Biography

Kay Walsh

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Overview

Born
November 15, 1911 · Chelsea, London, England, UK
Died
April 16, 2005 · Chelsea, London, England, UK (multiple burns)
Birth name
Kathleen Walsh
Height
5′ 4″ (1.63 m)

Biography

Kay Walsh graced the British Cinema of the 1930s and 1940s as a leading lady, before maturing into character roles. She was born Kathleen Walsh in London, England of Irish parentage. She and her sister Peggy were raised in Pimlico by their grandmother. She began her career as a dancer in the chorus of several Andre Charlot revues, before performing solo in New York and Berlin.

Kay made her screen debut in Get Your Man (1934) and later appeared in The Luck of the Irish (1936). After appearing as a dancer in the West End show "The Melody that Got Lost", the producer Basil Dean signed her to a contract with Ealing Studios. She starred opposite George Formby in the comedies Keep Fit (1937) and I See Ice! (1938). She met an aspiring film editor David Lean in 1936 and they were married in 1940. She collaborated on several of his films by writing additional dialogue and advising on production and casting.

She made an impression in In Which We Serve (1942), as Queenie Gibbons in This Happy Breed (1944), as Nancy in Oliver Twist (1948), Vice Versa (1948), Stage Fright (1950), The Magnet (1950), Last Holiday (1950), Encore (1951), Young Bess (1953), Lease of Life (1954), Tunes of Glory (1960) and Scrooge (1970). She won a BAFTA nomination and a National Board of Review award for Best Actress for "The Horse's Mouth" (1958). She retired from acting after appearing in Night Crossing (1982).

She was twice married. Following her divorce from David Lean in 1949, she married the Canadian psychologist Elliott Jaques (1917-2003). They adopted a daughter Gemma in 1956, but the marriage was later dissolved. Kay Walsh died at age 93 on April 16, 2005 at the Chelsea and Westminister Hospital from multiple burns, days after being injured in a fire at her London residence.
- IMDb mini biography by: Huw Nathan

Family

Spouses

Trivia

Her relationship with David Lean was best described as torrid and tormented, but even Lean's final wife, Sandra, once told a reporter: "She was terribly in love with him, and although she was an actress, she was in no way a prima donna. Truthfully, I think he should have stayed with her.".
She appeared with Alec Guinness in five films: Oliver Twist (1948), Last Holiday (1950), The Horse's Mouth (1958), Tunes of Glory (1960) and Scrooge (1970).
One of her best known roles was as Nancy in Oliver Twist (1948), directed by her then husband David Lean. She disliked this role as Lean would not allow her look as dirty or "more damaged" as she felt the role required.
Wrote an autobiography towards the end of her life, but due to lack of interest from publishers, it has never seen publication.
She played the doomed Nancy in Oliver Twist (1948), a film for which she wrote a much-hailed opening sequence. She contributed the wordless opening montage, showing the title character's mother give birth violently, amid gathering storm clouds and wind-raked tree branches. She said her inspiration was a film she had seen as a child that had long haunted her.

Quotes

"It was a flea pit and smelled. There was a woman at the piano with the light shining on her, and another woman who pumped disinfectant into the air. I thought it had the scent of sweet lavender, and that the palace - my palace - was the most wonderful place in the world." Referring to an cinema where her grandmother used to drop her off for the afternoon.
My favourite role was the old barmaid in The Horses Mouth, with Alec Guinness. I wore a horrible black wig.
I loved the cinema but had no dreams to be an actress. I didn't think I would be good enough. I really wanted to be a writer.
I can't remember a time when I didn't dance. My first memory of a public performance was darting into Church Street, Chelsea, and dancing to a barrel organ, aged three.
[on her first marriage] "David warned me that life with him would be very difficult. He had damaged so many women and he didn't want to damage me. Being in love with David was a killer, and how I survived I don't know."