Kay Hammond
{{Short description|English actress (1909–1980)}}
{{For|the American actress|Kay Hammond (American actress)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2012}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Kay Hammond
| image = Actress_Kay_Hammond.jpg
| caption =
| birth_name = Dorothy Katherine Standing
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1909|02|18|df=y}}
| birth_place = London, England
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1980|05|04|1909|02|18|df=y}}
| death_place = Brighton, East Sussex, England
| alma_mater = Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
| occupation = Actress
| years_active = 1927–1961
| spouse = Sir Ronald Leon 3rd Bt (m.1932–div.1946)
Sir John Clements (m.1946)
| children = 2, including John Standing
| relatives = Joan Standing (cousin)
Wyndham Standing (uncle)
Jack Standing (uncle)
Percy Standing (uncle)
Herbert Standing (grandfather)
| parents = Guy Standing
Dorothy Hammond
}}
Dorothy Katherine Standing, Lady Clements (18 February 1909 – 4 May 1980), known professionally as Kay Hammond, was an English stage and film actress.
Family
Kay Hammond was born in London, England as Dorothy Katherine Standing, the daughter of Sir Guy Standing and his wife, Dorothy Hammond (Dorothy Plaskitt).[https://www.kent.ac.uk/library/specialcollections/theatre/r.php/30054/show.html University of Kent: Theatre collections] Her grandfather was Herbert Standing (1846–1923) and her uncles were Wyndham, Jack, and Percy Darrell Standing.{{Cite news|title=SIR GUY STANDING, 63, ENGLISH ACTOR, DIES: Veteran Star of Stage and Screen Drops Dead in Hollywood|author=|date=25 February 1937|work=The Atlanta Constitution|page=45|quote=Sir Guy was the eldest son of Herbert Standing, member of a leading English theatrical family. Three other sons also became actors—Wyndham, Darrell [sic] and Jack Standing.|id={{ProQuest|502877180}}}}[https://www.newspapers.com/image/938289628/?clipping_id=139487345 "Unusual Modesty"]. Manchester Evening News. 2 January 1913. p. 7. Retrieved 24 January 2024. "An actor who actually thought he wasn't good enough for his part has won an action against his manager in the Supreme Court of the United States. [...] The actor is Percy Darrell Standing, brother of Guy Standing, who is an Englishman."
Career
She studied at RADA and first appeared on the London stage in 1927.Morley, Sheridan (1986). [https://archive.org/details/greatstagestarsd0000morl/page/154/mode/2up?q=%22katherine+standing%22+%22then+studied+at+RADA%22 The Great Stage Stars : Distinguished Theatrical Careers of the Past and Present]. New York: Facts on File Publications. p. 155. {{ISBN|0816014019}}. Her most famous role was that of Elvira in Noël Coward's Blithe Spirit, which she played in the original stage production. She reprised her role in the 1945 film version opposite Rex Harrison, Margaret Rutherford and Constance Cummings.
She appeared as a guest of Roy Plomley on Desert Island Discs on 25 February 1951.{{cite web |title=Desert Island Discs |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p009ycvr |website=BBC Radio 4 |publisher=BBC |accessdate=6 July 2020 |date=28 February 1951}}
Personal life
{{More citations needed|section|date=July 2023}}
Hammond's first husband was baronet Sir Ronald George Leon.{{Cite news |last=TIMES |first=Wireless to THE NEW YORK |date=1932-11-10 |title=KAY HAMMOND MARRIED.; Actress, Daughter of Sir Guy Standing, Wed to Ronald Leon. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1932/11/10/archives/kay-hammond-married-actress-daughter-of-sir-guy-standing-wed-to.html |access-date=2023-07-22 |issn=0362-4331}} Their sons were John Ronald Leon (the actor John Standing) and Timothy George Leon. Her second husband was the stage actor Sir John Clements.
Death
Kay Hammond died in Brighton, aged 71, from undisclosed causes, on 4 May 1980.{{cite book|last=Wilson|first=Scott|title=Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FOHgDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA313|year=2016|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-1-4766-2599-7|page=313}} She was cremated and her ashes scattered in the memorial garden at Downs Crematorium, Brighton, East Sussex
Filmography
| class="wikitable" | |||
| Year
! Title ! Role ! Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1930 | Children of Chance | Joyce | |
| rowspan=5 | 1931 | Fascination | Kay | |
| A Night in Montmartre | Margot | ||
| Almost a Divorce | Maisie | ||
| Carnival | Helen | ||
| Out of the Blue | Angela Tucker | ||
| rowspan=5 | 1932 | The Third String | Hebe Tucker | |
| A Night Like This | Mimi - Cocktail Shaker | uncredited | |
| Nine till Six | Beatrice | ||
| Money Means Nothing | Angel | ||
| Sally Bishop | Janet Hallard | ||
| rowspan=5 | 1933 | Yes, Madam | Pansy Beresford | |
| Bitter Sweet | Gussi | ||
| Sleeping Car | Simone | ||
| Britannia of Billingsgate | Pearl Bolton | ||
| The Umbrella | Mabel | ||
| 1934 | Bypass to Happiness | Dinah | |
| 1936 | Two on a Doorstep | Jill Day | |
| 1941 | Jeannie | Margaret | |
| 1945 | Blithe Spirit | Elvira Condomine | |
| 1949 | Call of the Blood | Dr. Anne Lester | |
| 1953 | Henry V | Princess Katherine | TV movie |
| 1961 | Five Golden Hours | Martha | final film role |
Selected stage credits
- Can the Leopard...? by Ronald Jeans (1931)
- Hollywood Holiday by John Van Druten (1931)
- French Without Tears by Terence Rattigan (1938)
- The Happy Marriage by John Clements (1952)
- The Little Glass Clock by Hugh Mills (1954)
References
- Halliwell's Who's Who in the Movies - John Walker (editor), 14th edition, 2001, {{ISBN|0-06-093507-3}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|id=0358723|name=Kay Hammond}}
- {{IBDB name}}
- [http://www.cinemorgue.com/kayhammond.html Cine Morgue] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061020221426/http://www.cinemorgue.com/kayhammond.html |date=20 October 2006 }}
- [https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/482659285036721368/ sultry portrait]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hammond, Kay}}
Category:English film actresses
Category:English stage actresses
Category:Actresses from London
Category:20th-century English actresses