Kay Kendall
Encyclopedia
Kay Kendall was an English actress.
Kendall began her film career in the 1946 musical London Town. Though the film was a financial failure, Kendall continued to work regularly until her appearance in the comedy Genevieve
brought her widespread recognition. Most prolific in British films, Kendall also achieved some popularity with American audiences, and won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
for her role in Les Girls
(1957).
She began a romantic relationship with Rex Harrison
after they appeared together in The Constant Husband
(1955), and they were married in 1957. Harrison learned from Kendall's doctor that she had been diagnosed with myeloid leukemia
, a fact that was kept from Kendall, who believed she was suffering from an iron deficiency. Harrison cared for Kendall until her death in 1959, at the age of 33.
, a coastal resort in the East Riding of Yorkshire
, England. Her maternal grandmother was Marie Kendall
, a musical-comedy star known for her vivacious personality and diction while singing. Her father was Terry McCarthy, a vaudevillian
. She was commonly known to family and friends as Kate, according to the memoirs of the actor Sir Dirk Bogarde
. Her brother, Cavan Kendall (born Cavan McCarthy), who died on 30 October 1999, was also an actor.
Kendall's distinctive nose, an aristocratic swoop, was the result of plastic surgery after a car crash. As she told Bogarde, the surgeon had only two noses in his repertoire, "this one and the other one." The one she chose, Kendall explained, made it difficult to photograph her in profile.
Kay Kendall's hometown of Withernsea has a lighthouse
situated a stone's throw from where Kendall once lived. The lighthouse is no longer in use but has been turned into a museum and has many interesting items associated with Kay Kendall's life and times.
-Petula Clark
musical London Town (1946), notable for being one of the costliest flops in British film history. She co-starred with Clark again in Dance Hall (1950), and was featured in a quick succession of minor films before gaining fame in Genevieve
(1953).
Kendall appeared in the first film in the Doctor series, Doctor in the House
(1954) with Dirk Bogarde, Simon And Laura (1955) with Peter Finch
, Abdulla the Great
(1955) with Sydney Chaplin
and Gregory Ratoff
, and the epic film The Adventures of Quentin Durward
(1955), with Robert Taylor
and Robert Morley
. In October and November 1957, she appeared in two episodes of the short-lived The Polly Bergen Show
on NBC
.
In 1958, Kendall won a Golden Globe Award
for her performance as Lady Sybil Wren in Les Girls
, probably one of the best-known films of her career, the story of three showgirls in postwar Paris (the other actresses were Mitzi Gaynor
and Taina Elg
). The following year, she starred opposite Harrison in The Reluctant Debutante. Kendall died in 1959 soon after completing her last movie, Once More, with Feeling!
(1960), starring opposite Yul Brynner
.
by his second wife, Lita Grey Chaplin. In 1955 she starred opposite Rex Harrison
in the comedy The Constant Husband, and an affair soon followed. Harrison was married to actress Lilli Palmer
at the time. However, when he learned from Kendall's doctor that Kendall had been diagnosed with myeloid leukemia
, he and Palmer agreed to divorce so he could marry Kendall and provide for her care. Kendall was never told of her illness and ended up believing she merely had an iron deficiency. As for the divorce, Palmer said she was not upset because she had a lover, too. Palmer and Harrison planned to remarry after Kendall's death, but Palmer ended up falling in love with her companion, Carlos Thompson
, and married him instead.
, north London. Her life is explored in The Brief, Madcap Life Of Kay Kendall by Eve Golden
and Kim Elizabeth Kendall (University Press of Kentucky, 2002).
Kendall began her film career in the 1946 musical London Town. Though the film was a financial failure, Kendall continued to work regularly until her appearance in the comedy Genevieve
Genevieve (film)
Genevieve is a 1953 British comedy film produced and directed by Henry Cornelius and written by William Rose. It starred John Gregson, Dinah Sheridan, Kenneth More and Kay Kendall as two couples comedically involved in a vintage automobile rally...
brought her widespread recognition. Most prolific in British films, Kendall also achieved some popularity with American audiences, and won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
The Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association as a separate category in 1950...
for her role in Les Girls
Les Girls
Les Girls, also known as Cole Porter's Les Girls, is a 1957 musical comedy film made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed by George Cukor, produced by Sol C...
(1957).
