Kendall Harrison Popular Books

Kendall Harrison Biography & Facts

Justine Kay Kendall McCarthy (21 May 1927 – 6 September 1959) was an English actress and comedienne. She began her film career in the musical film London Town (1946), a financial failure. Kendall worked regularly until her appearance in the comedy film Genevieve (1953) brought her widespread recognition. Prolific in British films, Kendall also achieved some popularity with American audiences, and won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for her role in the musical-comedy film Les Girls (1957).She began a romantic relationship with actor Rex Harrison after they appeared together in the comedy film The Constant Husband (1955) and they were married in 1957. Harrison learned from Kendall's doctor that she had been diagnosed with myeloid leukaemia, a fact that was kept from Kendall, who believed she was suffering from an iron deficiency. The actor cared for Kendall until her death in 1959 at the age of 32. Early life Kendall was born at Stanley House, Hull Road, in Withernsea, a coastal resort in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. Kendall's father was Terrence "Terry" McCarthy (a.k.a. Terry Kendall) (1901-1994), the vaudevillian son of music hall star Marie Kendall (1873–1964). Kay's mother was the former Gladys Drewery (1900–1990).She had two elder siblings, Terrence Justin "Terry" Kendall McCarthy (born 1923) and Patricia Kim "Pat" Kendall McCarthy (a.k.a. Kim Kendall, born 1925). By her father's second marriage to his professional dancing partner, Dora Spencer, she had a younger half-brother, Cavan Spencer Kendall McCarthy (a.k.a. Cavan Kendall) (1942–1999). Young Justine attended various schools, including St Leonard's (Brighton), St Margaret's (near Oban, Scotland), and the Lydia Kyasht Dancing Academy (London). Career Her first major screen role was in the 1946 musical London Town, one of the more expensive flops in British film history. She co-starred with Petula Clark again in the drama film Dance Hall (1950), and was featured in a quick succession of minor films before achieving fame in Genevieve (1953).She followed this film with the even more popular first film in the Doctor series, the comedy Doctor in the House (1954) with her friend Dirk Bogarde. She was under contract to the Rank Organisation but unhappy with the parts offered, turning down Value for Money (1955), As Long as They're Happy (1955) and Doctor at Sea (1955).She appeared in the drama Simon and Laura (1955) with Peter Finch; the comedy Abdulla the Great (1955) with Sydney Chaplin and Gregory Ratoff; and the epic historical film The Adventures of Quentin Durward (1955), with Robert Taylor and Robert Morley. In October 1956, John Davis, managing director of Rank, announced her as one of the actors under contract that Davis thought would become an international star.In October and November 1957, she appeared in two episodes of the short-lived American television series The Polly Bergen Show. and also starred as herself in Series 3 episode 17 of The Phil Silvers Show on 17 January 1958. The production title was Phil Silvers Presents Kay Kendall.In 1958, Kendall won a Golden Globe Award for her performance as Lady Sybil Wren in Les Girls the story of three showgirls in postwar Paris (with Mitzi Gaynor and Taina Elg). The following year she starred opposite Harrison in the comedy The Reluctant Debutante.Kendall died in 1959, aged 32, soon after completing her last film, the comedy Once More, with Feeling! (1960), starring opposite Yul Brynner. Critical assessment Stanley Donen, who produced and directed Once More, with Feeling!, said: "She was completely unpredictable. She was an instinctive comedienne with a real clown sense. No one has had it since Carole Lombard – and Kay was a better actress.""As they say about crime victims, Kay Kendall was in the wrong place at the wrong time", wrote Rhoda Koenig, a critic writing for The Independent in 2006. "In her case, the crime was a waste of talent. One of the most delightful of British actresses...few of her films gave her a chance to shine. A natural screwball heroine, Kendall was born too late for the 1930s comedies in which she would have been the equal of the scatty but scintillating Carole Lombard or Claudette Colbert, and too soon for the naughtiness and absurdity of the 1960s...Kendall was beautiful and funny. She was a true comedienne, unafraid to compromise her ladylike appearance with pratfalls, pop eyes and comic drunk scenes. Kendall could get away with such antics without looking vulgar.” Personal life Early in her career, Kendall had a lengthy romance with actor Sydney Chaplin, the second son of actor Charlie Chaplin by his second wife, actress Lita Grey. She also had affairs with a Swedish prince and grocery heir James Sainsbury and reportedly had a romance with the future Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.In 1955, she starred opposite Rex Harrison in The Constant Husband, and they had an affair. Harrison was married to actress Lilli Palmer at the time. However, when he learned from Kendall's doctor that she had been diagnosed with myeloid leukaemia, he and Palmer agreed to divorce so that he could marry Kendall and provide for her care. Kendall married Harrison in 1957. Kendall never was told of her illness and believed she merely had an iron deficiency. Regarding the divorce, Palmer said she was not upset because she had a lover too. Palmer and Harrison planned to remarry after Kendall's death, but Palmer fell in love with her companion, actor Carlos Thompson, and married him. Death Kendall's gravesite is in the churchyard of St John-at-Hampstead Church. Part of the inscription on her gravestone reads "KATE / Deeply loved wife of / REX". In September 2013 her final resting place was restored by the Music Hall Guild of Great Britain and America. Legacy Kendall's life is recounted in the 2002 biography The Brief, Madcap Life of Kay Kendall by Eve Golden and Kim Elizabeth Kendall.Situated near where Kendall once lived, the late 19th-century lighthouse in Withernsea houses a museum that contains exhibits dedicated to local history, including a memorial to Kendall and displays of many artifacts and photographs associated with her life and times.The Kay Kendall Leukaemia Fund supports scientific research into leukaemia.On 6 September 2014, a blue plaque commemorating Kay Kendall was erected by the Music Hall Guild of Great Britain and America and unveiled at her former home in Withernsea to mark the 55th anniversary of her death. Complete filmography See also List of British actors References External links Kay Kendall battle with leukaemia Kay Kendall at IMDb Kay Kendall at the BFI's Screenonline Withernsea Lighthouse Museum. Discover the Kendall Harrison popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Kendall Harrison books.

