Kathryn Grayson

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Kathryn Grayson (born Zelma Kathryn Elisabeth Hedrick ; born February 9, 1922 in Winston-Salem , North Carolina , † February 17, 2010 in Los Angeles , California ) was an American actress and singer .

Life

The soprano Kathryn Grayson was in the late 1930s by a talent scout of MGM discovered when they in the radio show of Eddie Cantor sang. After a few smaller roles, including in the classic talent factory of the Andy Hardy series, in which Ava Gardner , Lana Turner and Esther Williams also completed their appearances, she became popular in 1942 with the film Seven Sweethearts . The sentimental flick about a widower with seven daughters was Joe Pasternak's first production after Louis B. Mayer poached him from Universal .

Grayson, who had a pleasant soprano and was considered pretty by the standards of the time, soon developed into a sought-after actress in lavishly produced musicals . In the revue Till the Clouds Roll Bye she sang Smoke Gets in Your Eyes , which, however, provoked unpleasant comparisons to the interpretations by Alice Faye and Irene Dunne . She reached the high point of her career alongside Howard Keel in the opulent film adaptation of Show Boat from 1951. She made two films with Mario Lanza . However, she turned down a third project with the American tenor and actor because she complained about Lanza's rowdy behavior on the film set .

In 1953, she starred as Grace Moore in the autobiography So This Is Love and as the lead actress in the 3-D film adaptation of Kiss Me Kate , again with Howard Keel as a partner. With the decline of the musical in the middle of the decade, Grayson's career came to an end. She performed successfully in nightclubs and appeared on television in the following years. A star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame commemorates her.

Grayson was married twice, 1941-1946 with the actor John Shelton and from 1947-1951 with the actor and singer Johnnie Johnston from this marriage came their only child, (* 1948) daughter Patricia "Patty Cake" Kathryn Johnston.

Filmography (selection)

  • 1942: Seven Sweethearts
  • 1945: Vacation in Hollywood (Anchors Aweigh)
  • 1945: Broadway Melody 1950 (Ziegfeld Follies)
  • 1946: Dreams Come True (Two Sisters from Boston)
  • 1948: The Kissing Bandit
  • 1949: The Midnight Kiss
  • 1950: The Fisherman of Louisiana (The Toast of New Orleans)
  • 1951: My husband wants to get married (Grounds for Marriage)
  • 1951: Mississippi Melody (Show Boat)
  • 1952: Men make fashion (Lovely to Look at)
  • 1953: El Khobar - The Desert Song
  • 1953: Kiss me, Katchen! (Kiss Me Kate)
  • 1955: The Vagabond King

Web links

Commons : Kathryn Grayson  - Collection of Images

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ cf. Dalton, Stephen: film guide . In: The Times , June 8, 2002 (accessed February 18, 2010 via LexisNexis Wirtschaft )
personal data
SURNAME Grayson, Kathryn
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Hedrick, Zelma Kathryn Elisabeth (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American actress and singer
DATE OF BIRTH February 9, 1922
PLACE OF BIRTH Winston-Salem , North Carolina , United States
DATE OF DEATH February 17, 2010
Place of death Los Angeles , California , United States