At the beginning of this year I saw an Audrey Hepburn double feature that included Funny Face, the first time I'd ever seen that film on the big screen. I was surprised to see that a good portion of the audience, maybe even half, was there because they were huge Kay Thompson fans. Sadly, little information seems to be readily available on her, but I did find someone who is willing to share Kay with the world. At People vs. Dr. Chilledair, the author shares some insider information that he has on her, including the fact that Kay's goddaughter Liza Minelli is currently recording a tribute album to her. It will be called "The Godmother + The Goddaughter," though no release date has yet been set. Kay herself only has two albums available (that I could find, anyway), "The Golden Years 1934-1954," and "Queen of Swing Vocals and Her Rhythm Singers 1933-37." It's a shame that more isn't available, because she was a prolific and highly talented woman. The author of Dr. Chilledair has also posted a great video on YouTube with some of Kay's earlier film performances, including one song and dance routine done just five years before Funny Face:
And, if you needed a little refresher course on Funny Face, here she is completely owning "Clap Yo Hands." Sorry, Fred Astaire! If it weren't for Audrey singing "How Long Has This Been Going On?" this would be my favourite song from the film:
Maybe this new wave of attention to Kay will inspire someone to write a great biography on her, or release more of her music.
1 comment:
I adore Kay Thompson. She also wrote the Eloise and the Plaza books which I have loved since I was little.
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