Best Seller Kendall Harrison Books of 2024

  • All Fired Up synopsis, comments

    All Fired Up

    Kathryn Shay

    Captain Jarek Zenko, a war veteran and firefighter, meets Lacey Roth at a bar one night. They don’t share their real identities, even when they retreat to a hotel. When they meet t...

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    Always Yours

    Claire Raye

    Some things are just meant to be... Ellen Somerville and Will McIntyre met by accident and under unusual circumstances. Getting sprayed by a skunk in a parking lot wouldn’t normall...

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    His Own Heaven

    Jennie Kew

    Winner of the 2021 Passionate Plume Award for BDSM Romance Finalist in the 2021 Stiletto Contest for Contemporary Romance He taught her to trust, she taught him to love. ​ Lucy Bar...

  • The Cupcake Cottage synopsis, comments

    The Cupcake Cottage

    Jean Oram

    NHL player Maverick Blades could fall in love with anyone... But he had to fall for a woman who falls under the Bro Code as untouchablehis best friend’s beautiful ex, DaisyMae Ray....

  • Alpha synopsis, comments

    Alpha

    Sybil Bartel

    Billionaire. Mercenary. Navy SEAL. The Teams trained me to be a killer. War taught me to be ruthless. Then an illfated mission proved I was human. Combat wounded, cut loose by the ...

  • Dream Psychology synopsis, comments

    Dream Psychology

    Sigmund Freud

    An Apple Books Classic edition. Written by the founding father of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud’s 1899 book is the definitive text on learning to interpret dreams. Freud’s groundbr...

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    Coffee Girl

    Sophie Sinclair

    Mackenzie "Kiki" Forbes finds herself in a pickle. Either become her snarky sister's nanny, or move halfway across the country to work as assistanttothestylist of a ...

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    His Girl Next Door

    Khardine Gray

    From USA Today Bestselling author Khardine Gray comes a sizzling hot single dad romance you won't want to miss. No strings attached fun with the ubergorgeous single d...

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    The Seduction Series Boxset

    Roxy Sloane

    “Sensual, thrilling and wild!”   Discover the bestselling series in one collection: THE SEDUCTION, THE BARGAIN, and THE INVITATION. Perfect for fans of Ana Huang, Sierra S...

  • Escape, A New Life synopsis, comments

    Escape, A New Life

    David J Antocci

    To save herself, she had to lose everything. Trapped in a tropical paradise with no memory of how she got there, Abby is thrust into a fight for her life. Hunted by a madman, and c...

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    The Icing on the Cake

    Linda Seed

    She’s a baker without a kitchen. He’s got a double oven to spare. It’s a recipe for success, until his mother starts stirring up trouble … Cassie Jordan has a sweet dream to open a...

