved to International Famous Agency
, which later became ICM, where she worked for the rest of her career. Among others, she represented actors Alec Guinness
, John Gielgud
, Ralph Richardson
, Rex Harrison
, John Gielgud
, Fredric March
, Patricia Neal
and Montgomery Clift
. Her background acquiring literary properties also led her to represent writers such as Lillian Hellman
, Isak Dinesen and, for 40 years, Arthur Miller
. Brown Barrett finally retired when she was 80.
Margaret Mitchell
Margaret Munnerlyn Mitchell was an American author and journalist. Mitchell won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1937 for her epic American Civil War era novel, Gone with the Wind, which was the only novel by Mitchell published during her lifetime.-Family:Margaret Mitchell was born in Atlanta,...
's novel Gone with the Wind
Gone with the Wind
The slaves depicted in Gone with the Wind are primarily loyal house servants, such as Mammy, Pork and Uncle Peter, and these slaves stay on with their masters even after the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 sets them free...
to the attention of David O. Selznick
David O. Selznick
David O. Selznick was an American film producer. He is best known for having produced Gone with the Wind and Rebecca , both of which earned him an Oscar for Best Picture.-Early years:...
, for whom she worked, in 1936. She had a long career as representative, talent scout and agent with Leland Hayward
Leland Hayward
Leland Hayward was a Hollywood and Broadway agent and theatrical producer. He produced the original Broadway stage productions of Rodgers and Hammerstein's South Pacific and The Sound of Music.-Early years:...
, MCA and International Creative Management
International Creative Management
International Creative Management is a talent and literary agency with offices in Los Angeles, New York, and London. ICM is a full-service agency representing creative and technical talent in the fields of motion pictures, television, fiction and nonfiction publishing, music, live performance,...
("ICM").
Career
Brown was born into New York high society as the daughter of Kate Ross and Henry Collins Brown, a founder of the Museum of the City of New YorkMuseum of the City of New York
The Museum of the City of New York is an art gallery and history museum founded in 1923 to present the history of New York City, USA and its people...
. In later years, her Hollywood friends were amused by the fact that she was listed in the New York Social Register
Social Register
Specific to the United States, the Social Register is a directory of names and addresses of prominent American families who form the social elite, . The "Directory" automatically includes the President of the United States and the First Family, and in the past always included the U.S. Senators and...
.
In 1924, she graduated from Wellesley College with a B.A. in English and an interest in drama. After graduation, she went to work for the Mary Arden Theater School in Peterborough, New Hampshire
Peterborough, New Hampshire
Peterborough is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 6,284 at the 2010 census. Home to the MacDowell Art Colony, the town is a popular tourist destination....
, which was owned by Joseph Kennedy and Boston lawyer Guy Currier. In 1926, Kennedy and Currier acquired the movie studio Film Booking Offices of America
Film Booking Offices of America
Film Booking Offices of America was an American film studio of the silent era, a producer and distributor of mostly low-budget films. The business began as Robertson-Cole , the American division of a British import–export company...
and offered Brown a job in New York reading and acquiring literary properties for the company, with the title "Eastern Story Editor". She stayed with the company, renamed RKO in 1928 after its acquisition by Radio Corporation of America, and achieved her first major success by acquiring Edna Ferber
Edna Ferber
Edna Ferber was an American novelist, short story writer and playwright. Her novels were especially popular and included the Pulitzer Prize-winning So Big , Show Boat , and Giant .-Early years:Ferber was born August 15, 1885, in Kalamazoo, Michigan,...
's novel Cimarron
Cimarron
Cimarron is the title of a novel published by popular historical fiction author Edna Ferber in 1929. The book was adapted into a critically acclaimed film in 1931 through RKO Pictures. In 1960, the story was again adapted for the screen to meager success by MGM...
. which was being sought by many movie companies, for a then-record $125,000. The movie of the book
Cimarron (1931 film)
Cimarron is a 1931 Pre-Code film directed by Wesley Ruggles and based on the Edna Ferber novel Cimarron. It won three Academy Awards.-Background:...
won the 1931 Academy Award for Best Picture
Academy Award for Best Picture
The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible not only...
