Editing Kathryn Grayson

{{Short description|American actress (1922–2010)}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Kathryn Grayson
| image              = Kathryn Grayson.jpg
| caption            = Grayson in 1943
| birth_name         = Zelma Kathryn Elisabeth Hedrick
| birth_date         = {{birth date|1922|02|09}}
| birth_place        = [[Winston-Salem, North Carolina]], U.S.
| death_date         = {{Death date and age|2010|02|17|1922|02|09}}
| death_place        = [[Los Angeles, California]], U.S.
| occupation         = Actress, singer
| years_active       = 1941–1998
| spouse             = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|[[John Shelton (actor)|John Shelton]]<br/>|1941|1946|end=divorced}}
* {{marriage|[[Johnnie Johnston]]<br/>|1947|1951|end=divorced}}
}}
| children           = 1
| relatives          = [[Frances Raeburn]] (sister) <br /> [[Kristin Towers-Rowles]] (granddaughter)
| website            = {{URL|kathryngrayson.com}}
}}

'''Kathryn Grayson''' (born '''Zelma Kathryn Elisabeth Hedrick'''; February 9, 1922 – February 17, 2010<ref name="obit">{{cite news|first=Bob|last=Thomas|title=Music legend Kathryn Grayson dies at 88|work=Associated Press via USA Today|url=https://www.usatoday.com/life/people/obit/2010-02-18-grayson_N.htm|date=2010-02-18|access-date=2010-02-18}}</ref>) was an American actress and [[coloratura soprano]].

From the age of 12, Grayson trained as an opera singer. She was under contract to [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]] by the early 1940s, soon establishing a career principally through her work in musicals. After several supporting roles, she was a lead performer in such films as ''[[Thousands Cheer]]'' (1943), ''[[Anchors Aweigh (film)|Anchors Aweigh]]'' (1945) with [[Frank Sinatra]] and [[Gene Kelly]] and ''[[Show Boat (1951 film)|Show Boat]]'' (1951) and ''[[Kiss Me Kate (film)|Kiss Me Kate]]'' (1953), both with [[Howard Keel]].<ref name=":0" />

She also worked in theatre, appearing in ''[[Camelot (musical)|Camelot]]'' (1962–1964). Later in the decade, she performed in several operas, including ''[[La bohème]]'', ''[[Madama Butterfly]]'', ''[[Orpheus in the Underworld]]'' and ''[[La traviata]]''.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/kathryn-grayson-actress-and-singer-described-as-the-most-beautiful-woman-in-the-history-of-movies-1906517.html|title=Kathryn Grayson: Actress and singer described as 'the most beautiful woman in the history of movies'|date=22 Feb 2010|website=Independent|access-date=28 Jan 2019}}</ref>

==Early life==
Zelma Kathryn Elisabeth Hedrick was born on February 9, 1922, in [[Winston-Salem, North Carolina]], one of four children of Charles Hedrick, a building contractor-realtor, and Lillian Hedrick ([[née]] Grayson).{{sfn|Parish|Pitts|2003|p=361}}

The Hedrick family later moved to [[Kirkwood, Missouri]], outside [[St. Louis, Missouri|St. Louis]]. At the age of 12, Grayson was discovered singing on the empty stage of the [[The Muny|St. Louis Municipal Opera House]] by a janitor, who introduced her to Frances Marshall of the [[Chicago Civic Opera]], from whom Grayson received voice lessons. Grayson's sister [[Frances Raeburn]] (born Mildred Hedrick) was also an actress and singer, appearing along with her in the film ''[[Seven Sweethearts]]''.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|title=Frances Raeburn|date=April 29, 1945|page=C1|id={{ProQuest|165587949}}}}</ref> Grayson had two brothers, Clarence "Bud" E. Hedrick,<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|title=Kathryn Grayson Denies Actor and her Brother Had a Fight|date=March 24, 1946|page=2|id={{ProQuest|165641951}}}}</ref> and Harold. The family moved to California when she was 15 years old.

==Film career==
===1940s===
In 1940, an MGM talent scout saw Grayson performing at a music festival. MGM hoped to find a replacement for [[Deanna Durbin]], who had left the studio for [[Universal Pictures]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Hedda Hopper's Hollywood|author=Hopper, Hedda|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=February 21, 1941|id={{ProQuest|165188821}}}}</ref> For the next 18 months, Grayson took voice, drama and diction lessons and followed a routine of dieting and exercise. Within a year, she had her first screen test. However, studio executives were not satisfied, and she endured a further six months of lessons until she made her first film appearance in 1941's ''[[Andy Hardy's Private Secretary]]'' as secretary Kathryn Land,<ref>{{cite news|title=Hedda Hopper's Hollywood|author=Hopper, Hedda|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=January 2, 1941|id={{ProQuest|165217594}}}}</ref> participating in three musical numbers.

