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IMDbPro

Kay Johnson(1904-1975)

  • Actress
  • Soundtrack
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Kay Johnson Madam Satan (1930)
Trailer for this film inspired by the book
Play trailer2:03
Pako Etelämeren saarille (1942)
1 Video
70 Photos
The personification of class and cultivation on the movie screen, comely actress Kay Johnson forsook a prominent stage and film career in order to play wife to actor John Cromwell and mother to their two children. Still and all, the elegant actress, reminiscent in looks and style to that of Irene Dunne and Judith Anderson, contributed to a number of important '30s and early '40s films and is deserving of a richer place in Hollywood history than has been acknowledged thus far.

Born Catherine Townsend Johnson, the daughter of a Michigan architect (Thomas R. Johnson--who worked in the firm of Cass Gilbert the architect of the impressive Woolworth Building in NYC), Kay received her early education at the Drew Seminary for Young Women and later, intent on becoming an actress, studied at Sargent's Dramatic School of the American Academy of Dramatic Art (AADA). Her first professional role came with the Theatre Guild's Chicago production of "R.U.R." in the role of Helena, a robot. From there she appeared on Broadway in "Go West, Young Man" and continued on with stage roles in "The Morning After," "One of the Family," "No Trespassing" and "Crime".

Kay met actor/producer/director Cromwell while she was appearing in the play "A Free Soul" in 1928 and he was involved in another play. They married later that year (October) and moved to California, where he directed her in a stage production of "The Silver Cord". Her showy role as Christine earned the attention of none other than Cecil B. DeMille, who cast her in his film Dynamiittia (1929) opposite Charles Bickford and Conrad Nagel. While the movie received lukewarm reviews, Kay, who suffered from appendicitis and had surgery during filming, was instantly noticed. She continued on with The Ship from Shanghai (1930), This Mad World (1930) (directed by William C. de Mille, the brother of C.B.), The Spoilers (1930) (opposite Gary Cooper), the title role as Madam Satan (1930) (again for C.B. DeMille), and Billy the Kid (1930) starring Johnny Mack Brown as the legendary gunslinger.

Kay alternated between stage and film parts in the following years. She toured with another production of "The Silver Cord" and appeared as Roxanne opposite Richard Bennett's lead in "Cyrano de Bergerac". Later she was on stage in "When Ladies Meet" and "Living Dangerously". On screen Kay appeared in the mediocre films The Single Sin (1931) and The Spy (1931) before glowing onscreen in such fare as Suuri pankkirosvous (1932) and This Man Is Mine (1934), the latter directed by husband Cromwell.

Kay's most noteworthy career assignment came with the screen role of Nora in W. Somerset Maugham's classic Of Human Bondage (1934)--again, directed by her husband Cromwell--with Leslie Howard and Bette Davis completing the romantic triangle. Cromwell went on to direct Kay on screen again in Village Tale (1935), Jalna (1935) and Pako Etelämeren saarille (1942). Other notable Kay Johnson films included Valkoinen lippu (1938), Onnenpoika (1943) and her last, Mark Twainin seikkailut (1944). Her final acting appearance was in a prime role opposite Ralph Bellamy in a stage production of "State of the Union" in 1945.

Kay never aggressively pursued her career, instead focusing on her marriage to Cromwell and the raising of their two children. The couple's first child was adopted in 1938; their second son, born in January of 1940, became the noted character actor James Cromwell. Following her divorce from Cromwell in the late '40s, Kay decided to remain out of the limelight. She died just short of her 71st birthday at her Waterford, CT., home on November 17, 1975, long forgotten.
BornNovember 29, 1904
DiedNovember 17, 1975(70)
BornNovember 29, 1904
DiedNovember 17, 1975(70)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank

Photos70

Ian Hunter, Kay Johnson, Molly Lamont, and Theodore Newton in Jalna (1935)
Randolph Scott and Kay Johnson in Village Tale (1935)
David Durand, Freddie Burke Frederick, Douglas Haig, Neil Hamilton, Kay Johnson, and Henry Kolker in The Spy (1931)
Charles Bickford, Kay Johnson, and Conrad Nagel in Dynamiittia (1929)
Charles Bickford and Kay Johnson in Dynamiittia (1929)
Charles Bickford, Kay Johnson, and Conrad Nagel in Dynamiittia (1929)
Charles Bickford, Kay Johnson, and Conrad Nagel in Dynamiittia (1929)
Charles Bickford, Kay Johnson, and Conrad Nagel in Dynamiittia (1929)
Kay Francis and Kay Johnson in Passion Flower (1930)
Julia Faye, Kay Johnson, Joel McCrea, and Conrad Nagel in Dynamiittia (1929)
Charles Bickford and Kay Johnson in Passion Flower (1930)
Betty Compson and Kay Johnson in The Spoilers (1930)