.
Later in 1931, David O. Selznick
David O. Selznick
David O. Selznick was an American film producer. He is best known for having produced Gone with the Wind and Rebecca , both of which earned him an Oscar for Best Picture.-Early years:...
took over RKO. Selznick left RKO in 1933 to return to MGM, but in 1935 he found a financial backer, John Hay Whitney, who allowed him to set up his own studio, Selznick International Pictures
Selznick International Pictures
-Origin:It was founded in 1935 by producer David O. Selznick and investor John Hay "Jock" Whitney after Selznick left Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and leased a section of the RKO Pictures lot in Culver City, California...
. One of his first hires was Brown, still in the role of Eastern Story Editor, but later as "Eastern Representative" as Selznick expanded her role at the studio to that of his primary assistant. In addition to Gone with the Wind, she brought Daphne du Maurier
Daphne du Maurier
Dame Daphne du Maurier, Lady Browning DBE was a British author and playwright.Many of her works have been adapted into films, including the novels Rebecca and Jamaica Inn and the short stories "The Birds" and "Don't Look Now". The first three were directed by Alfred Hitchcock.Her elder sister was...
's Rebecca
Rebecca (novel)
Rebecca is a novel by Daphne du Maurier. When Rebecca was published in 1938, du Maurier became – to her great surprise – one of the most popular authors of the day. Rebecca is considered to be one of her best works...
to the attention of Selznick. She also persuaded Ingrid Bergman
Ingrid Bergman
Ingrid Bergman was a Swedish actress who starred in a variety of European and American films. She won three Academy Awards, two Emmy Awards, and the Tony Award for Best Actress. She is ranked as the fourth greatest female star of American cinema of all time by the American Film Institute...
to leave Stockholm for Hollywood for the Selznick production Intermezzo: A Love Story
Intermezzo (1939 film)
Intermezzo is a romantic film made in the USA by Selznick International Pictures. It was directed by Gregory Ratoff and produced by David O. Selznick. It is a remake of the Swedish film Intermezzo . The screenplay by George O'Neil was based on the screenplay of the original film by Gösta Stevens...
; signed Laurence Olivier
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
to his first American contract for Rebecca, and convinced Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
to sign a seven-year contract with Selznick International so that he could direct Rebecca. She also acquired the rights to Rose Franken
Rose Franken
Rose Dorothy Lewin Franken , author and playwright, was born on December 28, 1895, in Gainesville, Texas, the youngest child of Michael and Hannah Lewin. In 1914 she married Sigmund W.A. Franken, an oral surgeon who died in 1932. They had three children. In 1937 she married writer William Brown...
's Claudia: The Story of a Marriage in 1939 and was involved in the screen tests for that story that led to Phylis Walker (later renamed Jennifer Jones
Jennifer Jones
Phylis Lee Isley , better known by her stage name Jennifer Jones, was an American actress. A five-time Academy Award nominee, Jones won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in The Song of Bernadette .-Early life:Jones was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the daughter of Flora Mae and...
by Brown and Selznick) being signed by the studio.
For tax reasons, Selznick International Pictures
Selznick International Pictures
-Origin:It was founded in 1935 by producer David O. Selznick and investor John Hay "Jock" Whitney after Selznick left Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and leased a section of the RKO Pictures lot in Culver City, California...
was liquidated in 1942, and the "tall, elegant and formidable" Brown, following the example of Selznick's brother Myron
Myron Selznick
Myron Selznick was an American film producer and talent agent.-Life and career:Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Selznick was the son of film executive Lewis J. Selznick and brother of renowned producer David O. Selznick...
, became a talent agent, joining MCA at first and picking up many new clients after MCA acquired Leland Hayward
Leland Hayward
Leland Hayward was a Hollywood and Broadway agent and theatrical producer. He produced the original Broadway stage productions of Rodgers and Hammerstein's South Pacific and The Sound of Music.-Early years:...
