Kay Johnson


Catherine Townsend Johnson was an American stage and film actress.

Family

Johnson’s father was architect Thomas R. Johnson, the architect of several noteworthy buildings in New York City, including the Woolworth Building, the New York Customs House, and many library buildings. When she was a junior, she dropped out of Grew Seminary to study at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.

Career

Stage

Johnson's professional acting debut was in Beggar on Horseback, and she acted in R.U.R. in Chicago.
Johnson's Broadway credits included State of the Union, A Free Soul, Crime, No Trespassing, One of the Family, All Dressed Up, The Morning After, Beggar on Horseback, Beggar on Horseback, and Go West, Young Man.

Films

Johnson was signed to a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer by Cecil B. DeMille following a performance of The Silver Cord at the Repertory Theater in Los Angeles, California. The play was produced by Simeon Gest of the Figueroa Playhouse. Her film debut came in Dynamite, written by Jeanie Macpherson and featuring Charles Bickford and Conrad Nagel. Production was delayed while Johnson recovered from an appendectomy.
She went on to appear in The Ship from Shanghai, This Mad World, Billy the Kid, The Spoilers with Gary Cooper and Betty Compson, DeMille's Madam Satan, Passion Flower, Capra's American Madness, Thirteen Women, Of Human Bondage, Jalna and Mr. Lucky. Johnson was cast opposite Warner Baxter in a screen adaptation of Such Men Are Dangerous by Elinor Glyn. The story was adapted to the screen by Fox Film.
Johnson's final film appearance was in the 1954 British film Jivaro.

Personal life and death

Johnson married actor, director, and producer John Cromwell, and they had a son, actor James Cromwell. Johnson and Cromwell divorced.
On November 17, 1975, Johnson died from a heart attack at her home in Waterford, Connecticut.

Partial filmography

  • Dynamite as Cynthia Crothers
  • The Ship from Shanghai as Dorothy Daley
  • This Mad World as Victoria
  • The Spoilers as Helen Chester
  • Madam Satan as Angela Brooks/Madame Satan
  • Billy the Kid as Claire Randall
  • Passion Flower as Katherine Pringle 'Cassy' Wallace
  • The Single Sin as Kate Adams
  • The Spy as Anna Turin
  • American Madness as Mrs. Phyllis Dickson
  • Thirteen Women as Helen Dawson Frye
  • Eight Girls in a Boat as Hannah
  • This Girl Is Mine as Bee McCrea
  • Of Human Bondage as Norah
  • Their Big Moment as Eve Farrington
  • Village Tale as Janet Stevenson
  • Jalna as Alayne Archer Whiteoak
  • White Banners as Mrs. Marcia Ward
  • The Real Glory as Mrs. Mable Manning
  • Son of Fury: The Story of Benjamin Blake as Helena Blake
  • Mr. Lucky as Mrs. Mary Ostrander
  • The Adventures of Mark Twain as Jane Clemens
  • Jivaro as Umari