Kathryn Grayson

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Biography

Kathryn Grayson (February 9, 1922February 17, 2010) was an American actress and opera tic soprano singer.Obituary New York Times , February 19, 2010.Obituary Los Angeles Times , February 19, 2010.Obituary Washington Post , February 19, 2010.Obituary The Times , February 20, 2010.Ronald Bergan The Guardian|London Guardian , 19 February 2010Obituary The Independent|London Independent , February 22, 2010.

From the age of twelve, Grayson trained as an opera singer. She was under contract to MGM by the early 1940s, soon establishing a career principally through her work in musicals. After several supporting roles, she was a lead performer in such films as Thousands Cheer (1943), Anchors Aweigh (film)|Anchors Aweigh (1945) with Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly , and Show Boat (1951 film)|Show Boat (1951) and Kiss Me Kate (film)|Kiss Me Kate (1953) (both with Howard Keel ).

When film musical production declined, she worked in theatre, appearing in Camelot (musical)|Camelot (1962–1964). Later in the decade she performed in several operas, including La bohème , Madama Butterfly , Orpheus in the Underworld and La traviata .

Early life

She was born Zelma Kathryn Elisabeth Hedrick in Winston-Salem, North Carolina , the daughter of Charles E. Hedrick and Lillian Grayson Hedrick (1897–1955). Charles was a building contractor-realtor.
The Hedrick family later moved to St. Louis, Missouri , where she was discovered singing on the empty stage of the The Muny|St. Louis Municipal Opera House by a janitor, who introduced her to Frances Marshall of the Chicago Civic Opera, who gave the twelve-year-old girl voice lessons.

Grayson's sister, Frances Raeburn (born Mildred Hedrick) was also an actress and singer, appearing alongside her in the film Seven Sweethearts . She also had two brothers, Clarence "Bud" E. Hedrick, and Harold.

Film career

1940s

In 1940, an MGM talent scout saw Grayson performing at a music festival. Metro hoped to find a replacement for Deanna Durbin , who left the studio for Universal Pictures . For the next 18 months, Grayson went through voice lessons, drama coaching, diction, diets and exercise. Within a year, Grayson had her first screen test. However, the studio executives were not satisfied, and she went through a further six months of lessons until she made her first film appearance in 1941's '' Andy Hardy's Private Secretary '' as Andy Hardy|the character's secretary Kathryn Land. In the film, she takes part in three musical numbers.

Two further films were planned for Grayson in 1941; White House Girl , which was later made in 1948 with Durbin, and Very Warm for May , from the Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein Very Warm for May|musical of the same name . Ann Sothern was also slated to appear, however, this fell through as well. The film eventually was made in 1944 as Broadway Rhythm .

She appeared in three films in 1942: The Vanishing Virginian , Rio Rita (1942 film)|Rio Rita and Seven Sweethearts . In the first, Grayson plays the teenage daughter, Rebecca, of the eccentric Yancey family from Lynchburg, Virginia|Lynchburg , Virginia. Kathryn Grayson enacts the part of Rebecca in 'The Vanishing Virginian,' story of a southern family, to open Thursday at the Four Star Theater. Set in 1913, the film was based on Rebecca Yancey Williams's own family.

Grayson co-starred in Rio Rita with Abbott and Costello . Grayson portrayed the title character, Rita Winslow. The film was originally meant to be an adaptation of the 1927 Broadway musical, however, only two songs were retained for the film, the title song, and "The Ranger Song," which was performed by Grayson.

Co-starring Van Heflin , Seven Sweethearts cast Grayson as the youngest of seven daughters from Holland, Michigan|Holland , Michigan , who is hired by reporter-photographer Helfin to serve as a model and secretary while he covers the town's tulip festival , and with whom he falls in love.

In 1943, Grayson appeared in the film Thousands Cheer , (originally titled Private Miss Jones ), along with Gene Kelly , Mickey Rooney , Eleanor Powell , June Allyson and others. The film was intended as a morale booster for American troops and their families. Grayson starred as the singing daughter of an Army commander.

It was announced in 1942 that Grayson would appear in An American Symphony with Judy Garland . Garland was replaced by June Allyson and the film was retitled Two Sisters from Boston and released in 1946.