's talent agency. She eventually moved to International Famous Agency
Ashley-Famous
Ashley-Famous was a talent agency started in 1951 by talent agent Ted Ashley. The agency had a successful 16 year run under that name and owner; it was responsible for many hit television shows and had several famous clients...
, which later became ICM, where she worked for the rest of her career. Among others, she represented actors Alec Guinness
Alec Guinness
Sir Alec Guinness, CH, CBE was an English actor. He was featured in several of the Ealing Comedies, including Kind Hearts and Coronets in which he played eight different characters. He later won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Colonel Nicholson in The Bridge on the River Kwai...
, John Gielgud
John Gielgud
Sir Arthur John Gielgud, OM, CH was an English actor, director, and producer. A descendant of the renowned Terry acting family, he achieved early international acclaim for his youthful, emotionally expressive Hamlet which broke box office records on Broadway in 1937...
, Ralph Richardson
Ralph Richardson
Sir Ralph David Richardson was an English actor, one of a group of theatrical knights of the mid-20th century who, though more closely associated with the stage, also appeared in several classic films....
, Rex Harrison
Rex Harrison
Sir Reginald Carey “Rex” Harrison was an English actor of stage and screen. Harrison won an Academy Award and two Tony Awards.-Youth and stage career:...
, John Gielgud
John Gielgud
Sir Arthur John Gielgud, OM, CH was an English actor, director, and producer. A descendant of the renowned Terry acting family, he achieved early international acclaim for his youthful, emotionally expressive Hamlet which broke box office records on Broadway in 1937...
, Fredric March
Fredric March
Fredric March was an American stage and film actor. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1932 for Dr. Jekyll and Mr...
, Patricia Neal
Patricia Neal
Patricia Neal was an American actress of stage and screen. She was best known for her film roles as World War II widow Helen Benson in The Day the Earth Stood Still , wealthy matron Emily Eustace Failenson in Breakfast at Tiffany's , middle-aged housekeeper Alma Brown in Hud , for which she won...
and Montgomery Clift
Montgomery Clift
Edward Montgomery Clift was an American film and stage actor. The New York Times’ obituary noted his portrayal of "moody, sensitive young men"....
. Her background acquiring literary properties also led her to represent writers such as Lillian Hellman
Lillian Hellman
Lillian Florence "Lily" Hellman was an American playwright, linked throughout her life with many left-wing causes...
, Isak Dinesen and, for 40 years, Arthur Miller
Arthur Miller
Arthur Asher Miller was an American playwright and essayist. He was a prominent figure in American theatre, writing dramas that include plays such as All My Sons , Death of a Salesman , The Crucible , and A View from the Bridge .Miller was often in the public eye,...
. Brown Barrett finally retired when she was 80.
Personal life
Kay Brown married James Barrett (d. 1967) and had two daughters, Laurinda and Kate. She died on January 18, 1995 of a stroke, aged 92.Filmography
- Gone with the WindGone with the Wind (film)Gone with the Wind is a 1939 American historical epic film adapted from Margaret Mitchell's Pulitzer-winning 1936 novel of the same name. It was produced by David O. Selznick and directed by Victor Fleming from a screenplay by Sidney Howard...
(1939) (story editor: Eastern) (uncredited) - Rebecca (1940) (story editor) (uncredited)
- Hollywood: The Selznick Years (1969) (TV) .... Herself
- Hollywood the Golden Years: The RKO Story aka The RKO Story: Tales from Hollywood (UK).... Herself (2 episodes, 1987)
- Let's Face the Music and Dance (1987) TV episode (as Kay Brown) .... Herself
- Birth of a Titan (1987) TV episode (as Kay Brown) .... Herself
- The Making of a Legend: Gone with the WindThe Making of a Legend: Gone with the WindThe Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind is a 1988 documentary outlining the successes and challenges of the casting, filming, and legacy of the 1939 film Gone with the Wind, from concept to finished product. The documentary focuses on David O. Selznick from the time of the book's publication to...
(1988) (TV) (as Kay Brown Barrett) .... Herself - Eastern Story Editor for David O. Selznick