Two further films were planned for Grayson in 1941: ''White House Girl'',<ref>{{cite news|title=Kathryn Grayson Wins Pasternak Film Lead|author=Schallert, Edwin|newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=Oct 15, 1941|page=A10|id={{ProQuest|165260714}}}}</ref> which was later produced in 1948 with Durbin,<ref>{{cite news|title=New Comedy Stars Durbin|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=October 20, 1948|page=20|id={{ProQuest|165864746}}}}</ref> and ''Very Warm for May'', from the [[Jerome Kern]] and [[Oscar Hammerstein II|Oscar Hammerstein]] [[Very Warm for May|musical of the same name]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Taylor Escapes Romeo Roles Through Comedy|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=August 28, 1941|page=A10|id={{ProQuest|165223133}}}}</ref> The film eventually was produced in 1944 as ''[[Broadway Rhythm]]''.{{citation needed|date=December 2017}}

Grayson appeared in three films in 1942: ''[[The Vanishing Virginian]]'', ''[[Rio Rita (1942 film)|Rio Rita]]'' and ''[[Seven Sweethearts]]''. In the first, Grayson plays the teenage daughter, Rebecca, of the eccentric Yancey family from [[Lynchburg, Virginia|Lynchburg]], Virginia.<ref>{{cite news|title=Young Beauty|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=January 26, 1942|id={{ProQuest|165289976}}}} Kathryn Grayson enacts the part of Rebecca in 'The Vanishing Virginian,' story of a southern family, to open Thursday at the Four Star Theater.</ref> Set in 1913, the film was based on Rebecca Yancey Williams's own family.
[[File:Kathryn Grayson in Seven Sweethearts.jpg|left|thumb|Grayson as Billie Van Maaster in ''Seven Sweethearts''.]]
Grayson co-starred in ''Rio Rita'' with [[Abbott and Costello]].<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|title='Rio Rita' Comedy Fare|date=May 21, 1942|page=8|id={{ProQuest|165325740}}}}</ref> Grayson portrayed the title character, Rita Winslow. The film was originally meant to be an adaptation of the 1927 Broadway musical; however, only two songs were retained for the film, the title song, and "The Ranger Song", which was performed by Grayson.{{citation needed|date=December 2017}}

Co-starring [[Van Heflin]], ''Seven Sweethearts'' cast Grayson as the youngest of seven daughters from [[Holland, Michigan|Holland]], [[Michigan]], who is hired by reporter-photographer Heflin to serve as a model and secretary while he covers the town's [[tulip festival]], and with whom he falls in love.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|title=Drama and the Arts Section|date=October 11, 1942|page=C1|id={{ProQuest|165377643}}}}</ref>

In 1943, Grayson appeared in the film ''[[Thousands Cheer]]'', (originally titled ''Private Miss Jones''), along with [[Gene Kelly]], [[Mickey Rooney]], [[Eleanor Powell]], [[June Allyson]] and others. The film was intended as a morale booster for American troops and their families. Grayson starred as the singing daughter of an Army commander.{{citation needed|date=December 2017}}

It was announced in 1942 that Grayson would appear in ''An American Symphony'' with [[Judy Garland]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Garland, Grayson Will Play Musical Sisters |author=Schallert, Edwin |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=March 11, 1942 |page=A10|id={{ProQuest|354353888}} }}</ref> Garland was replaced by [[June Allyson]], and the film was retitled as "''[[Two Sisters from Boston]]"'' and released in 1946.{{citation needed|date=December 2017}}

Grayson did not appear in any films for nearly two years (from 1943 to 1945), but instead worked at entertaining troops during the war and performing on radio programs.{{sfn|Parish|Pitts|2003|p=363}} Notably, it is reported that she would only perform under the condition that the audience was integrated, as troops were segregated at the time.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.emmytvlegends.org/interviews/people/frank-liberman#|title=Frank Liberan interview, American Archives of Television|website=Emmytvlegends.org|access-date=18 December 2017|date=2017-10-23}}</ref>

