Kay Kendall

Kendall's life is explored in "The Brief, Madcap Life of Kay Kendall," written by Eve Golden, Kim Kendall, and Kim Elizabeth Kendall (University Press of Kentucky, 2002). She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6685 Hollywood Blvd. Before her marriage to Harrison, Kendall had a romantic relationship with Sydney Chaplin, a son of Charlie Chaplin. After surviving breast cancer and a double mastectomy, Myrna Loy died during cancer surgery in New York City and was cremated; her ashes are buried at Forestvale Cemetery, in Helena, Montana. She succumbed to her illness on September 6 the following year, soon after completing the movie "Once More with Feeling", starring opposite Yul Brynner. She received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Kennedy Center in 1986. Although she was never nominated for an Academy Award for any single performance, she received an Academy Honorary Award in 1991 "for her career achievement". In 1958, Kendall won a Golden Globe Award for her performance in Les Girls, probably the best-known film of her career. Her autobiography Being And Becoming Myrna Loy was published in 1987.

Harrison was married to actress Lilli Palmer at the time, but when he learned Kendall had been diagnosed with myeloid leukemia from her doctor, he divorced Palmer and married Kendall, never revealing to her the reason for her failing health. Her film career continued sporadically and she also returned to the stage making her Broadway debut in 1973. Later she starred opposite Rex Harrison in the comedy The Constant Husband (1955), and an affair soon followed. From 1949 until 1954 she also worked for UNESCO. She co-starred with Clark again in Dance Hall (1950), and was featured in a quick succession of forgettable films before gaining fame in "Genevieve" (1953). In later life she assumed a more influential role as Co-Chairman of the "Advisory Council of the National Committee Against Discrimination in Housing". Her first major screen role was in the Sid Field-Petula Clark musical London Town (1946), notable for being one of the costliest flops in British film history. During her career she had championed the rights of black actors and characters to be depicted with dignity on film.

Her father was Terry Kendall, a vaudevillian. It also allowed Loy to make a film that demonstrated her social conscience. Her maternal grandmother was Marie Kendall, a musical-comedy star for her vivacious personality and diction while singing. In later years Loy would recall this film as her proudest acting achievement. She was born Kay Justine Kendall McCarthy on May 26, 1927 in Withernsea, a coastal resort in eastern England. She returned to films with The Best Years Of Our Lives in 1946 and played the wife of returning serviceman Fredric March. Kay Kendall (1927-1959) was a British actress. She helped run a Naval Auxilary Canteen and toured frequently to raise funds.

She was fiercely outspoken against Adolf Hitler and her name appeared on his "blacklist". With the outbreak of World War II she all but abandoned her acting career to focus on the war effort and worked closely with the Red Cross. During this period she was one of Hollywood's busiest and highest paid actresses. In 1936, she was voted "Queen of Hollywood" (in a contest which also voted Clark Gable "King") and was considered to epitomise the height of glamour and sophistication.

She and Powell proved to be a popular couple and appeared in 14 films together, the most prolific onscreen pairing in Hollywood history. Her performance in The Thin Man later the same year as William Powell's sophisticated, witty wife Nora made her a star. The first was Manhattan Melodrama with Clark Gable and William Powell. Her breakthrough occurred in 1934 with two very successful films.

During her nine year struggle to establish herself, she appeared in nearly 80 films. Her silent film roles were mainly those of vampish exotic women and for a few years she struggled to overcome this stereotype with many producers and directors believing that while she was perfect as these femme fatales, she was capable of little more. Rudolph Valentino arranged a screen test for her which she failed, but she persevered, and in 1925 appeared in the movie What Price Beauty. At the age of fifteen she began appearing in local stage productions.

Born Myrna Adele Williams in Raidersburg (near Helena, Montana), she moved to Los Angeles, California when she was young. Myrna Loy (August 2, 1905 - December 14, 1993) was a United States actress, well known for her motion picture work. Made for TV, and starring opposite Henry Fonda, this was Loy's final performance, save for a guest role in a 1982 episode of the television series Love, Sidney. Summer Solstice (1981).

Just Tell Me What You Want (1980). The End (1978). Airport 1975 (1974). Midnight Lace (1960).

From the Terrace (1960). Belles on Their Toes (1952). Cheaper by the Dozen (1950). Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948).

Mr. Song of the Thin Man (1947). The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947). The Best Years of Our Lives (1946).