Kim Novak
Kim Novak (born February 13, 1933) is an American actress who was one of America's most popular movie stars in the late 1950s. She is perhaps best known for her performance in Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo (1958).
Early life
Novak was born Marilyn Pauline Novak in Chicago, Illinois, a Roman Catholic of Czech extraction. Her father was a railroad clerk and former teacher; her mother also was a former teacher, and Novak has a sister.After graduating from high school, she began her career modeling teen fashions for a local department store. She later received a scholarship at a modeling school and continued to model part time. She also worked as an elevator operator, a sales clerk, and a dental assistant.After a job touring the country as a spokesman for refrigerators, "Miss Deepfreeze," Novak moved to Los Angeles, where she continued modeling. She then appeared as a model standing on a stairway in the RKO motion picture The French Line (1954) starring Jane Russell and Gilbert Roland. For that film, released in 3-D, Novak's bit received no screen credit.
Film
She was seen by a Columbia Pictures talent agent and filmed a screen test. Studio chief Harry Cohn was searching for another beauty to replace the rebellious and difficult Rita Hayworth. Novak was signed to a six-month contract. Columbia decided to make the blonde and buxom actress their version of Marilyn Monroe. She was still using the name Marilyn Novak, and they wanted to change it to Kit Marlowe. She wanted to keep her surname, however, and resisted pressure to change it. She and the studio finally settled on the stage name Kim Novak.
Cohn told her to lose weight, and he won the battle to make her wear brassieres. She took acting lessons, which she had to pay for herself, then debuted as Lona McLane in Pushover (1954) opposite Fred MacMurray and Philip Carey. Though her role was not the best, her beauty caught the attention of fans and critics alike.
She then played the femme fatale role as Janis in Phffft! (1954) opposite Judy Holliday, Jack Lemmon, and Jack Carson. Novak's reviews were good. More people were eager to see the new star, and she received an enormous amount of fan mail. She went on to appear in a number of successful movies.
After playing Madge Owens in Picnic (1955) opposite William Holden, Novak won a Golden Globe for Most Promising Newcomer and for World Film Favorite. She was also nominated for the British BAFTA Film Award for Best Foreign Actress.
She played Molly in The Man with the Golden Arm (1955) opposite Frank Sinatra and Eleanor Parker on loan-out to United Artists. The movie was a big hit. She was paired opposite Sinatra again in Pal Joey (1957), which also starred Rita Hayworth.
Her popularity became such that she made the cover of the July 29, 1957, issue of Time Magazine. That same year, she went on strike, protesting at her current salary of $1,250 per week.
In 1958, Novak appeared in a dual role in Hitchcock's classic thriller Vertigo opposite James Stewart. She played the dual roles of the elegant, troubled, wealthy blonde Madeleine Elster and the earthy shop girl brunette, Judy Barton. Today, the film is often considered a masterpiece of romantic suspense, and Novak's turn is possibly the best-known and most admired of her career.
She followed Vertigo with her role as Gillian Holroyd in Bell Book and Candle (1958) opposite James Stewart and Jack Lemmon, with Ernie Kovacs, Hermione Gingold, and Elsa Lanchester, a comedy tale of modern-day witchcraft that did not do well at the box-office, yet today is a popular favorite.
Although some believe that by the early 1960s Novak's career had begun to slide, in fact she refused to accept many of the sexpot, glamour girl roles she was offered. Yet, during the same decade, she also turned down several strong roles including Breakfast at Tiffany's, The Hustler, The Days of Wine and Roses, and The Sandpiper. She played the vulgar waitress Mildred Rogers in a remake of Somerset Maugham's drama Of Human Bondage (1964) opposite Laurence Harvey and Robert Morley, and received good reviews. She showed a cunning sense of humor in Billy Wilder's cult classic Kiss Me, Stupid (1964) opposite Dean Martin, though the film was critically panned
After playing the title role in The Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders (1965) opposite Richard Johnson and Angela Lansbury, with George Sanders and Lilli Palmer, Novak took a break from acting, seeing as little of Hollywood as possible.