She returned to films in ''[[Anchors Aweigh (film)|Anchors Aweigh]]'', a musical romantic-comedy set in Los Angeles and co-starring Kelly and [[Frank Sinatra]]. ''Anchors Aweigh'' was the fifth-highest grossing film of 1945, earning over $4.779 million.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.boxofficereport.com/database/1945.shtml|title=Box Office Report for 1945|publisher=Boxofficereport.com|access-date=2010-07-30|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090713043154/http://www.boxofficereport.com/database/1945.shtml|archive-date=2009-07-13}}</ref>

This was followed by ''Two Sisters from Boston'' and guest appearances in ''[[Ziegfeld Follies (film)|Ziegfeld Follies]]'' and ''[[Till the Clouds Roll By]]''. Her performance in ''Till the Clouds Roll By'' included "[[Make Believe (Jerome Kern song)|Make Believe]]" in a capsule version of the musical ''[[Show Boat]]'', which would be [[Show Boat (1951 film)|remade]] five years later, with Grayson in the starring role.{{citation needed|date=December 2017}}

MGM re-paired Grayson and Sinatra for two movies in 1947 and 1948, ''[[It Happened in Brooklyn]]'' and ''[[The Kissing Bandit (film)|The Kissing Bandit]]''. Both films performed poorly at the box office, and audiences thought the plots absurd.{{sfn|Parish|Pitts|2003|p=364}} After the setbacks of ''Brooklyn'' and ''Bandit'', Grayson was partnered with tenor [[Mario Lanza]] in ''[[That Midnight Kiss]]'' in 1949.{{citation needed|date=December 2017}}

===1950s===
[[File:Kathryn Grayson and Mario Lanza in Toast of New Orleans trailer.jpg|left|thumb|with [[Mario Lanza]] in ''[[The Toast of New Orleans]]'']]
In 1950, Grayson was once again partnered with Lanza, and portrayed an opera singer in ''[[The Toast of New Orleans]]'', and performed the Academy-Award-nominated song "[[Be My Love]]". While shooting the ''[[Madama Butterfly]]'' scene in the film, Lanza kept attempting to [[french kiss]] Grayson, which Grayson claimed was made even worse by the fact that Lanza would constantly eat garlic before shooting. Grayson went to costume designer [[Helen Rose]], who sewed pieces of brass into Grayson's gloves. Any time Lanza attempted to french kiss her after that, she hit him with the brass-filled glove.<ref>{{cite news|title=Lights, Cameras, Embrace! The Hollywood Love Scene|first=Peter H.|last=Brown|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=December 23, 1979}}</ref>

For the premiere of the film in [[New Orleans]], she was a guest at an auction selling the film's costumes.<ref>{{cite news|title='Sadie Smith' Will Be Betty Hutton Subject|author=Hedda Hopper|newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=September 18, 1950}}</ref>
[[File:Kathryn Grayson in Show Boat trailer.jpg|thumb|Grayson as Magnolia Hawkes.]]
Grayson replaced [[June Allyson]] in the role of Ina Massine in 1951's ''[[Grounds for Marriage]]''.{{sfn|Davis|2001|p=140}} She portrayed an opera singer with [[laryngitis]], alongside [[Van Johnson]] who played her doctor and love interest. This was also her first non-singing role at MGM. Grayson's musical performances do appear in the film, but in the form of recordings.{{citation needed|date=December 2017}}

Grayson was next cast as Magnolia Hawks in the [[Show Boat (1951 film)|1951 remake]] of the 1927 [[Oscar Hammerstein II|Hammerstein]] and [[Jerome Kern|Kern]] musical, ''[[Show Boat]]''. ''Show Boat'' was the third-highest-grossing film of 1951, earning over $5.533 million.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.boxofficereport.com/database/1951.shtml |title=Box Office Report for 1951|publisher=Boxofficereport.com|access-date=2010-07-30|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110107101817/http://www.boxofficereport.com/database/1951.shtml|archive-date=2011-01-07}}</ref>

Grayson teamed again with Keel in the 1952 [[Technicolor]] musical ''[[Lovely to Look At]]'', a remake of the 1935 [[Fred Astaire|Astaire]] and [[Ginger Rogers|Rogers]] film ''[[Roberta (1935 film)|Roberta]]''.<ref>{{cite news|title=Vocal Team Will Repeat|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=May 13, 1951}}</ref>