She began a romantic relationship with 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:...
after they appeared together in The Constant Husband
The Constant Husband
The Constant Husband is a 1955 British comedy film directed by Sidney Gilliat and starring Rex Harrison, Margaret Leighton, Kay Kendall, Cecil Parker, George Cole and Raymond Huntley.-Plot:...
(1955), and they were married in 1957. Harrison learned from Kendall's doctor that she had been diagnosed with myeloid leukemia
Myeloid leukemia
Myeloid leukemia is a type of leukemia affecting myeloid tissue.Types include:* Acute myeloid leukemia* Chronic myelogenous leukemia...
, a fact that was kept from Kendall, who believed she was suffering from an iron deficiency. Harrison cared for Kendall until her death in 1959, at the age of 33.
Early life
She was born Justine Kay Kendall-McCarthy at Stanley House, Hull Road, in WithernseaWithernsea
Withernsea is a seaside resort town and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, and forms the focal point for a wider community of small villages in Holderness. Its most famous landmark is the white inland lighthouse, rising around above Hull Road...
, a coastal resort in the East Riding of Yorkshire
East Riding of Yorkshire
The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Yorkshire, is a local government district with unitary authority status, and a ceremonial county of England. For ceremonial purposes the county also includes the city of Kingston upon Hull, which is a separate unitary authority...
, England. Her maternal grandmother was Marie Kendall
Marie Kendall
Marie Kendall ; 1873–1964) was a British music hall comedienne and actress who had a successful career spanning 50 years.-Biography:Marie Kendall was born Mary Ann Florence Holyome on 27th July 1873 in Bethnal Green, London....
, a musical-comedy star known for her vivacious personality and diction while singing. Her father was Terry McCarthy, a vaudevillian
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
. She was commonly known to family and friends as Kate, according to the memoirs of the actor Sir Dirk Bogarde
Dirk Bogarde
Sir Dirk Bogarde was an English actor and novelist. Initially a matinee idol in such films as Doctor in the House and other Rank Organisation pictures, Bogarde later acted in art-house films such as Death in Venice...
. Her brother, Cavan Kendall (born Cavan McCarthy), who died on 30 October 1999, was also an actor.
Kendall's distinctive nose, an aristocratic swoop, was the result of plastic surgery after a car crash. As she told Bogarde, the surgeon had only two noses in his repertoire, "this one and the other one." The one she chose, Kendall explained, made it difficult to photograph her in profile.
Kay Kendall's hometown of Withernsea has a lighthouse
Withernsea Lighthouse
Withernsea Lighthouse is an inland lighthouse that stands in the middle of the town of Withernsea in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The lighthouse stands 127 feet high and took 18 months to build between 1892 and 1894...
situated a stone's throw from where Kendall once lived. The lighthouse is no longer in use but has been turned into a museum and has many interesting items associated with Kay Kendall's life and times.
Career
Her first major screen role was in the Sid FieldSid Field
-Early Years:Sid Field was an English comedy entertainer. He was born Sidney Arthur Field in Ladywood, Birmingham, son of Albert and Bertha . Field spent most of his childhood at 152 Osborn Road, Sparkbrook, Birmingham.Field had entertainment in his blood from an early age...
-Petula Clark
Petula Clark
Petula Clark, CBE is an English singer, actress, and composer whose career has spanned seven decades.Clark's professional career began as an entertainer on BBC Radio during World War II...
musical London Town (1946), notable for being one of the costliest flops in British film history. She co-starred with Clark again in Dance Hall (1950), and was featured in a quick succession of minor films before gaining fame in Genevieve
Genevieve (film)
Genevieve is a 1953 British comedy film produced and directed by Henry Cornelius and written by William Rose. It starred John Gregson, Dinah Sheridan, Kenneth More and Kay Kendall as two couples comedically involved in a vintage automobile rally...
(1953).
Kendall appeared in the first film in the Doctor series, Doctor in the House
Doctor in the House
Doctor in the House is a 1954 British comedy film, directed by Ralph Thomas and produced by Betty Box. The screenplay, by Nicholas Phipps, Richard Gordon and Ronald Wilkinson, is based on the novel by Gordon, and follows a group of students through medical school.It was the most popular box office...
(1954) with Dirk Bogarde, Simon And Laura (1955) with Peter Finch
Peter Finch
Peter Finch was a British-born Australian actor. He is best remembered for his role as "crazed" television anchorman Howard Beale in the film Network, which earned him a posthumous Academy Award for Best Actor, his fifth Best Actor award from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, and a...
