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IMDbPro

Kathryn Grayson(1922-2010)

  • Actress
  • Soundtrack
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Kathryn Grayson circa 1952
Official Trailer
Play trailer2:05
The Vagabond King (1956)
11 Videos
99+ Photos
Kathryn Grayson was born Zelma Kathryn Elisabeth Hedrick in Winston-Salem, NC, on February 9, 1922. This pretty, petite brunette with a heart-shaped face was discovered by MGM talent scouts while singing on the radio. The studio quickly signed her to a contract, and she was given acting lessons along and had to pose for countless publicity photos. Kathryn, a coloratura soprano, made her first film in 1941, a "B" picture called Andy Hardy's Private Secretary (1941). She soon was cast opposite some of MGM's top musical stars of the 1940s, such as Gene Kelly and Mario Lanza. She was paired with Lanza a few times, but the two never got along due mostly to Lanza's hot temper and alcohol abuse. The pairing of Lanza and Grayson would never match the success of lyrical soprano Jeanette MacDonald and baritone Nelson Eddy, although Kathryn and MacDonald did become great friends. Jeanette became a mentor and an older sister figure for Kathryn.

Grayson's most memorable roles came in the early 1950s. They were Show Boat (1951), where she played "Magnolia", opposite Ava Gardner and Howard Keel; Kiss Me Kate (1953), playing actress "Lilli Vanessi", who portrayed "Katherine" in the movie's "show within a show", a musical version of "The Taming of the Shrew". In 1953 she exited MGM, then made only one more film, The Vagabond King (1956), at Paramount. She later worked in nightclubs and on stage.
BornFebruary 9, 1922
DiedFebruary 17, 2010(88)
BornFebruary 9, 1922
DiedFebruary 17, 2010(88)
IMDbProStarmeter
See rank
  • Awards

Photos142

Kathryn Grayson in Ziegfeld Follies (1945)
Kathryn Grayson in Ziegfeld Follies (1945)
Kathryn Grayson in Ziegfeld Follies (1945)
Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Pamela Britton, and Kathryn Grayson in Anchors Aweigh (1945)
Kathryn Grayson and José Iturbi in Anchors Aweigh (1945)
James Carlisle and Kathryn Grayson in Anchors Aweigh (1945)
Kathryn Grayson in Anchors Aweigh (1945)
Kathryn Grayson in Anchors Aweigh (1945)
Gene Kelly and Kathryn Grayson in Anchors Aweigh (1945)
Gene Kelly and Kathryn Grayson in Anchors Aweigh (1945)
Kathryn Grayson in Anchors Aweigh (1945)
Gene Kelly and Kathryn Grayson in Anchors Aweigh (1945)

Known for

Kiss Me Kate (1953)
Kiss Me Kate
7.0
  • Lilli Vanessi 'Katherine'
  • 1953
Ava Gardner, Kathryn Grayson, and Howard Keel in Show Boat (1951)
Show Boat
6.9
  • Magnolia Hawks
  • 1951
Gene Kelly and Kathryn Grayson in Thousands Cheer (1943)
Thousands Cheer
6.2
  • Kathryn Jones
  • 1943
Kathryn Grayson and Marion Ackerson in Two Sisters from Boston (1946)
Two Sisters from Boston
6.6
  • Abigail Chandler
  • 1946

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actress

  • Angela Lansbury in Murder, She Wrote (1984)
    Murder, She Wrote
  • Robert Blake in Baretta (1975)
    Baretta
  • Lux Playhouse (1958)
    Lux Playhouse
  • "Eighty Yard Run, The" (Playhouse 90) Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. 1957 CBS
    Playhouse 90
  • Ronald Reagan in General Electric Theater (1953)
    General Electric Theater
  • Kathryn Grayson and Oreste Kirkop in The Vagabond King (1956)
    The Vagabond King
  • Kiss Me Kate (1953)
    Kiss Me Kate
  • So This Is Love (1953)
    So This Is Love
  • The Desert Song (1953)
    The Desert Song
  • Lovely to Look At (1952)
    Lovely to Look At
  • Ava Gardner, Kathryn Grayson, and Howard Keel in Show Boat (1951)
    Show Boat
  • Van Johnson and Kathryn Grayson in Grounds for Marriage (1951)
    Grounds for Marriage
  • David Niven, Kathryn Grayson, and Mario Lanza in The Toast of New Orleans (1950)
    The Toast of New Orleans
  • Ethel Barrymore, Kathryn Grayson, José Iturbi, and Mario Lanza in That Midnight Kiss (1949)
    That Midnight Kiss
  • The Kissing Bandit (1948)
    The Kissing Bandit

Soundtrack

  • Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1940s: Stars, Stripes and Singing (2009)
    Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1940s: Stars, Stripes and Singing
    • (uncredited)
  • That's Entertainment! III (1994)
    That's Entertainment! III
    • (uncredited)
  • MGM: When the Lion Roars (1992)
    MGM: When the Lion Roars
    • (uncredited)
  • That's Entertainment, Part II (1976)
    That's Entertainment, Part II
    • (uncredited)
  • That's Entertainment! (1974)
    That's Entertainment!
    • (uncredited)
  • Kathryn Grayson and Oreste Kirkop in The Vagabond King (1956)
    The Vagabond King
  • Kiss Me Kate (1953)
    Kiss Me Kate
    • (uncredited)
  • So This Is Love (1953)
    So This Is Love
    • (uncredited)
  • The Desert Song (1953)
    The Desert Song
    • (uncredited)
  • Lovely to Look At (1952)
    Lovely to Look At
    • (uncredited)
  • Ava Gardner, Kathryn Grayson, and Howard Keel in Show Boat (1951)
    Show Boat
    • (uncredited)
  • Van Johnson and Kathryn Grayson in Grounds for Marriage (1951)
    Grounds for Marriage
    • (uncredited)
  • David Niven, Kathryn Grayson, and Mario Lanza in The Toast of New Orleans (1950)
    The Toast of New Orleans
    • (uncredited)
  • Ethel Barrymore, Kathryn Grayson, José Iturbi, and Mario Lanza in That Midnight Kiss (1949)
    That Midnight Kiss
    • (uncredited)
  • The Kissing Bandit (1948)
    The Kissing Bandit

Videos11

Trailer
Trailer 3:06
Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 3:16
Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 2:18
Official Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 2:11
Official Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 2:39
Official Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 3:24
Official Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 4:02
Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 2:29
Trailer
The Vagabond King
Trailer 2:05
The Vagabond King
It Happened in Brooklyn
Trailer 3:29
It Happened in Brooklyn
Kiss Me Kate
Trailer 3:22
Kiss Me Kate

Personal details

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    • Official Site
    • February 9, 1922
    • Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA
    • February 17, 2010
    • Los Angeles, California, USA(natural causes)
    • Johnny JohnstonAugust 22, 1947 - October 3, 1952 (divorced, 1 child)
  • Other works
    Print ads: Magazine ads for Chemcraft dinettes
  • Publicity listings
    • 7 Articles
    • 1 Pictorial
    • 2 Magazine Cover Photos

Did you know

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  • Trivia
    Howard Keel, her co-star in three movies, once described her in an interview as the most beautiful woman in the history of movies.

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