Kay Walsh

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Birthday:

15 November 1911, Chelsea, London, England, UK

Birth Name:

Kathleen Walsh

Height:

163 cm

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, a week after being injured in a fire at her London flat. Show less «

"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...Show more »

"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. Show less «

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...Show more »

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. Show less «

[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 dama...Show more »

[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." Show less «

I was never in the big time, and I don't remember ever wanting to be in the big time. I enjoyed working, just working.