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    The Target

    Lexy Timms

    When you seek revenge be sure to dig two graves… Revenge was the only thing I had going for me. It kept me awake at night and drove me into desperate situations in dive bars across...

  • The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes synopsis, comments

    The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

    Arthur Conan Doyle

    An Apple Books Classic You get not one, not two, but 25 gripping mysteries in Arthur Conan Doyle’s first of five collections of Sherlock Holmes short stories. Follow the brilliant ...

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    School of Potential

    W.J. May

    USA Today Bestselling author, W.J. May brings you a continuation of the international bestselling series, The Chronicles of Kerrigan! Come back and enjoy the famous characters, or ...

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    Teach Me

    Cassandra Dean

    From awardwinning author Cassandra Dean comes a tale where lessons of pleasure between a curious, sunshine widow and a dissolute, grumpy earl leads to passion and allconsuming love...

  • Little Women synopsis, comments

    Little Women

    Louisa May Alcott

    An Apple Books Classic edition. Meet the Marches! Louisa May Alcott’s classic introduces us to four unforgettable sisters: beautiful Meg, tomboyish Jo, delicate Beth, and Amy, the ...

  • Silenced Girls synopsis, comments

    Silenced Girls

    Roger Stelljes

    “ Wow wow wow!  Grips you in a choke hold and  does not let go … Oozes suspense and  bonechilling twists and turns .  Astonishing … One of those...

  • Just Me synopsis, comments

    Just Me

    Lexy Timms

    We all need somewhere where we feel safe… After leaving her abusive husband, Katherine Marshall is out on her own for the first time. She's hopped from city to city to avoid t...

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    Nothing to Hide

    Scarlett Finn

    Prize of a lifetime: travel the world with a celebrity billionaire. Come to LA with us, Roxie… It will be so much fun! We have tickets for a latenight talk show! What could possibl...

  • A Bookshop to Die For synopsis, comments

    A Bookshop to Die For

    M.P. Black

    Ditching her fiancé at the altar, Alice Hartford bolts to her childhood hometown to reconnect with the last, happy remnant of her past: her mom's old bookstore. But the bookst...

  • You Are Kind synopsis, comments

    You Are Kind

    Michael Gordon

    A little kindness goes a long way. How can you help encourage your kids to be kind from a young age? Teach kindness to preschoolers Acts of kindness can be fun, easy, and make a ...

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    Becoming Lady Dalton

    Carrie Lomax

    A dance of desire and deceit... In the glittering world of London's ton, Mrs. Viola Cartwright revels in her newfound freedom as a lady of leisureuntil a series of jewel theft...

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    The Art of War

    Sun Tzu

    An Apple Books Classic edition. It’s believed that Sun Tzu wrote this Chinese military primer during the 5th century BChundreds of years before the Bible. The book’s 13 chapters ex...

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    Inception of Gold

    Lexy Timms

    Things are not as bad as they seem. They are worse. Being the personal assistant to a narcissistic actress who just happens to own the key to my family's undoing isn't ex...

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    The Odyssey

    Homer

    An Apple Books Classic edition. Homer’s eighthcentury epic poem is a companion to The Iliad . It tells the story of Odysseus, who journeys by ship for 10 years after the Trojan War...

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    Pride and Prejudice

    Jane Austen

    An Apple Books Classic edition. Jane Austen’s beloved classic opens with this witty and very memorable line: “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possessio...

  • Never Enough synopsis, comments

    Never Enough

    Lexy Timms

    Be good enough never is... Anthony Accardi is a man on a mission: make his father's watch company a success while bringing in millions of dollars. To do that, he needs an assi...

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    Rogue Alpha

    Kimber White

    One touch made her crave him. But the pull of fate could be the path to ruin. College student Laura Prince lands a plum internship deep in the Michigan wilderness. When she discove...

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    Dracula

    Bram Stoker

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    The Three Little Pigs

    Mark Lesky

    Classic fairy tales, legends and folk stories in short version without violence retold with lovely illustrations in simple language. Perfect for reading aloud to small chi...

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    Noxious

    Lexy Timms

    Stop setting yourself on fire to keep someone else warm. Brady and Levi have been together since high school, since before he became famous and started thinking only about himself....