, Abdulla the Great
Abdulla the Great
Abdulla the Great, also known as Abdullah's Harem is a 1955 comedy film made by Misr Universal Cairo and Sphinx Films and distributed by Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation. It was directed and produced by Gregory Ratoff, from a screenplay by Boris Ingster and George St. George, based on the...
(1955) with Sydney Chaplin
Sydney Earle Chaplin
Sydney Earle Chaplin was a film and theatre actor.-Biography:The third son of Sir Charles Chaplin and the second by his second wife, Mexican-American actress Lita Grey, Sydney Chaplin was named after his uncle Sydney Chaplin .Lita Grey was 16 when she married the 35-year-old Charles Chaplin in 1924...
and Gregory Ratoff
Gregory Ratoff
Gregory Ratoff was a Russian-born American film director, actor and producer. His most famous role as an actor was as producer Max Fabian who feuds with star Margo Channing in All About Eve ....
, and the epic film The Adventures of Quentin Durward
The Adventures of Quentin Durward
The Adventures of Quentin Durward, known also as Quentin Durward, is a 1955 historical film released by MGM. It was directed by Richard Thorpe and produced by Pandro S. Berman...
(1955), with Robert Taylor
Robert Taylor (actor)
Robert Taylor was an American film and television actor.-Early life:Born Spangler Arlington Brugh in Filley, Nebraska, he was the son of Ruth Adaline and Spangler Andrew Brugh, who was a farmer turned doctor...
and Robert Morley
Robert Morley
Robert Adolph Wilton Morley, CBE was an English actor who, often in supporting roles, was usually cast as a pompous English gentleman representing the Establishment...
. In October and November 1957, she appeared in two episodes of the short-lived The Polly Bergen Show
The Polly Bergen Show
The Polly Bergen Show is a half-hour 18-episode comedy/variety show, starring then 27-year-old Polly Bergen, which aired on NBC in the 1957-1958 television season. The program is remembered for its impressive guest-star lineup as well as its closing theme song, "The Party's Over" .The Polly Bergen...
on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
.
In 1958, Kendall won a Golden Globe Award
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
for her performance as Lady Sybil Wren in Les Girls
Les Girls
Les Girls, also known as Cole Porter's Les Girls, is a 1957 musical comedy film made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed by George Cukor, produced by Sol C...
, probably one of the best-known films of her career, the story of three showgirls in postwar Paris (the other actresses were Mitzi Gaynor
Mitzi Gaynor
-Life and career:Gaynor was born as Francesca Marlene de Czanyi von Gerber in Chicago, Illinois to Pauline Fisher, a dancer, and Henry von Gerber, a violinist, cellist, and music director. The family first moved to Detroit and when she was eleven to Hollywood, California.She trained as a ballerina...
and Taina Elg
Taina Elg
Taina Elg is a Finnish-American actress and dancer. She has appeared on stage, film and television.-Biography:She was born in Helsinki, but later raised in Turku by her parents, Helena Dobroumova and Åke Elg, a pianist. In 1957 she won the Golden Globe for the Foreign Newcomer Award - Female...
). The following year, she starred opposite Harrison in The Reluctant Debutante. Kendall died in 1959 soon after completing her last movie, Once More, with Feeling!
Once More, with Feeling!
Once More, with Feeling! is a British comedy film directed and produced by Stanley Donen from a screenplay by Harry Kurnitz, based on his play. The film was released by Columbia Pictures and has music by Franz Liszt, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Richard Wagner, arranged by Muir Mathieson...
(1960), starring opposite Yul Brynner
Yul Brynner
Yul Brynner was a Russian-born actor of stage and film. He was best known for his portrayal of Mongkut, king of Siam, in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The King and I, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Actor for the film version; he also played the role more than 4,500 times on...
.
