Kay Johnson

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kay Johnson or known as Katharine Johnson (February 21, 1904 - November 17, 1975) was an actress who performed on the stage and in Hollywood films beginning in 1929. She was born in Mount Vernon, New York on November 29, 1904. Her father was architect Thomas R. Johnson. He designed several noteworthy buildings in the New York City, New York area. Among these include the Woolworth Building, the New York Customs House, and library buildings. The actress once commented that her dad's death in 1914 was hastened by his not having receiving credit for his work on the Woolworth Building. Kay resolved to become an actress just after leaving boarding school. She had moved to Sunderland, Ohio. Her mother reluctantly permitted her to take a course at the American Academy of Dramatic Art.

As a youth she played a leading role in Beggar on Horseback. Miss Johnson's first stage work of note was in the production of R.U.R. in Chicago, Illinois. She moved to California after playing in The Little Accident in Providence, Rhode Island. She was accompanied on her trip west by her husband John Cromwell. He worked as a dialogue director in Hollywood. They wed in October 1928.

Kay was signed to a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer by Cecil B. Demille after a performance of the Silver Cord at the Repertory Theater in Los Angeles, California. The play was produced by Simeon Gest of the Figueroa Playhouse. Kay's film debut came in Dynamite (1929). Demille praised her work in this feature, comparing her to silent film star Gloria Swanson, as the Swanson of voice. Dynamite was written by Jeanie Macpherson and featured Charles Bickford, Conrad Nagel, and child actress Julia Faye in the cast. Johnson played the feminine lead despite having been delayed for a bit because of an operation to remove her appendix. Kay made The Ship From Shanghai (1930), This Mad World (1930), The Spoilers (1930) with Gary Cooper and Betty Compson (the film was remade the following decade with Marlene Dietrich in Compson's part and John Wayne in Cooper's role), and Madame Satan (1930) following her screen debut. Soon she was cast opposite Warner Baxter in a screen adaptation of Such Men Are Dangerous by Elinor Glyn. The story was adapted to the screen by Fox Film.

Miss Johnson's Hollywood career continued until 1954 when her final appearance came in the UK film Jivaro, aka Lost Treasure of the Amazon. Other films in which she participated include Billy the Kid (1930), Of Human Bondage (1934), The Call of the Wild (1935), and The Adventures of Mark Twain (1944).

Kay Johnson died in Waterford, Connecticut on November 17, 1975. She was the mother of actor James Cromwell adopted in 1940 during her marriage to director John Cromwell.

[edit] References

• Los Angeles Times, Demille Features Child Actor, January 17, 1929, Page A10.
• Los Angeles Times, Kay Johnson Under Knife, March 3, 1929, Page C15.
• Los Angeles Times, Kay Johnson Continues, May 30, 1929, Page A6.
• Los Angeles Times, Kay Johnson, as Genteel Heroine of Cecil B. Demille, Plays First Screen Role, July 21, 1929, Page B13.