Grayson did not appear in any films for nearly two years (from 1943 to 1945), but instead worked at entertaining troops during the war and performing on radio programs. Her return to films in Anchors Aweigh (film)|Anchors Aweigh , a musical romantic-comedy set in Los Angeles and co-starring Kelly and Frank Sinatra . Anchors Aweigh was the fifth-highest grossing film of 1945, earning over $4.779 million. This was followed by Two Sisters from Boston and guest appearances in Ziegfeld Follies (film)|Ziegfeld Follies and Till the Clouds Roll By . Grayson's performance in Till the Clouds Roll By was of a song from the musical Show Boat , which would be Show Boat (1951 film)|remade five years later, with Grayson in the starring role.

MGM unwisely re-paired Grayson and Sinatra for two movies in 1947 and 1948, It Happened in Brooklyn and The Kissing Bandit (film)|The Kissing Bandit . Both films performed poorly at the box office, and audiences thought the plots absurd. After the setbacks of Brooklyn and Bandit , Grayson was partnered with tenor Mario Lanza in That Midnight Kiss in 1949.

1950s

In 1950, Grayson was once again partnered with Lanza, and portrayed an opera singer in The Toast of New Orleans , and performed the Academy-Award-nominated song " Be My Love ".

While shooting the Madama Butterfly scene in the film, Lanza kept attempting to french kiss Grayson, which Grayson claimed was made even worse by the fact that Lanza would constantly eat garlic before shooting. Grayson went to costume designer Helen Rose and she sewed pieces of brass into Grayson's gloves. Any time Lanza attempted to french kiss her after that, she hit him with the brass-filled glove. For the premiere of the film, Grayson traveled to New Orleans , and was a guest at an auction selling the film's costumes.

Grayson replaced June Allyson as the role of Ina Massine in 1951's Grounds for Marriage . She portrayed an opera singer with laryngitis , alongside Van Johnson who played her doctor and love interest. This was also first non-singing role at MGM. Grayson's musical performances do appear in the film, but in the form of recordings.

Grayson was next cast as Magnolia Hawkes in the Show Boat (1951 film)|1951 remake of the 1927 Oscar Hammerstein II|Hammerstein and Jerome Kern|Kern musical, Show Boat , alongside Howard Keel and Judy Garland , however, Garland dropped out of production, and the role went to Ava Gardner . Show Boat was the third-highest grossing film of 1951, earning over $5.533 million.

Grayson teamed again with Keel that year in Technicolor musical Lovely to Look At , a remake of the 1935 Fred Astaire|Astaire and Ginger Rogers|Rogers film Roberta (1935 film)|Roberta . This would be her last film with MGM, as her contract ended in January 1953. MGM announced her appearance in Rose Marie (films)|Rose Marie and a musical version of Goodbye, Mr. Chips , but the contract ended before production on either film began.

Warner Bros.

After 11 years with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer , Grayson's contract ended, and she went on loan to Warner Bros. . She quickly got to work, and by May, Grayson's first musical with the studio was released, The Desert Song alongside Gordon MacRae . She was asked to perform La bohème at the Central City Opera House in Central City, Colorado , but due to her filming obligations for The Desert Song , she had to turn them down. 1952 also saw an enormous fire on the Warner Bros. lot, and Grayson was among the movie stars who assisted in removing equipment while the fire blazed.

Grayson appeared on television occasionally from the 1950s, e.g., guest starring in the General Electric Theater episode, Shadow on the Heart , with John Ericson . In the 1980s, she guest starred in three episodes of Murder, She Wrote with Angela Lansbury .

Stage career

Grayson appeared on stage in numerous productions including Show Boat , Rosalinda (musical)|Rosalinda , Kiss Me, Kate , Naughty Marietta (operetta)|Naughty Marietta , and The Merry Widow , for which she was nominated for Chicago's Sarah Siddons Award.

In 1953, Grayson optioned the story ''It's Greek to Me , written by Helen Deutsch , to be accompanied by a score from Cole Porter . The story was a mythical love story about Hercules and Hippolyte , and Grayson hoped to be reunited with Howard Keel and take the show on the road, however, the project fell apart.

Her casting in The Merry Widow led to her replacing Julie Andrews in 1962 as Queen Guinevere in Camelot (musical)|Camelot . She then continued the role for over sixteen months in the national tour of the United States before leaving for health reasons.

