Kay Thompson
Beginning in the 1930s, Thompson, a native of St. Louis, was a nightclub singer and songwriter before embarking on a career in the 1940s as a vocal arranger for MGM. However, she became best known for her "Eloise" books, first published by Simon and Schuster in 1955.
The popular books followed the adventures of a spunky and often troublesome 6-year-old girl who lived in Gotham's posh Plaza Hotel.
Thompson also founded Eloise Ltd., which produced Eloise dolls, a record, fashions and a TV special.
In the mid-1930s, Thompson became a leading vocal arranger on radio on "Your Hit Parade," "The Chesterfield Show" and "Tune-Up Time," and often worked with Andre Kostelanetz and Fred Waring.
In 1937 she worked with vocal arranger Hugh Martin on the Broadway musical "Hooray for What!" and the Republic film "Manhattan Merry-Go-Round" in which they both appeared.
In 1944, when Martin entered the U.S. Army, he suggested that Thompson replace him as vocal arranger at MGM, where she worked on "Ziegfeld Follies," "The Harvey Girls," "Good News," "The Pirate" and others.
She became very close to Judy Garland and her daughter, Liza Minnelli, and often worked with them on their public appearances.
In 1956 Thompson exploded on the screen in a caricature of the famous fashion editor Diana Vreeland in Paramount's "Funny Face," which starred Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire.
She was briefly married to bandleader Jack Jenny and producer William Spier.
In recent years, Thompson lived in the New York City home of her goddaughter, Liza Minnelli.