She was released to the Warner Brothers studio in January 1953, with the stipulation that she return to MGM for one more film. She returned to co-star for a third time with Howard Keel in her most acclaimed role, as Lilli Vanessi/Katharina in ''[[Kiss Me Kate (film)|Kiss Me Kate]]'', released in November 1953. The film was lavishly produced (the only musical other than ''[[Those Redheads from Seattle]] (1953)'' to be filmed in 3-D), with songs by [[Cole Porter]], choreography by [[Hermes Pan (choreographer)|Hermes Pan]], and musical direction by [[André Previn]].{{citation needed|date=December 2017}}

===Warner Bros===
While on loan to [[Warner Bros]], her first musical release was ''[[The Desert Song (1953 film)|The Desert Song]]'', May 1953, alongside [[Gordon MacRae]]. She was asked to perform ''[[La Bohème]]'' at the Central City Opera House in [[Central City, Colorado]], but due to her filming obligations for ''The Desert Song'', she had to turn it down.<ref>{{cite news|title=Lizbeth Scott Given Break With Comics|author=Hedda Hopper |newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=June 3, 1952|page=16}}</ref> Warner Bros. starred her in a second musical that year, ''[[So This Is Love (film)|So This Is Love]]''.{{citation needed|date=December 2017}}

Grayson appeared on television occasionally, having guest starred in the [[CBS]] [[anthology series]], ''[[General Electric Theater]]'' in the episode, ''Shadow on the Heart'', with [[John Ericson]], and on ''[[Playhouse 90]]'' in the title role of the "Lone Woman", with [[Raymond Burr]] and [[Scott Brady]] in the historical roles of the brothers [[Charles Bent|Charles]] and [[William Bent]], respectively. In the 1980s, Grayson guest starred in three episodes as recurring character Ideal Molloy on ''[[Murder, She Wrote]]''.

==Stage career==
Grayson appeared on stage in numerous productions including ''[[Show Boat]]'', ''Rosalinda'', ''[[Kiss Me, Kate]]'', ''[[Naughty Marietta (operetta)|Naughty Marietta]]'', and ''[[The Merry Widow]]'', for which she was nominated for Chicago's Sarah Siddons Award. In 1953, Grayson optioned the story ''It's Greek to Me'', written by [[Helen Deutsch]], to be accompanied by a score from [[Cole Porter]]. The story was a mythical love story about [[Hercules]] and [[Hippolyte]], and Grayson hoped to be reunited with Howard Keel and take the show on the road. However, the project fell apart.<ref>{{cite news|title=Shelley to Portray Secretary at Metro|author=Hedda Hopper |newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=June 20, 1953|page=A6}}</ref>

Her casting in ''The Merry Widow'' led to her replacing [[Julie Andrews]] in 1962 as Queen Guinevere in ''[[Camelot (musical)|Camelot]]''. She then continued the role for over sixteen months in the national tour of the United States before leaving for health reasons.

Grayson had a lifelong dream of being an opera star, and she appeared in a number of operas in the 1960s, such as ''[[La bohème]]'', ''[[Madama Butterfly]]'', ''[[Orpheus in the Underworld]]'' and ''[[La traviata]]''. Her dramatic and comedy stage roles included ''Night Watch'', ''[[Noises Off]]'', ''[[Love Letters (play)|Love Letters]]'' and ''[[Something's Afoot]]'' as Dottie Otterling.

==Musical career==
Grayson trained from the age of twelve as an opera singer.<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |title=Andy Hardy, Dr. Kildare Face Crises |last=Scheuer |first=Phillip K. |date=Feb 27, 1941 |page=12|id={{ProQuest|165066051}} }}</ref> While appearing in her film roles, Grayson also performed on the radio.<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |title=Fidler in Hollywood |last=Fidler |first=Jamie |date=Jan 10, 1942 |page=7|id={{ProQuest|165307933}} }}</ref> Grayson performed on concert tours throughout the 1950s. In May 1951, Grayson had to postpone a concert tour due to being unknowingly cast in ''[[Lovely to Look At]]''. "My concert bookings were all set. So when I read in New York that I was to do this film, I said 'How silly!', then boom! The next day I got my studio telegram asking me to return for the picture!"<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |title=Drama |last=Hedda |first=Hopper |date=May 9, 1951 |page=B8}}</ref>

In 1952, Grayson was offered more than $10,000 to perform for a week at the Riviera night club in [[New Jersey]] before making ''The Desert Song''.<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |title=Jane Greet Changing Type in "You For Me" |last=Hopper |first=Hedda |date=Mar 27, 1952 |page=A12}}</ref> After filming ''The Desert Song'', Grayson created a recording of the musical with [[Tony Martin (entertainer)|Tony Martin]].{{sfn|Parish|Pitts|2003|p=363}}