Grayson had a lifelong dream of being an opera star, and she appeared in a number of operas in the 1960s, such as La bohème , Madama Butterfly , Orpheus in the Underworld and La traviata . Her dramatic and comedy stage roles included Night Watch , Noises Off , Love Letters (play)|Love Letters and '' Something's Afoot as Dottie Otterling.

Musical career

Having trained from the age of twelve, as an opera singer, Grayson sang soprano, in the style of operatic aria s.

While appearing in her films roles, Grayson also performed on the radio. Grayson performed on concert tours throughout the 1950s. In May 1951, Grayson had to postpone a concert tour due to being unknowingly cast in Lovely to Look At . "My concert bookings were all set. So when I read in New York that I was to do this film, I said 'How silly!', then boom& #33; The next day I got my studio telegram asking me to return for the picture!"

In 1952, Grayson was offered more than $10,000 to perform for a week at the Riviera night club in New Jersey before making The Desert Song . After filming The Desert Song , Grayson created a recording of the musical with Tony Martin (entertainer)|Tony Martin .
Grayson supervised the Voice and Choral Studies Program at Idaho State University .Idaho State University: Retrieved on 2009-12-17.

Personal life

Grayson married twice, first to actor John Shelton (actor)|John Shelton (born Edward S. Price) and then to the actor/singer Johnnie Johnston .

John Shelton

Shelton and Grayson eloped to Las Vegas, Nevada|Las Vegas , Nevada , where they were married on July 11, 1941. The two had courted for 18 months, after meeting while making screen tests.

In July 1942, Shelton moved out of their Brentwood, California|Brentwood home and into his own apartment. This came after a month of reconciliation after a judge dismissed their divorce suit. Grayson charged Shelton with mental cruelty. They divorced on June 17, 1946.

Johnnie Johnston

Grayson wed Johnston on August 22, 1947 in Carmel, California|Carmel , California . On October 7, 1948, Grayson's only child, daughter Patricia "Patty Cake" Kathryn Johnston was born. Grayson and Johnston separated on November 15, 1950. On October 3, 1951, Grayson was given a divorce from Johnston on the grounds of mental cruelty. Johnston's This Time for Keeps co-star, Esther Williams , claimed in her 1999 autobiography that while making the film, Johnston would read Grayson's intimate letters aloud to the girls in his fan club, including the "all-too-graphic details concerning what she liked about his love-making."
Though she never married again, Grayson was frequently seen in the late 1950s with Robert Evans (producer)|Robert Evans .
According to her secretary, Grayson died in her sleep at her home in Los Angeles , California on February 17, 2010, aged 88.

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1941	'' Andy Hardy's Private Secretary	Kathryn Land
1942	The Vanishing Virginian	Rebecca Yancey
1942	Rio Rita	Rita Winslow
1942	Seven Sweethearts	Billie Van Maaster
1943	Thousands Cheer	Kathryn Jones
1945	Anchors Aweigh	Susan Abbott
1946	Ziegfeld Follies	Herself	in "There's Beauty Everywhere"
1946	Two Sisters from Boston	Abigail Chandler
1946	Till the Clouds Roll By	Magnolia in 'Show Boat' / Specialty
1947	It Happened in Brooklyn	Anne Fielding
1948	The Kissing Bandit	Teresa
1949	That Midnight Kiss	Prudence Budell
1949	Some of the Best	Herself	uncredited
1950	The Toast of New Orleans	Suzette Micheline
1951	Grounds for Marriage	Ina Massine
1951	Show Boat	Magnolia Hawks
1952	Lovely to Look At	Stephanie
1953	The Desert Song	Margot Birabeau
1953	So This Is Love	Grace Moore	aka The Grace Moore Story
1953	Kiss Me Kate	Lilli Vanessi / "Katharina"
1956	The Vagabond King	Catherine de Vaucelles
1977	The Amazing World of Psychic Phenomena	Herself	documentary
1994	A Century of Cinema	Herself	documentary
2003	Cole Porter in Hollywood: Too Darn Hot	Herself, Kate/ Lilli in Kiss Me Kate
2004	The Masters Behind the Musicals	Herself

Notes

External links

& nbsp;– The Daily Telegraph obituary

Category:1922 births
Category:2010 deaths
Category:20th-century actors
Category:Actors from Missouri
Category:Actors from North Carolina
Category:American female singers
Category:American film actors
Category:American sopranos
Category:American television actors
Category:Idaho State University faculty
Category:Opera crossover singers
Category:Operatic sopranos

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