Novak made a comeback in a dual role as a young actress, Elsa Brinkmann, and an early-day movie goddess who was murdered, Lylah Clare, in producer-director Robert Aldrich's The Legend of Lylah Clare (1968) opposite Oscar winners Peter Finch and Ernest Borgnine for MGM. It failed miserably.
After playing a forger, Sister Lyda Kebanov, in The Great Bank Robbery (1969) opposite Zero Mostel, Clint Walker, and Claude Akins, she stayed away from the screen for four years. She then played the key role of Auriol Pageant in the horror anthology film Tales That Witness Madness (1973). In 1979, she played Helga in Just a Gigolo starring David Bowie. She played Lola Brewster in Agatha Christie's mystery/thriller The Mirror Crack'd (1980) opposite Angela Lansbury, Geraldine Chaplin, Tony Curtis, Edward Fox, Rock Hudson, and Elizabeth Taylor. In the film, Novak and Taylor portray rival actresses.
Her last appearance on the big screen was as Lillian Anderson Munnsen in the mystery/thriller Liebestraum (1991) for MGM, however her scenes were cut from the movie due to her battles with the director over how to play the role. Novak later admitted that she had been "unprofessional" in her conduct with director Mike Figgis, as recounted by gossip columnist Liz Smith. Since that time, she has turned down many other chances to appear in film and on television.
Television
Novak has also made occasional appearances on TV over the years. She starred as aging showgirl Gloria Joyce in the made-for-TV movie The Third Girl From the Left (1973); played Eve in Satan's Triangle (1975); the role as Billie Farnsworth in Malibu (1983); the role as Rosa in a revival of Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1985). She also joined the cast of the series Falcon Crest in the role of Kit Marlowe during the 1986-1987 season.
Personal life
She has had two husbands, English actor Richard Johnson (married March 15, 1965-divorced April 23, 1966) and veterinarian Dr. Robert Malloy (married March 12, 1976-present).
Her home in Eagle Point, Oregon, went up in flames July 24, 2000, and Novak watched helplessly as it burned. A deputy Fire Marshall said the blaze was probably caused by a tree falling across a power line. Among her lost mementos were scripts of some of her most critically acclaimed movies, including Vertigo and Picnic. The only existing draft of her autobiography was also lost to the fire.
Actress - filmography
1991 The Children
1991 Liebestraum
1986 Falcon Crest: Season 06
1983 Malibu
1980 The Mirror Crack'd
1979 Just a Gigolo
1977 The White Buffalo
1975 Satan's Triangle
1973 The Third Girl From the Left
1973 Tales That Witness Madness
1969 The Great Bank Robbery
1968 The Legend of Lylah Clare
1965 The Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders
1964 Of Human Bondage
1964 Kiss Me, Stupid!
1962 Boys' Night Out
1962 The Notorious Landlady
1960 Strangers When We Meet
1960 Pepe
1959 Middle of the Night
1958 Bell, Book and Candle
1958 Vertigo
1957 Jeanne Eagels
1957 Pal Joey
1956 The Eddy Duchin Story
1955 Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Pilot
1955 Picnic
1955 Five Against the House
1955 The Man With the Golden Arm
1955 Son of Sinbad
1954 The Pushover
1954 Phffft!
1954 The French Line
Documentaries:
Premier Khrushchev in the USA (1959)
Showman (1963)
Trivia
For her contribution to motion pictures, Novak was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It is at 6336 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood.
In 1995, Novak was chosen by Empire Magazine as the 92nd entry in its list of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history.
Novak turned down the lead roles in Breakfast at Tiffany's, The Hustler" and The Sandpiper.
For a scene in Picnic, in which she had to cry, Novak asked director Joshua Logan to pinch her, saying, "I can only cry when I'm hurt."
It is rumored that she was romantically involved with Rafael Leónidas Trujillo, former President of the Dominican Republic.
Studio executive Harry Cohn died of a heart attack after reading press clippings of her affair with Sammy Davis Jr.