Personal life
Early in her career, Kendall had a romantic relationship with Sydney Chaplin, the second son of Charlie ChaplinCharlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I...
by his second wife, Lita Grey Chaplin. In 1955 she starred opposite 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:...
in the comedy The Constant Husband, and an affair soon followed. Harrison was married to actress Lilli Palmer
Lilli Palmer
Lilli Palmer , born Lilli Marie Peiser, was a German actress. She won the Volpi Cup, the Deutscher Filmpreis three times, and was nominated twice for a Golden Globe Award.-Life and career:...
at the time. However, when he learned from Kendall's doctor that Kendall had been diagnosed with myeloid leukemia
Myeloid leukemia
Myeloid leukemia is a type of leukemia affecting myeloid tissue.Types include:* Acute myeloid leukemia* Chronic myelogenous leukemia...
, he and Palmer agreed to divorce so he could marry Kendall and provide for her care. Kendall was never told of her illness and ended up believing she merely had an iron deficiency. As for the divorce, Palmer said she was not upset because she had a lover, too. Palmer and Harrison planned to remarry after Kendall's death, but Palmer ended up falling in love with her companion, Carlos Thompson
Carlos Thompson
Juan Carlos Mundin-Schaffter, known as Carlos Thompson, was an Argentinian actor.- Career :Of German Swiss parentage, he played leading roles on stage and in films in Argentina. He went to Hollywood in the 1950s and was typically cast as a European womanizer...
, and married him instead.
Death
Kay Kendall succumbed to her illness on 6 September 1959, at the age of 33, and is buried in the churchyard of St John's Church, Church Row, HampsteadHampstead
Hampstead is an area of London, England, north-west of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Camden in Inner London, it is known for its intellectual, liberal, artistic, musical and literary associations and for Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland...
, north London. Her life is explored in The Brief, Madcap Life Of Kay Kendall by Eve Golden
Eve Golden
Eve Golden is a biographer whose work focuses on American silent film, theater and early twentieth century actresses. She was born and raised near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.-Bibliography:* Platinum Girl: The Life and Legends of Jean Harlow...
and Kim Elizabeth Kendall (University Press of Kentucky, 2002).
Filmography
- Fiddlers ThreeFiddlers Three (1944 film)Fiddlers Three is a 1944 British black-and-white comedy with music. The film was produced by Michael Balcon and directed by Harry Watt. The cast included Tommy Trinder, Sonnie Hale, Frances Day, Francis L. Sullivan, Diana Decker, Elisabeth Welch and James Robertson Justice...
(1943) - Champagne CharlieChampagne Charlie (film)Champagne Charlie is a 1944 British musical film made by Ealing Studios. It is based on an 1860s play that depicted the real life rivalry between George Leybourne, who first performed the song of that name, and Alfred Vance....
(1944) - DreamingDreaming (film)Dreaming is a 1944 British comedy film directed by John Baxter and starring Bud Flanagan, Chesney Allen and Hazel Court. Its plot concerns a soldier who is knocked unconscious during a battle and has a series of bizarre dreams.-Cast:* Bud Flanagan - Bud...
(1945) - Waltz TimeWaltz Time (1945 film)Waltz Time is a 1945 British musical film directed by Paul L. Stein and starring Carol Raye, Peter Graves and Patricia Medina. In Imperial Vienna a young Grand Duchess is prevented from marrying the man she loves.-Partial cast:* Carol Raye - Empress Maria...
(1945) - Caesar and Cleopatra (1945)
- London Town (1946)
- Dance HallDance Hall (film)Dance Hall is a 1950 British film directed by Charles Crichton. Appealing mainly to a female audience, the film was an unusual departure for the studio, known at the time primarily for its classic comedies starring Alec Guinness.-Plot:...
(1950) - Night and the CityNight and the CityNight and the City is a film noir based on the novel by Gerald Kersh, directed by Jules Dassin, and starring Richard Widmark and Gene Tierney. Shot on location in London, the plot evolves around an ambitious hustler whose plans keep going wrong....
(1950) - Happy Go LovelyHappy Go LovelyHappy Go Lovely is a 1951 British musical comedy film with Technicolor, directed by H. Bruce Humberstone and starring Vera Ellen, David Niven, and Cesar Romero. The film was made and first released, in the UK, and distributed in the US by RKO Radio Pictures in 1952...
(1951) - Lady Godiva Rides AgainLady Godiva Rides AgainLady Godiva Rides Again is a 1951 British comedy film starring Diana Dors, about a small-town English girl who wins a beauty contest and heads for greater fame. It features Joan Collins in her movie debut as an uncredited beauty contestant...
