Memories of Kathryn Grayson

Some very interesting remembrances of the late Kathryn Grayson have been posted in the last couple days.

At Power Line (click the title of this post), William Katz writes: "Classically trained, and beautiful as well, she lit up the screen in the late forties and early fifties... She had a warmth and a charm. For young boys growing up at the time, we really thought Kathryn Grayson was what girls were made of. And we were pleased by the thought."

Katz goes on to say "But there is something else, something very important about the passing of Kathryn Grayson. She represented, not simply an era, but an attitude, and, especially, an attitude toward the movie audience. She was a trained soprano at a time when MGM didn't hesitate to put a trained soprano before the public. And the public loved every refined note... When you respect the audience, and maintain high standards, the audience rises to those standards. When you don't respect the audience...and let standards sink, the audience sinks with the standards.

"Most young people today, through no fault of their own, never heard of Kathryn Grayson. It's too bad. They missed something special. But at least we have the movies to remember her by, and to remember a time when we could go into a theater, and for eighty-five cents, get the best."

At My Desert.com there's a very interesting article on Grayson's background, "Witnessing the Creation of Kathryn Grayson," by Allene Arthur, who knew Grayson and her family before she was a movie star. (Hat tip: Classic Movies.)

Finally, I haven't yet linked to Moira Finnie's tribute at Skeins of Thought, which includes some video clips. Do check it out. I especially enjoyed revisiting the scene from SEVEN SWEETHEARTS (1942).

Previously: MGM Musical Great Kathryn Grayson Dies at 88.