Raises horses and llamas in Oregon and California
Went on a personal strike in 1957 protesting her current salary of $1,250 per week
Measurements: 37-23-37 (Source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine)
As a starlet with Columbia Pictures, she resisted pressure to change her name to Kit Marlowe. Years later, the name was used for the character she played on the television series Falcon Crest. (She did agree to change her first name from Marilyn to Kim, as the public associated her given name with Marilyn Monroe.)
In "Popular" (1999), the main girl's bathroom in the high school is called "The Novak" which holds all the pictures of the homecoming queens. The name is inspired by when movie stars would donate money to schools (often an alma mater). The writers found out that Kim Novak donated money to a school in the Santa Monica area (where the school/show is set), so they named this room after her.
Is portrayed by Terri Lynn in Rita Hayworth: The Love Goddess (1983) (TV)
Is, to the day, one year older than George Segal.
She arrived in Hollywood as The Lavendar Girl
Quotes
"And I went through a lot of detours and I took a lot of roads and things so yes, that's all there, but it's not meant to be shocking or telltale." Kim Novak
"As I said, I began losing confidence in my instincts, which is tough and very bad for an instinctive person." Kim Novak
"For every answer, I like to bring up a question. Maybe I'm related to Alfred Hitchcock or maybe I got to know him too well, but I think life should be that way." Kim Novak
"I don't feel that I was a Hollywood-created star. Harry Cohn did not make me. But I also feel that I probably didn't make me, either. I think it was a combination. I think that's what made it work." Kim Novak
"Hitchcock, contrary to what I'd heard about him, allowed me very much to have my own interpretation and everything." Kim Novak
"I already hated that gray suit and then having to go through putting on that wig with a false front - again made me feel so trapped inside this person who was desperately wanting to break out of it but she was so caught up in the web of deception that she couldn't." Kim Novak
"I always felt Jimmy was trapped in Hollywood. He felt it himself. He loved aviation so much and he wanted to be able to do more of that. He somehow just got stuck here." Kim Novak
"I didn't want to start relying on what someone else thought was right. It was easier to go away all together." Kim Novak
"I don't think you want to give all the answers, but I think every answer you do give should bring up another question, and not all questions should be answered." Kim Novak
"I had a lot of resentment for a while toward Kim Novak. But I don't mind her anymore. She's okay. We've become friends. I even asked her before this trip for some beauty tips." Kim Novak
"I knew Rita Hayworth only enough to know that she was just a tender, sensitive, beautiful human being. A lovely person. Very gentle. She would never stand up for her rights." Kim Novak
"I used Jimmy to give me what I needed to keep going and to know that I was on the right path with it. I thought I saw Jimmy's soul all the time we worked. He never covered his soul and I never covered mine. We saw into each other's souls, very definitely." Kim Novak
"If you're wanting glamorous or really beautiful or really sexy, well then, I wasn't really the one, but I could do all of that. You could just get really lost in that kind of image." Kim Novak
"Just touching that old tree was truly moving to me because when you touch these trees, you have such a sense of the passage of time, of history. It's like you're touching the essence, the very substance of life." Kim Novak
"So, Hitchcock wouldn't say anything about my work in the movie but, on the other hand, he wouldn't complain, either." Kim Novak
"Technical points were his main thing. He'd always look through the lens to watch your performance, unlike directors who sit off to the side. You'd never have a sense looking at his face how he thought it was going. He was the camera and I always felt comfortable with the camera." Kim Novak
"That's right, my hair was short at that time in my career and Hitchcock wanted that perfect pulled-back hair." Kim Novak
"The thing I loved about Alfred Hitchcock is that he left a lot of open ends there, a lot of clues that didn't really add up the way you think they would, and sometimes, not at all." Kim Novak
"The work I did in Vertigo meant nothing if no one cared about the movie. Luckily, Vertigo had a revival and people had begun to recognize there was something special and it gained in reputation. But it just as well could have ended up rotting in film cans somewhere." Kim Novak..
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