Kay Thompson

Thompson had appeared in the films "Manhattan Merry-Go-Round" (1937) and "The Kid From Brooklyn" (1946), but her film career really hadn't amounted to much. In 1957, though, she played the role which forever defined her: Maggie Prescott in Stanley Donen's delightful "Funny Face." The film starred Fred Astaire and Audrey Hepburn, but Thompson, as a flamboyant magazine editor obviously based on Diana Vreeland, all but stole the film (her opening "Think Pink!" number is a high point). Thompson's only other film was "Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon" (1970), starring her god-daughter Liza Minnelli.Perhaps Thompson's most lasting contribution is also her most atypical. In 1955, she collaborated with illustrator Hilary Knight on the children's book "Kay Thompson's Eloise," the story of a wry, mischievous little girl who lives in New York's Plaza Hotel. The book became a sensation with children and adults alike, and continues to sell well. It was followed by the sequels "Eloise in Paris" (1957), "Eloise at Christmastime" (1958) ad "Eloise in Moscow" (1959). There was also a badly-received TV adaptation, "Eloise" (CBS, 1956). Thompson appeared on the small screen only a handful of times, including the "Standard Oil Anniversary Show" (NBC, 1957) and the "Burke's Law" pilot "Amos Burke: Who Killed Julie Greer?" (NBC, 1961). She retired from public life in the mid-70s and lived thereafter as a recluse in Rome and New York.