Justine Kay Kendall McCarthy (21 May 1927 – 6 September 1959) was an English actress and comedienne.[2] She began her film career in the musical film London Town (1946), a financial failure. Kendall worked regularly until her appearance in the comedy film Genevieve (1953) brought her widespread recognition.[3] Prolific in British films, Kendall also achieved some popularity with American audiences, and won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for her role in the musical-comedy film Les Girls (1957).[4]
She began a romantic relationship with actor Rex Harrison after they appeared together in the comedy film The Constant Husband (1955) and they were married in 1957. Harrison learned from Kendall's doctor that she had been diagnosed with myeloid leukaemia, a fact that was kept from Kendall, who believed she was suffering from an iron deficiency. The actor cared for Kendall until her death in 1959 at the age of 32.[5]
Early life
Kendall was born[6] at Stanley House, Hull Road, in Withernsea, a coastal resort in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. Kendall's father was Terrence "Terry" McCarthy (a.k.a. Terry Kendall) (1901-1994), the vaudevillian son of music hall star Marie Kendall (1873–1964). Kay's mother was the former Gladys Drewery (1900–1990).[7]
She had two elder siblings, Terrence Justin "Terry" Kendall McCarthy (born 1923) and Patricia Kim "Pat" Kendall McCarthy (a.k.a. Kim Kendall, born 1925).[8] By her father's second marriage to his professional dancing partner, Dora Spencer, she had a younger half-brother, Cavan Spencer Kendall McCarthy (a.k.a. Cavan Kendall) (1942–1999).[9] Young Justine attended various schools, including St Leonard's (Brighton), St Margaret's (near Oban, Scotland), and the Lydia Kyasht Dancing Academy (London).[10]
Career
Her first major screen role was in the 1946 musical London Town, one of the more expensive flops in British film history.[11] She co-starred with Petula Clark again in the drama film Dance Hall (1950), and was featured in a quick succession of minor films before achieving fame in Genevieve (1953).[2]
In October and November 1957, she appeared in two episodes of the short-lived American television series The Polly Bergen Show.[15] and also starred as herself in Series 3 episode 17 of The Phil Silvers Show on 17 January 1958. The production title was Phil Silvers Presents Kay Kendall.[16]
Stanley Donen, who produced and directed Once More, with Feeling!, said: "She was completely unpredictable. She was an instinctive comedienne with a real clown sense. No one has had it since Carole Lombard – and Kay was a better actress".[18]
"As they say about crime victims, Kay Kendall was in the wrong place at the wrong time", wrote Rhoda Koenig, a critic writing for The Independent in 2006. "In her case, the crime was a waste of talent. One of the most delightful of British actresses...few of her films gave her a chance to shine. A natural screwball heroine, Kendall was born too late for the 1930s comedies in which she would have been the equal of the scatty but scintillating Carole Lombard or Claudette Colbert, and too soon for the naughtiness and absurdity of the 1960s...Kendall was beautiful and funny. She was a true comedienne, unafraid to compromise her ladylike appearance with pratfalls, pop eyes and comic drunk scenes. Kendall could get away with such antics without looking vulgar”.[5]
In 1955, she starred opposite Rex Harrison in The Constant Husband, and they had an affair.[18] Harrison was married to actress Lilli Palmer at the time. However, when he learned from Kendall's doctor that she had been diagnosed with myeloid leukaemia, he and Palmer agreed to divorce so that he could marry Kendall and provide for her care.[21] Kendall married Harrison in 1957.
Kendall never was told of her illness and believed she merely had an iron deficiency.[5] Regarding the divorce, Palmer said she was not upset because she had a lover too. Palmer and Harrison planned to remarry after Kendall's death, but Palmer fell in love with her companion, actor Carlos Thompson, and married him.[22]
Kendall's life is recounted in the 2002 biography The Brief, Madcap Life of Kay Kendall by Eve Golden and Kim Elizabeth Kendall.[24]
Situated near where Kendall once lived, the late 19th-century lighthouse in Withernsea houses a museum that contains exhibits dedicated to local history, including a memorial to Kendall and displays of many artifacts and photographs associated with her life and times.[25][26]
The Kay Kendall Leukaemia Fund supports scientific research into leukaemia.[27]
