Alice Prin

See also:. On television, she portrayed Suzanne Pleshette's mother on the popular Bob Newhart Show during the 1970s. Foujita said that with Kiki, they buried forever the glorious days of Montparnasse. On radio, Ann Rutherford replaced Penny Singleton as Blondie. When she died, a huge crowd of artists and fans attended her funeral. She retired from films in 1950, but returned to her old studio in 1972 to make They Only Kill Their Masters on the old Andy Hardy set. Even during difficult times, she maintained her positive attitude saying, "All I need is an onion, a bit of bread, and a bottle of red (wine); and I will always find somebody to offer me that.". She left MGM to freelance in the early 1940s, starring in such films as Orchestra Wives (1942) (with the Glen Miller Orchestra), Two O'Clock Courage (1945) and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947).

Her drawings and paintings comprised portraits and dreamy landscapes composed in a light, slightly uneven expressionist style that was very much a reflection of her own easy-going manner and boundless optimism. She also starred in a series of mystery/comedies with Red Skelton (Whistling in the Dark (1941), Whistling in Dixie (1942), and Whistling in Brooklyn (1943)). A capable painter in her own right, a sold-out exhibition of Kiki's own paintings was held in Paris' Galerie au Sacre du Printemps in 1927. From 1937 until 1942, she portrayed Polly Benedict in the very successful Andy Hardy series. She has a Daylily named after her: Kiki De Montparnasse. She was loaned to Selznick International to appear as Careen O'Hara in Gone With The Wind (1939). Long after her time, Kiki remains the embodiment of the outspokenness, audacity, and creativity that marked this period of Montparnasse. At MGM, she appeared in such films as A Christmas Carol (1938) and Pride and Prejudice (1940).

Finally, in 1996, her book was translated and published. Afterward, she was placed under contract with MGM. Kiki's Memoirs remained barred in the United States as late as the 1970s when it was still held in the section for banned books in the New York Public Library. Mascot merged with Republic Pictures, and Miss Rutherford soon established herself as a popular leading lady of Westerns with Gene Autry and John Wayne. This book was published the following year in New York City by Black Manikin Press but it was banned by the United States government. She began her film career in starring roles in Waterfront Lady for Mascot Pictures in 1935. Ernest Hemingway and Tsuguharu Foujita provided the introduction for her 1929 memoirs. At an early age, she performed in various radio shows.

She was the mistress of Man Ray, and a friend of Chaim Soutine, Jean Cocteau, Max Ernst and other artists. Miss Rutherford was born in Toronto, Canada. She also had a role in nine different motion pictures, including Fernand Leger's famous Ballet mécanique. In the long-running, Academy Award-winning Andy Hardy film series, she played Polly twelve times, with the last appearance being in Andy Hardy's Double Life in 1942. The symbol of bohemian and creative Paris, at age 28 she was declared "Queen of Montparnasse." Her music hall performances, in black hose and garters, included crowd-pleasing raunchy songs, which somehow were both uninhibited yet inoffensive. It was in 1938 that her first notable role came as Andy Hardy's girlfriend, Polly Benedict, in Judge Hardy's Children. Her partnership with Man Ray produced some of Surrealism's most significant images. She appeared in seventeen films between 1935 and 1938.

Alice Prin became one of the most famous artists' models ever, the most notable of which is a colection of photographs by Man Ray and the portrait of her painted by Moise Kisling titled Nu assis. Her first film role was in Melody Trail in 1935. At age 12 she was sent to Paris to be educated and by age 14 she was posing nude for sculptors. She has had a long career starring and co-starring in films. An illegitimate child, she was raised in abject poverty by her grandmother. Ann Rutherford (November 2, 1920 - ) is a Canadian/American actress in film, radio, and television. Born in Chatillon-sur-Seine, Côte d'Or, Burgundy, France on October 2, 1901.

Kiki, was the stage name for Alice Ernestine Prin (1901 - 1953), a nightclub singer, actress, model, and painter. Kiki: Reine de la Montparnasse - Lou Mollgaard (In French - 1988). Kiki's Memoirs (translation by Samuel Putnam) - Kiki (1996).