Kay Aldridge

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Katherine Gratten Aldridge (born July 9, 1917 in Tallahassee , Florida , † January 12, 1995 in Rockport , Maine ) was an American actress.

life and work

Kay Aldridge was born in Tallahassee , Florida , the daughter of a surveyor . When she was two years old, her father died. Her mother, who described herself as an artist and art teacher, then moved to live with her family in Lyells , Virginia , where Aldridge grew up. From 1931 to 1934 she was at St. Mary's College of Maryland in St. Mary's City , where she came into contact with acting. After graduation, she initially worked as a secretary in Baltimore , but soon became very successful as a model. For example, she was on the cover of Life magazine three times and one of the most photographed women in the United States.

When models for the film Für Sie, Madame ... were sought in 1937 , Kay Aldridge was selected and thus came to her first film. After another film ( Highness dances incognito ) she was tested for the role of Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind , but not selected. Shortly thereafter, she received a two-year contract with 20th Century Fox . During this time she was seen in several films in smaller roles, including Galopp ins Glück and Charlie Chan on the treasure hunt ship . After the contract was not renewed in 1941, she initially worked as an independent actress in smaller roles such as in Louisiana Purchase . She soon got a contract with Republic Pictures , where she was supposed to act in serials , i.e. film series with films about 15 to 30 minutes long that were shown as opening shows in cinemas. She initially saw this as a professional step backwards, as serials were viewed as inferior at the time. In her first serial, the very successful Nyoka - Mistress of the Beduins , she got the title role. This marked her breakthrough. She was seen in two other equally successful series, namely in Daredevils in the West and Haunted Harbor , in which she played the leading female role. During this time she was seen in a few films, but always in small roles and without mentioning in the opening credits. But she also appeared in the theater, especially in Ruth Gordon's play Over 21 , in which she played a leading role alongside the author. In this role she also appeared on Broadway , but was not part of the filming . In 1945 she starred in two films, The Man Who Walked Alone and The Phantom of 42nd Street , the female lead, each alongside Dave O'Brien .

In the same year she married Arthur Cameron and ended her career as an actress. Kay Aldridge was married three times, after Cameron with Richard Derby Tucker from 1956 until his death in 1979 and with Harry Nasland until his death in 1988. She died in 1995 in a hospital in Rockport , Maine , leaving three children and three stepchildren.

Filmography (selection)

Movies

  • 1937: For you, Madame ... (Vogues of 1938)
  • 1937: Highness dances incognito (Rosalie)
  • 1939: Hotel for Women
  • 1939: Here I Am a Stranger
  • 1940: Free, Blonde and 21
  • 1940: Shooting High
  • 1940: Girl in 313
  • 1940: Sailor's Lady
  • 1940: Girl from Avenue A
  • 1940: Yesterday's Heroes
  • 1940: Gallop into Luck (Down Argentine Way)
  • 1941: Golden Hoofs
  • 1941: Charlie Chan on the treasure hunt ship (Dead Men Tell)
  • 1941: Navy Blues
  • 1941: Terror of the Second Company (You're in the Army Now)
  • 1941: Louisiana Purchase
  • 1942: Nyoka - mistress of the Beduins ( Perils of Nyoka , Serial)
  • 1942: The Falcon's Brother
  • 1943: Something to Shout About
  • 1943: Daredevils of the West (Serial)
  • 1943: You Barry Was a Lady
  • 1944: Haunted Harbor (Serial)
  • 1945: The Man Who Walked Alone
  • 1945: The Phantom of 42nd Street

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f The Perils of Jay Aldridge. In: Western Clippings. Retrieved May 21, 2018 .
  2. ↑ a b Kay Aldridge, Queen of the Serials and St. Mary's Graduate. In: St. Mary's. April 28, 2014, accessed May 21, 2018 .
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g h i Geoff Mayer: Encyclopedia of American Film Serials . McFarland, Jefferson 2017, ISBN 978-1-4766-2719-9 , pp. 38–39 (English, limited preview in Google Book Search [accessed on May 21, 2018]).
  4. ↑ Kay Aldridge in the Find a Grave database . Retrieved May 21, 2018.
  5. ↑ Sandra Brennan: Kay Aldridge. In: Allmovie . Retrieved May 21, 2018 .
  6. ↑ Glamorous Kay . In: Life . January 29, 1940, p.  80 (English, limited preview in Google Book Search [accessed on May 21, 2018]).
  7. ↑ a b c d e f Kay Aldridge, 77, Actress Until 1945 . In: The New York Times . January 21, 1995 (English, limited preview [accessed May 21, 2018]).
  8. ↑ Over 21 in the Internet Broadway Database , accessed May 21, 2018.
  9. ^ Scott Wilson, Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons . McFarland, Jefferson 2016, ISBN 978-1-4766-2599-7 , pp. 14 (English, limited preview in Google Book Search [accessed on May 21, 2018]).
personal data
SURNAME Aldridge, Kay
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Aldridge, Katherine Gratten (maiden name); Tucker, Katharine Aldridge
BRIEF DESCRIPTION US-american actress
DATE OF BIRTH July 9, 1917
PLACE OF BIRTH Tallahassee , Florida , United States
DATE OF DEATH January 12, 1995
Place of death Rockport , Maine , United States