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    The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

    L. Frank Baum

    An Apple Books Classic edition. You’ve seen the iconic 1939 movie, but do you know about the talking field mice, the Winkies, and the Witch of the North that appear in the original...

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    Peace on Earth

    Maia Ross

    Crime never takes a holiday. Why should Irma? Irma Abercrombie is an energetic retiree with a shadowy past, a mean right hook, and a profound love of Christmas. Surrounded by seaso...

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    The Four Loves

    C. S. Lewis

    The Four Loves summarizes four kinds of human loveaffection, friendship, erotic love, and the love of God. Masterful without being magisterial, this book's wise, gentle, candi...

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    Man In The Water

    Jon Hill

    An attempted murder. A missing spouse. And an international conspiracy that could change the world. Jack Green has always been skeptical of socalled facts. Though he's forced ...

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    Silver Santa

    Lacey Silks

    Trapped together on Christmas, their unintended onenight stand becomes a lifechanging encounter amidst the snow. Laura Young's professional role as a security guard at the Sil...

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    Hot Off the Press

    Lexy Timms

    "This is what really happened… reported by a free press, for a free people…" Wes Shaw leads a secret double life. As the secret owner of a billion dollar newspap...

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    Bewitching a Highlander

    Roma Cordon

    Defying all for the love of a bewitching lass. Breena MacRae, a healer from Skye with a touch of witchery in her blood, embarks on a dangerous search for her missing father. She ar...

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    Caught Up with the Captain

    Kait Nolan

    Can a retired naval commander and the love he left behind overcome a 34yearold secret to find their way to a second chance? Captain Mitchell Greyson is a man who believes in duty. ...

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    The Next Girl

    Carla Kovach

    IF YOU ONLY READ ONE BOOK THIS YEAR, MAKE IT THE NEXT GIRL... You thought he’d come to save you. You were wrong. ‘ Absolutely the best thriller I’ve read this year! ’ Goodreads Rev...

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    Law of Attraction

    Jordan Hollis

    How to Finally Overcome the Hurdles of Manifesting Proven, effective and enjoyable ways to help you manifest faster… Right now, think of something that makes you successful. If you...

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    Think and Grow Rich

    Greg Habstritt & Napoleon Hill

    Think and Grow Rich is one of the most popular success book of alltime, having sold more than 60 million copies since it was first published more than 70...

  • Good Guy synopsis, comments

    Good Guy

    Kate Meader

    He's a Special Forces veteran making his pro hockey debut. She's a dogged sports reporter determined to get a scoop. She's also his best friend's widow . . . Fa...

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    Awaken Me

    Jenna Jacob

    He was more than a ghost haunting my dreams…he was real. By day, I’m Julianna Garrett …a prim, proper accountant. By night, I’m tormented by dreams of an alpha, ambereyed Adonis wh...

  • The Great Gatsby synopsis, comments

    The Great Gatsby

    F. Scott Fitzgerald

    An Apple Books Classics edition. The Roaring Twenties are in full effect in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s riveting classic. Manabouttown Jay Gatsby seems to have it all, including loads of...

  • Teased by Fire synopsis, comments

    Teased by Fire

    Molly O'Hare

    From USA Today bestselling author Molly O’Hare comes an enemiestolovers, older brother’s best friend, romantic comedy with a curvy, antisocial, supernaturalobsessed, allyearround h...

  • How to Choose a Guy in 10 Days synopsis, comments

    How to Choose a Guy in 10 Days

    Lila Monroe

    The only thing more hilarious than the movies is… real life?! Fall in love with the sizzling grumpysunshine romantic comedy perfect for fans of Sophie Kinsella and Ali Hazlewood! ...

  • Eternal synopsis, comments

    Eternal

    W.J. May

    She will fight for what is hers. When the king is murdered, Katerina, his only daughter, must flee for her life. She finds herself on a strange and dangerous path. Alone for the fi...

  • Dark Psychology and Manipulation synopsis, comments

    Dark Psychology and Manipulation

    Margaret Morrison

    THE MENTAL MANIPULATOR WILL NO LONGER KEEP SECRETS FROM YOU! Are you fed up with the wool being pulled over your eyes?Are you prepared to stand up to those who believe they can man...

  • Finding Cinderella synopsis, comments

    Finding Cinderella

    Colleen Hoover

    #1 New York Times bestselling author of It Starts with Us and It Ends With Us writes a free novella about the search for happily ever after. A chance encounter in the dark leads ei...