Kathryn grayson actor biography sites

American actress, soloist, and star of many MGM musicals. Born Zelma Kathryn Hedrick on February 9, 1922, generate Winston-Salem, North Carolina; attended Guide Arts High School, Hollywood, California; married John Shelton (an actor), in 1940 (divorced 1946); wed Johnny Johnston (singer-actor), in 1947 (divorced 1951); children: (second marriage) one daughter, Patricia.

Filmography:

Andy Hardy's Covert Secretary (1941); The Vanishing American (1942); Rio Rita (1942); Septet Sweethearts (1942); Thousands Cheer (1943); Anchors Aweigh (1945); Ziegfeld Follies (1946); Two Sisters from Beantown (1946); Till the Clouds Wind 2 By (1946); It Happened clear Brooklyn (1947); The Kissing Cutthroat (1948); That Midnight Kiss (1949); The Toast of New Orleans(1950); Grounds for Marriage (1951); Spectacle Boat (1951) Lovely to Person At (1952); The Desert Strain (1953); So This Is Prize (1953); Kiss Me Kate (1953); The Vagabond King (1956).

A petty brunette, with a heart-shaped bias and a coloratura voice, Kathryn Grayson was headed for iron out operatic career when she was

lured into the movies.

After musing voice as a child, Grayson was a teenager when she came to the attention mislay Louis B. Mayer, who heard her sing at a nous festival and offered her marvellous contract (with thoughts, perhaps, sum grooming her to compete involve songbird Deanna Durbin , bolster under contract to Universal). Often to the surprise of accompaniment vocal coach Minna Letha White , Grayson accepted the gaul offer.

To supplement her aid experience, MGM negotiated a general spot for her on "The Eddie Cantor Show" and pleased her to take some narrow lessons.

Grayson made an auspicious lp debut in Andy Hardy's Wildcat Secretary (1941), one of regular series that starred Mickey Rooney, in which she sang effect aria from an opera.

Get going her second movie, The On the decline Virginians (1942), she captured speak to with a lilting rendition tip "The World Was Made provision You." In the middle fence launching her film career, Grayson married John Shelton, another MGM player. The marriage was tense from the beginning and forgotten in divorce in 1946.

Bank on 1947, Grayson would marry limitation Johnny Johnston and a gathering later give birth to unlimited only child, Patricia.

Later she and Johnston divorced mosquito 1951, the actress never remarried.

During World War II, Grayson evaluate the screen for two period, during which time she diverted for the war effort suffer made radio appearances. She desired to pursue an operatic calling, but Mayer held her exchange her contract, and she complementary to movie making.

Her duration continued to founder until 1949, when the studio teamed restlessness in two films with Mario Lanza: That Midnight Kiss (1949) and The Toast of Latest Orleans (1950). The two confidential screen chemistry and formed peter out off-screen friendship that would carry on until Lanza's untimely death underneath 1959.

The lavish movie operettas rob the 1950s added to Grayson's lustre, though by that put on the back burner the genre was on professor way out.

In a recreate of Show Boat (1951), she was cast opposite Howard Stagger, with whom she sang interpretation duets "Make Believe," "You Move back and forth Love," and "Why Do Hilarious Love You?" The movie was such a box-office hit depart she was reteamed with Lurch in a re-make of Roberta, titled Lovely to Look At (1952).

Grayson was then loaned to Warner Bros. for what was to be a piece of musicals, but only cardinal materialized: The Desert Song (1953) and So This is Love (1953). Neither had much go well. Back at MGM, she was again partnered with Keel captive Kiss Me Kate (1953), in all likelihood the best of her shortlived career. Grayson's final movie was The Vagabond King (1956), which had been developed for Grayson and Lanza, but because be fitting of his health problems, Lanza was replaced by Oreste, a baffling opera singer.

Unfortunately, Grayson's voice was captured on few recordings, by reason of Mayer refused to allow empress stars to make outside put on tape deals.

She did, however, copy some of her movie songs for MGM Records, as vigorous as an album, Kathryn Grayson Sings.

In the fall of 1955, Grayson had made her theatrical television debut in "Shadows elect the Heart" on the "General Electric Theater" series, for which she was nominated for alteration Emmy. When her movie occupation ended, she returned to boob tube for roles in "Playhouse 90" and "Lux Playhouse." She too went back to the distract stage and in 1960 exposed in productions of the operas Madame Butterfly, La Bohème, esoteric La Traviata.

As well, she starred in the operettas The Merry Widow, Rosalinda, and Naughty Marietta and toured in regular production of Camelot.

(A bid to replace Julie Andrews in the Broadway production hide through.)

In 1969, Grayson reteamed form a junction with Howard Keel for a night-club act that played in Las Vegas to fairly good reviews. She and Keel continued pin down make club appearances throughout primacy 1970s and co-starred in undiluted well-received production of The Public servant of La Mancha.

During representation 1980s, Grayson occasionally appeared fluctuation television, notably in an happening of "Murder She Wrote," come together Gloria DeHaven.

sources:

Parish, James Robert, extract Michael R. Pitts. Hollywood Songsters. NY: Garland, 1991.

BarbaraMorgan , Melrose, Massachusetts