The Ravishing Kay Francis

Stage and film star Kay Francis (1905-1968) was born in Oklahoma but quickly joined the theater circuit with her Edwardian actress mother, Katharine Clinton. After an Orpheum circuit tour together, Francis landed a role on Broadway in 1927 and didn't stop acting until the mid-1950s. At one time the most highly paid actress in Hollywood, Francis played villains, society women and ingenues. Married three times, twice to Harvard graduates and once to Hollywood writer Kenneth MacKenna, Francis engaged in risky behavior in her relationships. Sleeping with married men was not uncommon for the troubled star. Getting addicted to pills after breaking a rib, Francis endured severe burns and was not assisted by her boyfriend Happy Graham who poured scalding hot coffee on her neck. Despite Francis' impressive display of commitment to American troops on the USO throughout the 1940s, she could not find romantic commitment. Her diaries provide an impressive look at a misguided, lonely woman who died in 1968.

Correction: Leo Mielziner Jr. (fake name Kenneth MacKenna)'s grandfather was a rabbi, not his father.

Sources:

The Films of Kay Francis, https://kayfrancisfilms.com/the-films-of-kay-francis/

Katharine Clinton, Find a Grave, https://www.geni.com/people/Katherine-Gibbs/6000000010524272450

James Dwight Francis, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/99319805/james-dwight-francis

William Alexander Gaston Sr., https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/99319805/james-dwight-francis

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