Kay Thompson

Kay Thompson was an American singer, vocal arranger, author, and actress whose first big break came as a regular singer on Bing Crosby Entertains. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1909, she started in 1930s radio as a singer and choral director, later appearing on The Fred Waring Ford Dealers Show and helping found The Lucky Strike Hit Parade. She joined Andre Kostelanetz on The Chesterfield Radio Program, and her film debut came with two songs in Manhattan Merry-Go-Round (1937). In 1943 she signed with MGM as a vocal arranger, coach, and choral director, working on musicals including Ziegfeld Follies (1945), The Harvey Girls (1946), and The Pirate (1948). Critics praised her main screen role, fashion editor Maggie Prescott in Funny Face (1957). She wrote the Eloise children's books and recorded the hit song Eloise. After leaving MGM in 1947, she formed a nightclub revue with four Williams brothers as her supporting singers and dancers. She died in 1998.