Kay Thompson

This angular, stylish and acerbic actress and singer also wrote some of the most beloved children's books of the mid-20th Century. Kay Thompson came a long way from St. Louis by the early 1930s, when she was an accomplished pianist and singer on the radio and in nightclubs. She had her own CBS show in 1935, and made her Broadway debut in 1937's "Hooray for What!" with music by Harold Arlen and lyrics by E Y 'Yip' Harburg. Although she suffered the devastating experience of being fired from the musical, Thompson bounced back by landing a spot at MGM as a musical arranger and vocal coach to such stars as Lena Horne and Judy Garland. By the late 40s, she was again popular on the nightclub and concert circuit.