(1951) - Wings of DangerWings of DangerWings of Danger is a 1952 drama film directed by Terence Fisher. It stars Zachary Scott and Robert Beatty.-Cast:*Zachary Scott as Richard Van Ness*Robert Beatty as Nick Talbot*Naomi Chance as Avril Talbot*Kay Kendall as Alexia LaRoche...
(1952) - Curtain UpCurtain UpCurtain Up is a 1952 British film directed by Ralph Smart, written by Jack Davies and Philip King. It is based on the play Sunday for Seven Days by Philip King.-Plot:...
(1952) - It Started in ParadiseIt Started in ParadiseIt Started in Paradise is a 1952 British drama film, directed by Compton Bennett and starring Jane Hylton, Martita Hunt and Muriel Pavlow. Set in the world of haute couture, the film was squarely aimed at female audiences...
(1952) - MantrapMantrap (1953 film)Mantrap is a 1953 drama film directed by Terence Fisher. It stars Paul Henreid and Lois Maxwell.-Cast:*Paul Henreid as Hugo Bishop*Lois Maxwell as Thelma Speight*Kieron Moore as Speight*Hugh Sinclair as Maurice Jerrard...
(1953) - GenevieveGenevieve (film)Genevieve is a 1953 British comedy film produced and directed by Henry Cornelius and written by William Rose. It starred John Gregson, Dinah Sheridan, Kenneth More and Kay Kendall as two couples comedically involved in a vintage automobile rally...
(1953) - Street of Shadows (1953)
- Meet Mr. LuciferMeet Mr. LuciferMeet Mr. Lucifer is a black and white British comedy satire film released in 1953 starring Stanley Holloway. Filmed at Ealing Studios, London, The film is based on the play Beggar My Neighbour by Arnold Ridley -Plot:When Mr Pedelty leaves his firm, he is given a...
(1953) - The Square RingThe Square RingThe Square Ring is a 1953 British film directed by Basil Dearden and made at Ealing Studios. It stars Jack Warner, Robert Beatty and Bill Owen...
(1953) - Doctor in the HouseDoctor in the HouseDoctor in the House is a 1954 British comedy film, directed by Ralph Thomas and produced by Betty Box. The screenplay, by Nicholas Phipps, Richard Gordon and Ronald Wilkinson, is based on the novel by Gordon, and follows a group of students through medical school.It was the most popular box office...
(1954) - Fast and LooseFast and Loose (1954 film)Fast and Loose is a 1954 British comedy film directed by Gordon Parry and starring Stanley Holloway, Kay Kendall and Brian Reece. It was based on a play by Ben Travers, in the farcical style of his Aldwych farces...
(1954) - The Adventures of Quentin DurwardThe Adventures of Quentin DurwardThe Adventures of Quentin Durward, known also as Quentin Durward, is a 1955 historical film released by MGM. It was directed by Richard Thorpe and produced by Pandro S. Berman...
(1955) - Abdulla the GreatAbdulla the GreatAbdulla the Great, also known as Abdullah's Harem is a 1955 comedy film made by Misr Universal Cairo and Sphinx Films and distributed by Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation. It was directed and produced by Gregory Ratoff, from a screenplay by Boris Ingster and George St. George, based on the...
(1955) - Simon and LauraSimon and LauraSimon and Laura is a 1955 British drama film directed by Muriel Box and starring Peter Finch, Kay Kendall and Muriel Pavlow. A married couple are hired for a television programme to portray domestic happiness, although in real life their marriage is breaking down.-Cast:* Peter Finch - Simon Foster*...
(1955) - The Constant HusbandThe Constant HusbandThe Constant Husband is a 1955 British comedy film directed by Sidney Gilliat and starring Rex Harrison, Margaret Leighton, Kay Kendall, Cecil Parker, George Cole and Raymond Huntley.-Plot:...
(1955) - Les GirlsLes GirlsLes Girls, also known as Cole Porter's Les Girls, is a 1957 musical comedy film made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed by George Cukor, produced by Sol C...
(1957) - The Reluctant Debutante (1958)
- Once More, with Feeling!Once More, with Feeling!Once More, with Feeling! is a British comedy film directed and produced by Stanley Donen from a screenplay by Harry Kurnitz, based on his play. The film was released by Columbia Pictures and has music by Franz Liszt, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Richard Wagner, arranged by Muir Mathieson...
(1960)
External links
- http://www.withernsealighthouse.co.uk/index.html