Grayson gave nightclub and concert tours in Australia a few times. On one of those trips to the Far East, Grayson also gave a concert in Manila, the Philippines, in 1969, where she performed at the New Frontier theater.{{cn|date=October 2024}}

Grayson supervised the Voice and Choral Studies Program at [[Idaho State University]].<ref>Idaho State University: [http://www.isu.edu/choir/vstudies.shtml The Kathryn Grayson Choral & Vocal Studies Program] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100527194219/http://www.isu.edu/choir/vstudies.shtml |date=2010-05-27 }} Retrieved on 2009-12-17.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kathryngrayson.com/kgbio.htm |title=Biography at Grayson's official site |publisher=Kathryngrayson.com |date=1922-02-09 |access-date=2010-07-30}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Grayson married twice, first to actor [[John Shelton (actor)|John Shelton]] and then to the actor/singer [[Johnnie Johnston]]. She was a [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QfHXAAAAQBAJ&q=Kathryn+Grayson+Republican&pg=PA173|title=When Hollywood Was Right: How Movie Stars, Studio Moguls, and Big Business Remade American Politics|first=Donald T.|last=Critchlow|date=21 October 2013|publisher=Cambridge University Press|access-date=18 December 2017|via=Google Books|isbn=9780521199186}}</ref> Grayson adhered to [[Roman Catholicism]].<ref>Morning News, January 10, 1948, ''Who Was Who in America'' (Vol. 2).</ref>{{better|date=October 2024}}

===John Shelton===
Shelton and Grayson eloped to [[Las Vegas, Nevada|Las Vegas]], where they were married on July 11, 1941.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|title=Young Film Pair Elope to Nevada|date=July 13, 1941|id={{ProQuest|165222321}}}}</ref> The two had courted for 18 months, after meeting while making screen tests. In July 1942, Shelton moved out of their [[Brentwood, Los Angeles|Brentwood]] home and into his own apartment. This came after a month of reconciliation after a judge dismissed their divorce suit. Grayson charged Shelton with mental cruelty.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|title=Fidler in Hollywood|last=Fidler|first=Jamie|date=July 21, 1942|id={{ProQuest|165341320}}}}</ref> They divorced on June 17, 1946.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|title=Singer Grayson Divorces Actor Shelton|date=June 18, 1946|id={{ProQuest|165671136}}}}</ref>

===Johnnie Johnston===
Grayson wed singer/actor [[Johnnie Johnston]] on August 22, 1947, in [[Carmel, California]].<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|title=Kathryn Grayson Sues for Divorce|date=August 10, 1951|id={{ProQuest|166256687}}}}</ref> 

Grayson and Johnston separated on November 15, 1950. On October 3, 1951, Grayson was granted a divorce from Johnston on the grounds of mental cruelty.<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=Los Angeles Times|title=Kathryn Grayson Given Divorce From Johnston|date=October 4, 1951|id={{ProQuest|166274081}}}}</ref> Johnston's ''[[This Time for Keeps]]'' co-star, [[Esther Williams]], claimed in her 1999 autobiography that while making the film, Johnston would read Grayson's intimate letters aloud to the girls in his fan club, including the "all-too-graphic details concerning what she liked about his love-making."{{sfn|Williams|Diehl|1999|p=153}}

==Death==
According to her secretary, Grayson died in her sleep at her home in [[Los Angeles]] on February 17, 2010, aged 88.<ref name="obit"/>

