Kathryn Grayson (February 9, 1922 – February 17, 2010[1]) was an American actress and operatic soprano singer.
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 Anchors Aweigh (1945) with Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly, Show Boat (1951) and Kiss Me Kate (1953) with Howard Keel.
When film musical production declined, she worked in theatre, appearing in Camelot (1962-1964). Later in the decade, she performed in several operas, including La bohème, Madama Butterfly, Orpheus in the Underworld and La traviata.
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 Anchors Aweigh (1945) with Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly, Show Boat (1951) and Kiss Me Kate (1953) with Howard Keel.
When film musical production declined, she worked in theatre, appearing in Camelot (1962-1964). Later in the decade, she performed in several operas, including La bohème, Madama Butterfly, Orpheus in the Underworld and La traviata.
Background
She was born Zelma Kathryn Elisabeth Hedrick in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The Hedrick family later moved to St. Louis, Missouri, where she was discovered singing on the empty stage of the 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.
[edit] Career
with Mario Lanza in The Toast of New Orleans (1950)
Discovered by an MGM talent scout in 1940,[6] her first film appearance was in Andy Hardy's Private Secretary (1941) as the character's secretary Kathryn Land.[8][9] Though she began, in films such as Seven Sweethearts (1942) and Anchors Aweigh (1945), as MGM's response to Deanna Durbin's box-office appeal, she became a star via the films Thousands Cheer, Anchors Aweigh and Two Sisters from Boston. Howard Keel was her partner in three feature films, the remake of Show Boat (1951), Lovely to Look At (1952), which was a new version of Roberta, and the title role in Kiss Me Kate (1953), for which she is probably best remembered. Later, Grayson appeared with Keel in a highly successful cabaret act during the 1960s. She also appeared in two films with tenor Mario Lanza, That Midnight Kiss (1949) and The Toast of New Orleans (1950).
Grayson appeared on television occasionally from the 1950s, receiving an Emmy nomination in 1956 for her performance in the General Electric Theater episode Shadow on the Heart with John Ericson. In the 1980s, she guest starred in several episodes of Murder, She Wrote with Angela Lansbury.
[edit] Stage career
Grayson's film career ended with the classic MGM musical. She appeared on stage in numerous productions including Show Boat, Rosalinda, Kiss Me, Kate, Naughty Marietta, and The Merry Widow, for which she was nominated for Chicago's Sarah Siddons Award. This led to her being cast as Queen Guenever in 1962 in Camelot, a well regarded replacement for Julie Andrews in the Broadway production, before continuing in the role for over sixteen months in the national tour of the United States, leaving the show 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 and Something's Afoot as Dottie Otterling.
Grayson supervised the Voice and Choral Studies Program at the Idaho State University.[10][11]
[edit] Personal life
In Hollywood she married twice, first to the actor John Shelton and then to the actor/singer Johnnie Johnston. Both marriages ended in divorce. Her second marriage produced her only child, her daughter Patricia Kathryn Johnston (b. October 7, 1948).
Grayson died in her sleep at her home in Los Angeles, California on February 17, 2010, at the age of 88.[1]
She was born Zelma Kathryn Elisabeth Hedrick in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The Hedrick family later moved to St. Louis, Missouri, where she was discovered singing on the empty stage of the 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.
[edit] Career
with Mario Lanza in The Toast of New Orleans (1950)
Discovered by an MGM talent scout in 1940,[6] her first film appearance was in Andy Hardy's Private Secretary (1941) as the character's secretary Kathryn Land.[8][9] Though she began, in films such as Seven Sweethearts (1942) and Anchors Aweigh (1945), as MGM's response to Deanna Durbin's box-office appeal, she became a star via the films Thousands Cheer, Anchors Aweigh and Two Sisters from Boston. Howard Keel was her partner in three feature films, the remake of Show Boat (1951), Lovely to Look At (1952), which was a new version of Roberta, and the title role in Kiss Me Kate (1953), for which she is probably best remembered. Later, Grayson appeared with Keel in a highly successful cabaret act during the 1960s. She also appeared in two films with tenor Mario Lanza, That Midnight Kiss (1949) and The Toast of New Orleans (1950).
Grayson appeared on television occasionally from the 1950s, receiving an Emmy nomination in 1956 for her performance in the General Electric Theater episode Shadow on the Heart with John Ericson. In the 1980s, she guest starred in several episodes of Murder, She Wrote with Angela Lansbury.
[edit] Stage career
Grayson's film career ended with the classic MGM musical. She appeared on stage in numerous productions including Show Boat, Rosalinda, Kiss Me, Kate, Naughty Marietta, and The Merry Widow, for which she was nominated for Chicago's Sarah Siddons Award. This led to her being cast as Queen Guenever in 1962 in Camelot, a well regarded replacement for Julie Andrews in the Broadway production, before continuing in the role for over sixteen months in the national tour of the United States, leaving the show 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 and Something's Afoot as Dottie Otterling.
Grayson supervised the Voice and Choral Studies Program at the Idaho State University.[10][11]
[edit] Personal life
In Hollywood she married twice, first to the actor John Shelton and then to the actor/singer Johnnie Johnston. Both marriages ended in divorce. Her second marriage produced her only child, her daughter Patricia Kathryn Johnston (b. October 7, 1948).
Grayson died in her sleep at her home in Los Angeles, California on February 17, 2010, at the age of 88.[1]
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