Kay Thompson

Kay Thompson (born November 9, 1908 in St. Louis, Missouri; died July 2, 1998 in New York, New York) was an American author, composer, musician, actress and singer.

Thompson began her career writing screenplays and scenar

Kay Thompson (born November 9, 1908 in St. Louis, Missouri; died July 2, 1998 in New York, New York) was an American author, composer, musician, actress and singer.

Thompson began her career writing screenplays and scenarios for silent films, and eventually moved on to write and compose Broadway plays and musicals. During the mid-1940's, she served as main vocal arranger for many of Arthur Freed's MGM musicals and to stars such as Judy Garland, Lena Horne, Ann Sothern, and June Allyson. In 1947, she left MGM and toured nightclubs with Andy Williams and his brothers (whom she discovered while working on The Harvey Girls). She also starred in several plays and films, including 1957's Funny Face, where she played a fashion editor. Thompson, who lived at the Plaza Hotel, is most notable as the author of the Eloise series of children's books inspired by the antics of her God-daughter Liza Minnelli while living at the Plaza Hotel. The four books, illustrated by Hilary Knight, were Eloise (1956), Eloise in Paris (1957), Eloise at Christmastime (1958), and Eloise in Moscow (1959), followed the adventures of the precocious daughter of the Plaza's manager. All were bestsellers upon release and have been adapted into television projects.