The Brief, Madcap Life of Kay Kendall [Hardcover]

Eve Golden (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 13, 2002

" Comedic film actress Kay Kendall, born to a theatrical family in Northern England, came of age in London during the Blitz. After starring in Britain's biggest cinematic disaster, she found stardom in 1953 with her brilliant performance in the low-budget film, Genevieve. She scored success after success with her light comic style in movies such as Doctor in the House, The Reluctant Debutante, and the Gene Kelly musical Les Girls. Kendall's private life was even more colorful than the plots of her films as she embarked on a series of affairs with minor royalty, costars, directors, producers, and married men. In 1954 she fell in love with her married Constant Husband costar Rex Harrison and accompanied him to New York, where he was starring on Broadway in My Fair Lady. It was there that Kendall was diagnosed with myelocytic leukemia. Her life took a romantic and tragic turn as Harrison divorced his wife and married Kendall. He agreed with their doctor that she was never to know of her diagnosis, and for the next two years the couple lived a hectic, glamorous life together as Kendall's health failed. She died in London at the age of 32, shortly after completing the filming of Once More with Feeling!, her husband by her side. The Brief, Madcap Life of Kay Kendall was written with the cooperation of Kendall's sister Kim and includes interviews with many of her costars, relatives and friends. A complete filmography and numerous rare photographs complete this first-ever biography of Britain's most glamorous comic star. Eve Golden is the author of several biographies of actresses, Anna Held and the Birth of Ziegfeld's Broadway, as well as a collection of essays on silent film stars.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

British starlet Kay Kendall started in show business at the age of 11. Unfortunately, most of her films were box-office flops that received mixed reviews about her performance, a reality that did not deter Kendall from pursuing her desire to become a star. Kendall was likable, easily attracting friends and admirers; she had a longtime relationship with Charlie Chaplain's son Sydney and dated some minor royalty. Her scandalous affair and eventual marriage to Rex Harrison helped boost Kay's struggling career, but her untimely death from leukemia ended her dreams of stardom. Golden, author of biographies on Jean Harlow and Theda Bara, has joined with Kendall's sister to write the first biography of this beautiful, ambitious woman. Golden's writing style is concise and evenly paced, and she uses firsthand information from the actress's family and friends. Although American audiences may not be familiar with Kendall, this is an enjoyable read. Purchase where there is an interest in show-business biographies. Rosalind Dayen, Broward Cty. South Regional Lib., Pembroke Pines, FL
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"The first biography of this beautiful, ambitious woman. Golden's writing style is concise and evenly paced, and she uses firsthand information from the actress's family and friends. Although American audiences may not be familiar with Kendall, this is an enjoyable read." -- Library Journal

"Kendall's life is filled with a sense of fun and mischief." -- Movie Review Index

"Considered to be a real life 'Holly Golightly' by the British. A beautiful comedian everyone thought to be mad as a 'hatter.' The book will tell you all about the woman and how she lived up to her reputation." -- Rainbo Electronic Reviews

"She was quite magic. Everywhere you went, people used to stop and stare... she radiated." -- Roddy McDowell

"Kendall has a presence that went far beyond her limited screen oeuvre." -- Washington Post

"Belongs in a bygone age of romantic movies filled with dashing heroes and honorable secrets." -- Wisconsin State Journal

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: The University Press of Kentucky (September 13, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813122511
• ISBN-13: 978-0813122519
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,319,114 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

After 20-some years in magazine publishing (including a stint writing "The Bottom Shelf" for Movieline, and as copy chief at More), I now work as a photo archivist in New York. I have several new book ideas on the back and front burners, and a proposal currently making the rounds.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dark Allegory, April 10, 2005

By 

Kevin Killian (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Brief, Madcap Life of Kay Kendall (Hardcover)

Eve Golden is one of the best writers about Hollywood and about screen acting that we have. If I had my way, she would be declared a national treasure. I think of her as an American writer, but she has been able to get the gist of Anna Held's mysterious European origins and now she turns her gaze onto Kay Kendall, the epitome of postwar UK chic, and she comes up with another winner.

Kay Kendall's life, and especially her death, made her a legend in the late 1950s, and if she is pretty much forgotten nowadays it is not due to a lack of ardent fans who love her, like I do. Once more of her films are released on DVD perhaps we will have a revaluation of her work as an actress, sort of the way people started to appreciate Norma Shearer only within the last 20 years, based on the policy of going back to the films and seeing what worked, what didn't in them. Who among us for example has more than the vaguest of memories of ONCE MORE WITH FEELING, the Stanley Donen comedy which was Kendall's last picture. Poor thing she had to co-star with the film world's biggesr ham, Yul Brynner, while at home she was getting locked out of her hotel room by Rex Harrison, her husband, who was pretending to enjoy his tempestuous relationship with her while trying to keep the secret from her that she was dying of leukemia. Eve Golden and Kim Kendall try to give thhe devil his due, but by the end of the book you're thinking that meeting Rex Harrison was the worst mistake poor Kay ever made in her tragically abbreviated life.

Dirk Bogarde was a close friend to Kay, and Eve Golden apparently was able to interview him at great length in the years before his death. His contributions give the book a lot of depth, while the recollections of Princess Lilian are also important, historically. I also liked the memories of Kay's younger half-brother Cavan Kendall, who must have been around 20 when his sister died but who retains a lot of the crystal sharp memories of youth.

Yes, Kay Kendall had her faults, and chief among them was her inability to see that she was doing wrong when she wanted something (such as someone else's boyfriend or husband). In context, Golden lets us realize that some young women who grew up in London during the blitz had an amoral attitude towards grasping the brass ring. Because at any moment death might rain down from the sky, the feeling was, live for today, and damn the consequences.

Yes, Kendall had her faults but I do not see that it was the job of the biographer to gloss them over. She wouldn't have been hman if she was just the madcap clotheshorse she played in a handful of sophisticated flicks. She did sterling work for Muriel Box, Vincente Minnelli, George Cukor. For that I would forgive her many sins. And her death is still very sad. Hopefully Kay's sister, Kim, will live to see a day when the disease that carried Kay off will be eliminated from the face of the earth. "And there will be no more dying then . . . " as it says in Holy Writ.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Divine Kay, June 22, 2003

By 

Herbert Boomhower (Chesapeake, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Brief, Madcap Life of Kay Kendall (Hardcover)

This was a book I eagerly anticipated and I was not let down. Entertaining show biz author Eve Golden weaves a fun story around show business's most glamorous comedienne. From day one, Kay Kendall lived a fast-paced, fun-filled life, mixed with a semi-successful career filled with interesting and witty friends.
As the world knows, Kay Kendall's life was cut short following a losing battle with leukemia, a disease everyone swears she never knew she had. Her marriage to Rex Harrison is honestly told and the author manages to bring Kay's story to print in a slender volume that is filled with reminiscences from family and friends.
A fun read, a delightful tribute to the Divine Kay.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Utterly fantastic - in true Golden style., November 15, 2002

By 

Donna Lethal "donna lethal" (los angeles, ca) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Brief, Madcap Life of Kay Kendall (Hardcover)

This is Eve Golden's best book yet, and that's saying a lot. While many Americans are unaware of Kay Kendall's short, but significant, career, Ms. Kendall's popularity over the pond remains unwavering. Her life story is told in a style true to Kendall's off-screen persona: funny, witty, sharp, and always interesting. As the subject matter could have ended up a cliched tearjerker with Kendall's death, Golden instead takes the high road. Highly recommended for any fan or Kendall's, Golden's, or movies in general.