Kay Kendall
Who was Rex Harrison 's spouse from 1957 to 1959?
Rex Harrison Sir Reginald Carey Rex Harrison ( 5 March 1908 – 2 June 1990 ) was an English actor . Harrison began his career on the stage in 1924 . He made his West End debut in 1936 appearing in the Terence Rattigan play French Without Tears , in what was his breakthrough role . He won his first Tony Award for his performance as Henry VIII in the play Anne of the Thousand Days in 1949 . He won his second Tony for the role of Professor Henry Higgins in the stage production of My Fair Lady in 1957 . In addition to his stage career , Harrison also appeared in numerous films . His first starring role was opposite Vivien Leigh in the romantic comedy Storm in a Teacup ( 1937 ) . Receiving critical acclaim for his performance in Major Barbara ( 1941 ) , which was shot in London during the Blitz , his roles since then included Blithe Spirit ( 1945 ) , Anna and the King of Siam ( 1946 ) , The Ghost and Mrs . Muir ( 1947 ) , Cleopatra ( 1963 ) , My Fair Lady ( 1964 ) , reprising his role as Henry Higgins which earned him the Academy Award for Best Actor , and the titular character in Doctor Dolittle ( 1967 ) . In 1975 , Harrison released his first autobiography . In June 1989 , Harrison was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II . Harrison was married six times and had two sons : Noel and Carey Harrison . He continued working in stage productions until shortly before his death from pancreatic cancer in June 1990 at the age of 82 . His second autobiography , A Damned Serious Business : My Life in Comedy , was published posthumously in 1991 . Early life . Harrison was born at Derry House in Huyton , Lancashire , the son of Edith Mary ( née Carey ) and William Reginald Harrison , a cotton broker . He was educated at Liverpool College . After a bout of childhood measles , Harrison lost most of the sight in his left eye , which on one occasion caused some on-stage difficulty . Stage career . Harrison first appeared on the stage in 1924 in Liverpool . His acting career was interrupted by World War II , during which he served in the Royal Air Force and reached the rank of Flight Lieutenant . He acted in various stage productions until 11 May 1990 . He made his West End debut in 1936 , appearing in the Terence Rattigan play French Without Tears , which proved to be his breakthrough role , and established him as a leading light comedian of the English stage . He alternated appearances in London and New York in such plays as Bell , Book and Candle ( 1950 ) , Venus Observed , The Cocktail Party , The Kingfisher and The Love of Four Colonels , which he also directed . He won his first Tony Award for his appearance at the Shubert Theatre as Henry VIII in Maxwell Andersons play Anne of the Thousand Days and international superstardom ( and a second Tony ) for his portrayal of Henry Higgins in the musical My Fair Lady , where he appeared opposite Julie Andrews . Later appearances included Pirandellos Henry IV , a 1984 appearance at the Haymarket Theatre with Claudette Colbert in Frederick Lonsdales Arent We All? , and one on Broadway at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre presented by Douglas Urbanski , at the Haymarket in J . M . Barries The Admirable Crichton with Edward Fox . He returned as Henry Higgins in the revival of My Fair Lady directed by Patrick Garland in 1981 , cementing his association with the plays of George Bernard Shaw , which included a Tony nominated performance as Shotover in Heartbreak House , Julius Caesar in Caesar and Cleopatra , and General Burgoyne in a Los Angeles production of The Devils Disciple . Cinema appearances . Harrisons film debut was in The Great Game ( 1930 ) . His first starring role was in the romantic comedy Storm in a Teacup ( 1937 ) , opposite Vivien Leigh . Other notable early films include The Citadel ( 1938 ) , Night Train to Munich ( 1940 ) , Major Barbara ( 1941 ) —filmed in London during The Blitz of 1940 , a role for which he received critical acclaim , Blithe Spirit ( 1945 ) , Anna and the King of Siam ( 1946 ) , The Ghost and Mrs . Muir ( 1947 ) , and The Foxes of Harrow ( 1947 ) . He is best known for his portrayal of Professor Henry Higgins in the 1964 film version of My Fair Lady , based on the 1956 Broadway production ( which in turn was based on George Bernard Shaws 1913 play Pygmalion ) , for which Harrison won an Oscar for Best Actor . He also starred in 1967s Doctor Dolittle . At the height of his box office clout after the success of My Fair Lady , Harrison proved a domineering force during production , demanding