==Filmography==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Film
! Role
|-
| 1941
| ''[[Andy Hardy's Private Secretary]]''
| Kathryn Land
|-
| rowspan=3 | 1942
| ''[[The Vanishing Virginian]]''
| Rebecca Yancey
|-
| ''[[Rio Rita (1942 film)|Rio Rita]]''
| Rita Winslow
|-
| ''[[Seven Sweethearts]]''
| Billie Van Maaster
|-
| 1943
| ''[[Thousands Cheer]]''
| Kathryn Jones
|-
| 1945
| ''[[Anchors Aweigh (film)|Anchors Aweigh]]''
| Susan Abbott
|-
| rowspan=3 | 1946
| ''[[Ziegfeld Follies (film)|Ziegfeld Follies]]''
| Herself
|-
| ''[[Two Sisters from Boston]]''
| Abigail Chandler
|-
| ''[[Till the Clouds Roll By]]''
| Magnolia in 'Show Boat' 
|-
| 1947
| ''[[It Happened in Brooklyn]]''
| Anne Fielding
|-
| 1948
| ''[[The Kissing Bandit (film)|The Kissing Bandit]]''
| Teresa
|-
| rowspan=2 | 1949
| ''[[That Midnight Kiss]]''
| Prudence Budell
|-
| ''Some of the Best''
| Herself
|-
| 1950
| ''[[The Toast of New Orleans]]''
| Suzette Micheline
|-
| rowspan=2 | 1951
| ''[[Grounds for Marriage]]''
| Ina Massine
|-
| ''[[Show Boat (1951 film)|Show Boat]]''
| Magnolia Hawks
|-
| 1952
| ''[[Lovely to Look At]]''
| Stephanie
|-
| rowspan=3 | 1953
| ''[[The Desert Song (1953 film)|The Desert Song]]''
| Margot Birabeau
|-
| ''[[So This Is Love (film)|So This Is Love]]''
| [[Grace Moore]]
|-
| ''[[Kiss Me Kate (film)|Kiss Me Kate]]''
| Lilli Vanessi / Kate
|-
| 1956
| ''[[The Vagabond King (1956 film)|The Vagabond King]]''
| Catherine de Vaucelles
|-
| 1976
| ''The Amazing World of Psychic Phenomena''
| Psychic Detective
|-
| 1994
| ''A Century of Cinema''
| Herself
|-
| 2003
| ''Cole Porter in Hollywood: Too Darn Hot''
| Herself-Kate/Lilli in ''Kiss Me Kate''
|-
| 2004
| ''The Masters Behind the Musicals''
| Herself
|}

==Stage work==
*''[[Madama Butterfly]]'' (1959)
*''[[La traviata]]'' (1960)
*''[[La bohème]]'' (1960) 
*''[[The Merry Widow]]'' (1961) 
*''[[Naughty Marietta (operetta)|Naughty Marietta]]'' (1961) 
*''Rosalinda'' (1962) 
*''[[Camelot (musical)|Camelot]]'' (1962) 
*''[[Show Boat]]'' (1964) 
*''Night Watch'' (1982)
*''[[Orpheus in the Underworld]]'' (1983)
*''[[Something's Afoot]]'' (1983) 
*''[[Noises Off]]'' (1987)
*''[[Love Letters (play)|Love Letters]]'' (1996)
*''Red Sox and Roses'' (1997)

==Notes==

{{Reflist
| colwidth = 30em
| refs =

}}

==References==
* {{cite book
  | last = Davis
  | first = Ronald
  | title = Van Johnson: MGM's Golden Boy
  | publisher = University Press of Mississippi
  | year = 2001
  | isbn = 978-1-57806-377-2
  | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=RG2PFR0tFSAC&pg=PP1
  | access-date = 2010-07-30
  }}
* {{cite book
  | title = Hollywood Songsters: Garland to O'Connor
  | last1 = Parish
  | first1 = James Robert
  | last2 = Pitts
  | first2 = Michael R.
  | year = 2003
  | publisher = Routledge
  | isbn = 978-0-415-94333-8
  | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=H49LAAAAYAAJ
  | access-date = 2010-07-30
  }}
* {{cite book
  | last1 = Williams
  | first1 = Esther
  | last2 = Diehl
  | first2 = Digby
  | author-link = Esther Williams
  | title = The Million Dollar Mermaid: An Autobiography
  | year = 1999
  | publisher = Simon & Schuster
 | edition = 1st
  | isbn = 978-0-15-601135-8
  | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=qItZAAAAMAAJ
  | access-date = 2010-07-30
  }}

==External links==
{{Portal|Biography}}
{{Wikiquote}}
{{Commons}}

* {{official website}} (last updated 2005)
* {{IMDb name}}
* {{IBDB name}}
* [http://film.virtual-history.com/person.php?personid=2313 Kathryn Grayson photographs and literature]
* [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/film-obituaries/7272836/Kathryn-Grayson.html Kathryn Grayson]&nbsp;– [[The Daily Telegraph]] obituary {{subscription required}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grayson, Kathryn}}
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[[Category:20th-century American actresses]]
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[[Category:American film actresses]]
[[Category:American operatic sopranos]]
<!-- [[Category:American Roman Catholics]] -->
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