Leona Elaine Winona DaVinna (April 17, 1920 – November 17, 2020), known professionally as Kay Morley, was an American actress who worked in Hollywood in the 1940s and 1950s. She was primarily known for her work in B movies.[1]

Kay Morley
Born
Leona Elaine Winona DaVinna

April 17, 1920
Died (aged 100)
OccupationActress
Spouse(s)Richard Crane
Lloyd Baird
Children1

Morley died on November 17, 2020, at her home in Palm Springs, California, aged 100.[2]

Biography

edit

Leona Elaine Winona DaVinna was born on April 17, 1920, in Pocatello, Idaho, and she spent her childhood on a Native American reservation where her father was superintendent.[3] She later recounted that she was visiting a friend in Hollywood when she was spotted by an agent at a soda counter.[3]

Morley got her start in Hollywood as a Goldwyn glamour girl. She appeared in a series of films in the 1940s, including Up in Arms and The Princess and the Pirate. In the 1950s, she worked mostly in television.[4]

She was married twice: to actor Richard Crane and to Lloyd Baird. She and Crane had at least one child together.[5][6][7]

Selected filmography

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ Schaefer, Eric (1999). "Bold! Daring! Shocking! True!": A History of Exploitation Films, 1919-1959. Duke University Press. ISBN 9780822323747.
  2. ^ Elaine DeVinna Crane Baird
  3. ^ a b "Girls Get Goldwyn Chance". The Chicago Tribune. 3 Oct 1943. Retrieved 2019-09-14.
  4. ^ "Youth Aflame, Starring New Hollywood Find". The North Adams Transcript. 6 Apr 1945. Retrieved 2019-09-14.
  5. ^ "Marjorie Adams' Movie Question Box". The Boston Globe. 21 Jun 1961. Retrieved 2019-09-14.
  6. ^ "Newcomers Score Hits". The Lansing State Journal. 26 Sep 1948. Retrieved 2019-09-14.
  7. ^ "Snapshots of Hollywood". The San Francisco Examiner. 13 May 1944. Retrieved 2019-09-14.
edit