Kay Francis: A Passionate Life and CareerMcFarland, 2015 M02 12 - 240 pages Kay Francis came of age in the Roaring Twenties and relished the era's hedonistic pursuits. Her career as an actress was launched at the same time, and before her death in 1968, she had appeared on many theater stages, in more than 60 films, on radio, in USO tours, as a model, and on television. The tall, stylish actress had a husky voice and dark beauty that was striking on film. Despite her financial success, relaxed morals, and life as a socialite, the millionaire actress shunned luxuries such as limousines and sprawling estates popular among Hollywood elite. The actress, who insisted she wanted to be forgotten, left behind scrapbooks, boxes of memorabilia and detailed diaries. These rich resources help provide an exhaustive look at the life of one of Hollywood's most intriguing early stars. Francis' biography is the heart of this book, beginning with her family background and her upbringing by a vaudevillian actress mother. The story of her extensive career and never-ending romantic pursuits is peppered with comments from the media and her own diaries, and supplemented with ample photographs. A chronology gives dates of theater openings, film releases, marriages, television and radio appearances, births and deaths. A filmography includes complete cast and credit lists. |
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... November ¡¡, ¡829, married Helen Woolley on March 4, ¡86¡—making him the only sibling to marry. According to local legend, the siblings drew lots to determine who would marry and inherit the family fortune. Kay's father, Joseph Sprague ...
... November, he was spotted in Battle Creek, where a newspaper referred to him as a “well known horseman and sportsman.”33 But his near-death experience triggered wanderlust. Joe took many business and hunting trips, and in January ¡902 he ...
... November ¡9, ¡903.38 Mary received the Gibbs farm—a generous settlement, to say the least, suggesting she'd been abandoned. “Nothing. fazed. mother,. the. darling.”39. Born in Chicago on May ¡7, ¡874, the daughter of Isabel C. Clinton and ...
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Contents
| 3 | |
| 13 | |
Her Most Wonderful Years 19221925 | 20 |
Kay Goes Wild 19251927 | 29 |
The Big Break 19281929 | 41 |
Overnight Success 19291930 | 49 |
Trouble in Paradise 19311932 | 64 |
Merrily We Roll Along 19331935 | 77 |
Four Jills in a Jeep 19411943 | 117 |
Goodbye Hollywood Hello Broadway 19441946 | 131 |
Disaster 19471949 | 142 |
The Comeback 19491955 | 151 |
Chronology | 169 |
Notes | 193 |
Bibliography | 217 |
Index | 223 |