Known for:

Kay Johnson in Madam Satan (1930)
Madam Satan
6.3
  • Angela Brooks
  • Madam Satan
  • 1930
Bette Davis and Leslie Howard in Of Human Bondage (1934)
Of Human Bondage
7.0
  • Norah
  • 1934
Jalna (1935)
Jalna
6.1
  • Alayne Archer Whiteoaks
  • 1935
This Mad World (1930)
This Mad World
6.1
  • Victoria
  • 1930

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Actress

  • Amazonin aarre (1954)
    Amazonin aarre
    5.9
    • Umari (uncredited)
    • 1954
  • Fredric March and Alexis Smith in Mark Twainin seikkailut (1944)
    Mark Twainin seikkailut
    7.1
    • Jane Clemens (uncredited)
    • 1944
  • Cary Grant and Laraine Day in Onnenpoika (1943)
    Onnenpoika
    7.1
    • Mrs. Mary Ostrander
    • 1943
  • Tyrone Power, Gene Tierney, Roddy McDowall, George Sanders, and Frances Farmer in Pako Etelämeren saarille (1942)
    Pako Etelämeren saarille
    7.1
    • Helena
    • 1942
  • Gary Cooper in Viimeinen hyökkäys (1939)
    Viimeinen hyökkäys
    6.5
    • Mabel Manning
    • 1939
  • Valkoinen lippu (1938)
    Valkoinen lippu
    7.1
    • Marcia Ward
    • 1938
  • Jalna (1935)
    Jalna
    6.1
    • Alayne Archer Whiteoaks
    • 1935
  • Randolph Scott and Kay Johnson in Village Tale (1935)
    Village Tale
    4.8
    • Janet Stevenson
    • 1935
  • Bruce Cabot, William Gaxton, Huntley Gordon, Julie Haydon, Kay Johnson, Ralph Morgan, Zasu Pitts, and Slim Summerville in Their Big Moment (1934)
    Their Big Moment
    5.7
    • Eve Farrington
    • 1934
  • Bette Davis and Leslie Howard in Of Human Bondage (1934)
    Of Human Bondage
    7.0
    • Norah
    • 1934
  • Ralph Bellamy and Irene Dunne in This Man Is Mine (1934)
    This Man Is Mine
    6.1
    • Bee McCrae
    • 1934
  • Jennifer Gray, Baby Peggy, Barbara Barondess, Kay Johnson, Margaret Marquis, Douglass Montgomery, Jean Rogers, Dorothy Wilson, Ruth Heinaman, and Virginia Hall in 8 Girls in a Boat (1934)
    8 Girls in a Boat
    6.6
    • Hannah
    • 1934
  • Thirteen Women (1932)
    Thirteen Women
    6.2
    • Helen Dawson Frye
    • 1932
  • Pat O'Brien, Constance Cummings, and Walter Huston in Suuri pankkirosvous (1932)
    Suuri pankkirosvous
    7.4
    • Mrs. Phyllis Dickson
    • 1932
  • John Halliday, Neil Hamilton, and Kay Johnson in The Spy (1931)
    The Spy
    • Anna Turin
    • 1931

Soundtrack

  • Jalna (1935)
    Jalna
    6.1
    • performer: "There is a Tavern in the Town" (1891), "Little Brown Jug", "Silent Night, Holy Night" (1818)
    • 1935
  • Kay Johnson in Madam Satan (1930)
    Madam Satan
    6.3
    • performer: "Meet Madam" (1930), "All I Know Is You're in My Arms" (1930), "Low Down" (1930) ("Low Down" (1930), uncredited)
    • 1930
  • Ivan Linow, Carmel Myers, and Louis Wolheim in The Ship from Shanghai (1930)
    The Ship from Shanghai
    5.0
    • performer: "Singin in the Rain" (1929) (uncredited)
    • 1930
  • Charles Bickford and Kay Johnson in Dynamiittia (1929)
    Dynamiittia
    6.9
    • performer: "How Am I to Know" (1929) (uncredited)
    • 1929

Videos1

Son of Fury: The Story of Benjamin Blake
Trailer 2:03
Son of Fury: The Story of Benjamin Blake

Personal details

Edit
  • Height
    • 1.63 m
  • Born
    • November 29, 1904
    • Mount Vernon, New York, USA
  • Died
    • November 17, 1975
    • Waterford, Connecticut, USA(heart attack)
  • Spouse
    • John CromwellOctober 7, 1928 - July 29, 1946 (divorced, 2 children)
  • Children
      Jonathan Thomas Cromwell
  • Parents
      Thomas Robert Johnson
  • Other works
    Stage: Appeared in "The Silver Cord", Los Angeles, CA.

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Mother of James Cromwell.
  • Trademark
    Kay Johnson was left handed.
  • Nickname
    • Catherine Townsend

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