Moira Jetti Ames said Kay was very fond of Bart Marshall and kept in touch with him up through the early 1950’s. Kay and Marshall may have had an affair shortly before her divorce from Kenneth MacKenna in 1934. During her work at Corona Naval Hospital Kay invited Marshall (who had lost a leg in WWI)...

Moviemagz Kay’s birth date is definitely January 13, 1905. Her friend Jetti Ames was adamant about it, saying, “There is no reason Kay would lie to me!” Kay’s parents married in New York City’s Little Church Around the Corner in December 1903. They moved to Oklahoma City in 1904. The hotel Kay was b...

Bettyjoan If Kay carried any melancholy into her later life it would have been rooted in her disappointment over fiancé Barnekow’s betrayal and disappearance (she really loved the guy), and her mistreatment from Warner Brothers. Kay’s friend Jetti Ames told me that Kay simply referred to the Warner’...

For Madame la Countess From the time Kay arrived in Hollywood in 1929, she repeatedly told interviewers that she was focused on saving money. “The only thing I take seriously,” said Kay in one such interview, "is my work and the only reason I take that seriously is because I want to make a lot ...

Hi Christy There was nothing to “unearth” as far as the Kay Francis diaries were concerned – they were there for the taking. It was simply a matter of making an appointment at Wesleyan. The staff there was most helpful and generous with their time. Getting in contact with Kay’s friends Jetti and Lou...

For silentscreen – From what I have researched so far, yes, Mary Astor and Ann were very supportive of one another, especially in the aftermath of Harding’s divorce from actor Harry Bannister, and then again, when Astor faced scandalous headlines over her own divorce and the published contents of he...

Hello Shonna Thank you for that fine compliment about the Kay bio. :wink: You lucked out seeing Kay for the first time in In Name Only . One doesn’t easily forget the ample supply of venom that fueled her character Maida. Many have said that after that -- Kay was a shoo-in for noir-films. It was Hol...

Welcome Veidtman! Interesting question. You may know that the Powell-Francis team had quite a fan-base and was very popular. As late as August 1934, fan magazines such as Screenland offered articles like, “Kay Francis and Bill Powell Talk About Each Other.” That all changed soon after Powell’s move ...

Aloha Mongo Kay’s impediment is endearing. At the same time, I think its importance is a bit overblown. One film historian stated that in Mandalay , Kay uttered, “Gwegowy, we awwive in Mandalay tomowwow.” When you witness that scene on film, all her “r’s” are in tact. The only times I really noticed...

Hello Moira I came across no mention whatever of a proposed Kay-Cagney vehicle at Warners. They did pair Kay with E.G. Robinson in I Loved a Woman (1933). It was one of those instances where he had to stand on a box to make love to Kay. From what I understand, those scenes were rough going for them,...

Charlie, Well! You have seen the crème-de-la-crème of Kay’s films. All three films you mention were on most film critics’ “Top Ten” lists of 1932. One Way Passage was definitely Kay’s personal favorite. She had her own copy of … Passage , and showed it to various of her male lovers over the years. T...

Hi Moira, I'm enjoying this cyber-cruise and looking forward to our stopover in Honolulu. 8) A tinge of mystery does surround Kay’s battle with Warners. Did the brothers Warner really use her “liberal sexual adventures” against her in the case? I was not able to find hard evidence for this. In Boze ...

John Gilbert was a major influence on Virginia’s life. He left a rather indelible mark on her soul. She came out of the ashes of that marriage (which lasted about a year-and-a-half) with a baby daughter in her arms, and the ability (according to Virginia) to tackle meatier assignments on screen. I w...

Silentscreen – Well, I’ve jumped the gun here. Actually, my next book is titled VIRGINIA BRUCE – UNDER MY SKIN, which is due out from Bearmanormeda this October. Virginia’s family, and Karen Sharpe Kramer (director Stanley Kramer’s wife) helped make the research very interesting and worthwhile. If y...

Dewey – Good question! Involved answer: Kay considered acting to be a business. James Cagney, William Powell and others felt the same way. Powell had said, “I’m in this racket for the shekels that are in it.” This is understandable when you acknowledge the poverty that these actors faced early on in...