Kay Griffith Explained

Kay Griffith
Birth Name:Katherine Margaret Griffith
Birth Date:10 September 1915
Birth Place:Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Education:University of Chicago
Occupation:Actress
Years Active:1936–1940
Children:3

Katherine Margaret Griffith[1] (September 10, 1915[2] [3] – December 10, 2002) was an American film actress from 1936 to 1940 who appeared in Western films and serials. She made 14 films, the last being Covered Wagon Days (1940) in which she was the female lead alongside The Three Mesquiteers.[4]

Early life and career

Born and raised in Chicago, Griffith was the eldest of two daughters born to Florence Brown and Lawrence Griffith.[5] [6] After attending the University of Chicago,[2] [3] she moved to San Francisco, working as a model until an opportunity to sing in a hotel's supper room provided an entry into entertainment. Later a film scout saw her singing with an orchestra in Los Angeles, and that led to Griffith acting in films.[7]

In 1936, a Superior Court judge in Los Angeles approved a contract for her to work for Paramount.[8] In 1938 she was signed by 20th Century Fox.[9]

Personal life

Griffith's parents died in 1932, at which time she began to care for and support her younger sister, Rita. In 1940 she went to court in Los Angeles to become the legal guardian of Rita, who was then 15 years old.[10]

Griffith married actor Broderick Crawford on November 21, 1940, in Hollywood, California.[11] When they applied for the marriage license, Griffith said that she would cease acting so that the marriage would last.[12]

On November 2, 1941, she gave birth prematurely to a girl, Kathleen Crawford, who died six days later, despite a blood transfusion from the father.[1] [13] Griffith and Crawford later had two sons, the older of whom was adopted.[14] [15] The marriage ended in divorce on July 8, 1957.[16]

Filmography

Notes and References

  1. "California, County Birth and Death Records, 1800-1994",, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QGLD-Y2DY : Fri Mar 08 21:50:25 UTC 2024), Entry for Kathleen Crawford and William Broderick Crawford, 8 November 1941.
  2. News: Movie Scrapbook: Kay Griffith. Parsons, Louella. February 23, 1939. Ithaca Journal. 30. Discovered while singing with Eddie Fitzpatrick's orchestra ... % feet 5 .. weighs 115 .. Brown hair, hazel eyes ... born in Chicago on Sept. 10 ... studied at the University of Chicago. .
  3. News: 3 Young Stars Have Contracts legalized . July 16, 2024 . The Minneapolis Journal . May 18, 1936 . 9. .
  4. Web site: Covered Wagon Days . https://web.archive.org/web/20160311133410/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b705a1492 . dead . March 11, 2016 . BFI . 2 April 2022.
  5. "United States Census, 1930",, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XS2R-GMN : Sat Jul 06 14:48:33 UTC 2024), Entry for Lawrence Griffith and Florence Griffith, 1930.
  6. "United States, Social Security Numerical Identification Files (NUMIDENT), 1936-2007", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6KW5-BF9H : 10 February 2023), Katherine Margaret Griffith, .
  7. News: Movie Scrapbook . July 15, 2024 . Detroit Free Press . July 2, 1939 . 32. .
  8. News: Judge Approves Contracts of Film Trio . July 15, 2024 . Los Angeles Times . May 15, 1936 . 8. .
  9. News: Kay Griffith Given Big Screen Chance . January 3, 2023 . Los Angeles Times . October 1, 1938 . 25. Newspapers.com.
  10. News: Kay Griffith Makes Guardianship Legal . July 15, 2024 . The Oakland Post Enquirer . July 15, 2024 . 14. .
  11. News: Kay Griffith weds . January 3, 2023 . The Palm Beach Post . Associated Press . November 22, 1940 . 20. Newspapers.com.
  12. News: Actress to Wed . July 15, 2024 . Courier-Post . United Press . November 15, 1940 . New Jersey, Camden . 1. .
  13. News: 'Road to Morocco' to Have Three Stars: Blood Transfusion Fails to Save Baby's Life. Parsons, Louella. November 13, 1941. The Philadelphia Inquirer. 13. A line or two: Sympathy goes out to Kay and Broderick Crawford on the death of their baby girl. Brod gave a blood transfusion, but the little one was so frail it was impossible to save her .... .
  14. News: Parsons . Louella . Broderick Crawford, Kay Griffith Have Great Time Rearing Two Kiddies . July 15, 2024 . The Morning Call . International News Service . April 20, 1952 . Pennsylvania, Allentown . 39. Newspapers.com.
  15. August 4, 1951 . 41 . Births . Billboard . January 3, 2023.
  16. News: Actress Kay Griffith Divorces Crawford . January 3, 2023 . The Macon News . 9. .

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Kay Griffith".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.