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Kim Novak
A rare combination of icy aloofness and earthy sensuality helped to make actress Kim Novak one of the top box office stars in Hollywood during the 1950s and early 1960s. Films like "Picnic" (1955) and "The Man with the Golden Arm" (1955) gave her the chance to display her dramatic and even vulnerable sides, but it was Alfred Hitchcock who provided her with an enduring showcase as the object of James Stewart's affections in "Vertigo" (1958). By the end of the 1960s, Novak had pulled back from the daily Hollywood grind, choosing to take a hiatus from film. Her absence from the public eye only increased the allure of her legend, and preserved her status as one of postwar Hollywood's most mysterious and appealing actresses.