Kay Johnson
Catherine "Kay" Townsend Johnson (born November 29, 1904 in Mount Vernon , New York , † November 17, 1975 in Waterford , Connecticut ) was an American actress.
life and career
Kay Johnson, the daughter of an architect from Michigan , studied acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts . She made her debut on Broadway at the age of 19 in the comedy Go West, Young Man , and in the following six years until 1928 she starred in nine other Broadway productions. When the talkies began in the late 1920s, Johnson moved to Hollywood, where she made her film debut as the leading actress in a prestigious production: In the drama Dynamit (1929) by Cecil B. DeMille , where she played a millionaire heiress. In most of her 22 other films, Johnson was cast as an elegant and style-conscious lady from better company.
Her busiest year as a film actress was 1930, where she had major roles in seven films, including again directed by DeMille in Madam Satan and in King Vidor's western Outlawed, Feared, Loved - Billy the Kid . Overall, however, Johnson was unable to establish herself as a top star, which is why she mostly only remained a supporting actress in the further course of the 1930s. She was in Frank Capra's film drama The Day the Bank Was Stormed (1932) as the unfaithful wife of Walter Huston and starred in the comedy This Man Is Mine (1934) alongside Irene Dunne . Kay Johnson began to devote more time to her private life: she had married the film director John Cromwell as early as 1928 . In the 1930s she starred in several of her husband's films, the most notable of which is probably her appearance in the Somerset Maugham film adaptation Of Human Bondage alongside Bette Davis and Leslie Howard . The couple had two children, including famous actor James Cromwell .
She divorced Cromwell in 1946, during which time she starred in the hit comedy State of the Union (later filmed as The Best Man ) on Broadway . After that, Johnson largely withdrew into private life, only in 1954, after ten years without a film appearance, she played a supporting role in the western The Treasure of Jivaro at the side of Rhonda Fleming . Kay Johnson died in Connecticut in 1975, just under two weeks before her 71st birthday.
Filmography
- 1929: dynamite (dynamite)
- 1930: The Ship from Shanghai
- 1930: This Mad World
- 1930: The Spoilers
- 1930: Madam Satan
- 1930: Outlawed, Feared, Loved - Billy the Kid (Billy the Kid)
- 1930: Passion Flower
- 1931: The Single Sin
- 1931: The Spy
- 1932: The Day the Bank Was Stormed (American Madness)
- 1932: Thirteen Women
- 1934: Eight Girls in a Boat
- 1934: This Man Is Mine
- 1934: Of Human Bondage
- 1934: Their Big Moment
- 1935: Village Tale
- 1935: Jalna
- 1938: White Banners
- 1939: Treason in the Jungle (The Real Glory)
- 1942: Adventure in the South Seas (Son of Fury: The Story of Benjamin Blake)
- 1944: The Adventures of Mark Twain (The Adventures of Mark Twain)
- 1954: The Jivaro Treasure (Jivaro)
Web links
- Kay Johnson in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Kay Johnson | Biography, Movie Highlights and Photos | AllMovie. Retrieved January 29, 2018 .
- ↑ The Broadway League: Kay Johnson - Broadway Cast & Staff | IBDB. Retrieved January 29, 2018 .
- ↑ Madam Satan (1930) - Cecil B. DeMille | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie. Retrieved January 29, 2018 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Johnson, Kay |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Johnson, Catherine Townsend (maiden name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | US-american actress |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 29, 1904 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Mount Vernon , New York , United States |
| DATE OF DEATH | 17th November 1975 |
| Place of death | Waterford , Connecticut , United States |