Kay Thompson, born in St. Louis early in the 20th Century (1909 is the general consensus, but there is some disagreement), can be most easily be described as unique.
 |
| Eloise in Paris (1957) |
Kay Thompson was born Catherine L. Fink, the daughter of a St. Louis jeweler...and she was always musical. She began her singing career straight out of college and by the time she was in her mid-20s she was working in radio as a singer and choral director. She toured with Fred Waring as a singer and arranger, and her group, The Kay Thompson Swing Choir, appeared in Manhattan Merry-Go-Round (1937).
Through songwriter friends Ralph Blane and Hugh Martin, Thompson became a vocal arranger at MGM in the early '40s. Her projects included Week-End at the Waldorf (1945), Ziegfeld Follies (1946), The Harvey Girls (1946) and Good News (1947). She had a small part in another of her assignments, The Kid From Brooklyn (1946).
Thompson was also vocal coach to the stars: Sinatra, Garland (who named her Liza's godmother), Lena Horne (who termed her "the best vocal coach in the world"), Ann Sothern, June Allyson and others. Critic Rex Reed has remarked, "Kay did things with June Allyson, who didn't have much range, to make her sound great in Good News."
Thompson was also vocal coach to the stars: Sinatra, Garland (who named her Liza's godmother), Lena Horne (who termed her "the best vocal coach in the world"), Ann Sothern, June Allyson and others. Critic Rex Reed has remarked, "Kay did things with June Allyson, who didn't have much range, to make her sound great in Good News."
 |
| Kay Thompson and the Williams Brothers |
In 1948, when her MGM contract was up, Thompson left the studio and formed a ground-breaking nightclub act, Kay Thompson and the Williams Brothers (Andy was one of the brothers). It was a trend-setting smash. Singer Julie Wilson recalled Kay's show, "Her act at the Persian Room was electric. Kay and the Williams Brothers moved so well, with one terrific pose after another. It was an absolute knockout. Kay's energy took your breath away. She wore those wonderful white pantsuits, which no one wore at the time. The show was very stark and modern, and the rhythm never stopped." A critic from Varietyreported, "Her act is paced like a North Atlantic gale," and concluded, "Miss Thompson is more than an act. She's an experience."
Andy Williams remembered, "It's hard to imagine there wasn't an act like us before, because there have been so many since. Up to that time everyone just sang around a microphone, and when the song was over, the singers would raise their arms...[Kay] wrote wonderful songs, she could arrange, she could play the piano beautifully, she could stage numbers. And she could sing! She taught me more about singing and show business than anyone else in the world."
 |
| Kay Thompson in 1954 |
Her show-stopping turn in Funny Face was Kay Thompson's only major film role. Her next and final outing was a small (but memorable) part in Otto Preminger's Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon (1970) starring goddaughter Liza Minnelli. During her final years, Thompson lived in Liza's Upper East Side penthouse; she passed away there in 1998.
In 2003 Disney produced two movies for TV based on Thompson's first two Eloise books, Eloise at the Plaza and Eloise at Christmastime, both starring Julie Andrews as Nanny (the first Eloise book had originally been adapted for TV in 1956). In 2006 an animated TV series based on the characters from the Eloise books debuted on Starz! Kids & Family with Lynn Redgrave as Nanny. Following Thompson's death, her estate authorized additional books in the Eloise series and several have been written and published since.
"Liza's at the Palace...!" was a limited-run engagement at New York's Palace Theatre from December 3, 2008 - January 4, 2009. Included in the concert was a recreation of Kay Thompson's nightclub act. The NY Times critic wrote, "From the moment Ms. Minnelli joins forces with a male singing and dancing quartet to resurrect part of a famous nightclub act Thompson created in the late '40s and early '50s with the Williams Brothers, the Palace Theater blasts off into orbit." The show was a popular and critical success that won several awards including a Tony for Best Special Theatrical Event.
 |
| Liza Minnelli at the Palace Theatre, 2008, recreating Thompson's club act |
And - on yet another front, New York's Plaza Hotel opened an Eloise boutique in 2009 and in 2010 opened the Betsey Johnson-designed confection called "The Eloise Suite." Think pink, indeed!
 |
| The Eloise Suite at New York's Plaza Hotel |
Advertisement
You have just read the article News for today's that category Eloise /
Funny Face /
Kay Thompson /
Liza Minnelli /
The Lady Eve (author)
by title One of a Kind: Kay Thompson. You can bookmark this page with a URL http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2012/04/one-of-kind-kay-thompson.html. Thank you!
Posted by: Tukiyooo
One of a Kind: Kay Thompson Updated at :
7:34 AM
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Post a Comment