auditions for prospective composers after musical playwright Leslie Bricusse was contracted and demanding to have his singing recorded live during shooting , only to agree to have it re-recorded in post-production . He also disrupted production with incidents with his wife , Rachel Roberts and deliberate misbehavior , such as when he intentionally moved his yacht in front of cameras during shooting in St . Lucia and refused to move it out of sight due to contract disputes . Harrison was at one point temporarily replaced by Christopher Plummer , until he agreed to be more cooperative . He starred in the 1968 comedy The Honey Pot , a modern adaptation of Ben Jonsons play Volpone . Two of his co-stars , Maggie Smith and Cliff Robertson , were to become lifelong friends . Both spoke at his New York City memorial at the Little Church Around the Corner when Harrison died in 1990 . Harrison was not by any objective standards a singer ( the talking on pitch style he used in My Fair Lady was adopted by many other classically trained actors with limited vocal ranges ) ; the music was written to allow for long periods of recitative , or speaking to the music . Nevertheless , Talk to the Animals , which Harrison performed in Doctor Dolittle , won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1967 . Despite excelling in comedy ( Noël Coward described him as The best light comedy actor in the world—except for me. ) , he attracted favorable notices in dramatic roles such as his portrayal of Julius Caesar in Cleopatra ( 1963 ) and as Pope Julius II in The Agony and the Ecstasy ( 1965 ) , opposite Charlton Heston as Michelangelo . He also acted in a Hindi film Shalimar alongside Indian Bollywood stars Dharmendra and Zeenat Aman as well as appearing opposite Richard Burton as two aging homosexuals in Staircase ( 1969 ) . Personal life . Alexander Walker wrote : “in looks and temperament , Rex went back to the Elizabethans . They would have called him ‘a man of passionate parts’ . His physique and looks were far more striking once middle age had literally stretched too smooth and callow a youthful face into a long , saturnine physiognomy , whose hooded eyes and wide mouth had satyr-like associations for some people.” Harrison was married six times . In 1942 , he divorced his first wife , Noel Margery Colette-Thomas , and married actress Lilli Palmer the next year ; they later appeared together in numerous plays and films , including The Four Poster . Whilst married to Palmer , he built a villa at Portofino , San Genesio , where over the years he hosted showbiz royalty including Laurence Olivier and John Gielgud and real ex-royalty in the Duke of Windsor and his wife . In 1947 , while married to Palmer , Harrison began an affair with actress Carole Landis . Landis took her own life in 1948 after spending the evening with Harrison . Harrisons involvement in the scandal by waiting several hours before calling a doctor and police briefly damaged his career and his contract with Fox was ended by mutual consent . Harrison and Palmer divorced in 1957 . In 1957 , Harrison married the actress Kay Kendall . Kendall died of myeloid leukaemia in 1959 . Terence Rattigans 1973 play In Praise of Love was written about the end of this marriage , and Harrison appeared in the New York production playing the character based on himself . Rattigan was said to be intensely disappointed and frustrated by Harrisons performance , as Harrison refused to play the outwardly boorish parts of the character and instead played him as charming throughout , signalling to the audience from the start that he knew the truth about [ the ] illness . Critics however were quite pleased with the performance and although it did not have a long run , it was yet another of Harrisons well-plotted naturalistic performances . He was subsequently married to Welsh-born actress Rachel Roberts from 1962 to 1971 . In 1980 , despite his having married twice since their divorce , Roberts made a final attempt to win Harrison back , which proved to be futile ; she took her own life that same year . Harrison then married Elizabeth Rees-Williams , divorcing in 1975 ; finally , in 1978 , he married Mercia Tinker , his sixth and final wife . Harrisons eldest son Noel Harrison became an Olympic skier , singer and occasional actor ; he toured in several productions including My Fair Lady in his fathers award-winning role ; Noel died suddenly of a heart attack on 19 October 2013 at age 79 . Rexs younger son Carey Harrison is a playwright and social activist . Harrisons sister Sylvia was married to David Maxwell Fyfe , a lawyer , Conservative politician and judge who was successively the lead British prosecutor at Nuremberg , Home Secretary and Lord Chancellor ( head of the English judiciary ) ; after his death she married another Cabinet minister , Lord de la Warr . Chronology of Harrisons six marriages : - Noel M Colette-Thomas , 1934–1942 ( divorced ) ; one son , the actor/singer Noel Harrison , ( 29 January 1934 – 19 October 2013 ) - Lilli Palmer , 1943–1957 ( divorced ) ; one son , the novelist/playwright Carey Harrison - Kay Kendall , 1957–1959 ( her death ) - Rachel Roberts , 1962–1971 ( divorced ) - Elizabeth Harris , 1971–1975 ( divorced ) ; three stepsons , Damian Harris , Jared Harris , and Jamie Harris - Mercia Tinker , 1978–1990 ( his death ) Grandchildren : - Granddaughters : Cathryn , Harriott , Chloe , Chiara , Rosie , Faith - Grandsons : Will , Simon , Sam Harrison owned properties in London , New York City and Portofino , Italy . His villa in Portofino was named San Genesio after the patron saint of actors . Later career . Having retired from films after A Time to Die , Harrison continued to act on Broadway and the West End until the end of his life , despite suffering from glaucoma , painful teeth , and a failing memory . He was nominated for a third Tony Award in 1984 for his performance as Captain Shotover in the revival of George Bernard Shaws Heartbreak House . He followed with two successful pairings with Claudette Colbert , The Kingfisher in 1985 and Arent We All ? in 1986 . In 1989 , he appeared with Edward Fox in The Admirable Crichton in London . In 1989/90 , he appeared on Broadway in The Circle by W . Somerset Maugham , opposite Glynis Johns , Stewart Granger , and Roma Downey . The production opened at Duke University for a three-week run followed by performances in Baltimore and Boston before opening 14 November 1989 on Broadway . Death . Harrison died from the effects of pancreatic cancer at his home in Manhattan , New York City , on 2 June 1990 at the age of 82 . He had only been diagnosed with the disease a short time before . The stage production in which he was appearing at the time , The Circle , came to an end upon his death . His body was cremated , some of his ashes being subsequently scattered in Portofino , and the rest being scattered at his second wife Lilli Palmers grave at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale , California , in the Commemoration section , Map 1 , Lot 4066 , Space 2 . Harrisons second autobiography , A Damned Serious Business : My Life in Comedy ( ) , was published posthumously in 1991 . Honours and legacy . On 17 June 1989 , Harrison was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace . Rex Harrison has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame , one at 6906 Hollywood Boulevard for his contribution to films , and the other at 6380 Hollywood Boulevard for his contribution to television . Harrison is also a member of the American Theater Hall of Fame . He was inducted in 1979 . Due to his association with the checked wool hat which he wore both in the Broadway and film versions of My Fair Lady , the style of headwear was often named The Rex Harrison . Seth MacFarlane , creator of the animated series Family Guy , modelled the voice of the character Stewie Griffin after Harrison after seeing him in the film adaptation of My Fair Lady . Rex Harrison mask used by CIA . Ex-CIA chief of disguise Jonna Mendez stated in 2019 that a mask of Harrison was used by multiple CIA agents for covert work . The moulds of his face were larger and so could fit over a smaller agents face . The molds were made from aluminium and bought from Hollywood film facilities . She mentioned that his likeness was taking part in a lot of operations . According to Mendez , Rex Harrisons aluminium facial props mold was used as a baseline for over-the-head masks that the agency would create and use operationally . The masks came in small , medium and large sizes , with Rexs mold becoming the agencys standard large size . Subsequently , many undercover operatives real identities were disguised by masks bearing Rexs facial features . Further reading . - Harrison , Rex ( 1991 ) . A Damned Serious Business : My Life in Comedy . - Garland , Patrick ( 1998 ) . The Incomparable Rex . ( 1998 ) - Roberts , David ( 2006 ) . British Hit Singles & Albums ( 19th ed. ) . London : Guinness World Records Limited . - ( Includes an interview with Harrisons son , Carey ) External links . - Selected performances in Theatre Archive University of Bristol - Rex Harrison interview on BBC Radio 4 Desert Island Discs , 26 October 1979