Kay Francis : A Passionate Life and Career

by Kear, Lynn

• ISBN13: 9780786423668
• ISBN10: 0786423668
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-01-30
• Publisher: McFarland & Co Inc Pub

Summary

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.

Author Biography

Film scholar and award-winning writer Lynn Kear lives in Stone Mountain, Georgia. John Rossman lives in New York.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	vii
Preface	1	(2)
The Michigan Playboy and the Actress, 1905--1908	3	(10)
Kay Comes of Age, 1909--1921	13	(7)
Her Most Wonderful Years, 1922--1925	20	(9)
Kay Goes Wild, 1925--1927	29	(12)
The Big Break, 1928--1929	41	(8)
``Overnight'' Success, 1929--1930	49	(15)
Trouble in Paradise, 1931--1932	64	(13)
Merrily We Roll Along, 1933--1935	77	(14)
Disillusionment, 1936--1937	91	(13)
The Actress and the Spy, 1937--1940	104	(13)
Four Jills in a Jeep, 1941--1943	117	(14)
Goodbye Hollywood, Hello Broadway, 1944--1946	131	(11)
Disaster, 1947--1949	142	(9)
The Comeback, 1949--1955	151	(11)
I Used to Be Kay Francis, 1955--1968	162	(7)
Chronology	169	(4)
Filmography	173	(20)
Notes	193	(24)
Bibliography	217	(6)
Index	223