Kim Hunter

Biography

Date of Birth 12 November 1922, Detroit, Michigan, USA Date of Death 11 September 2002, New York City, New York, USA (heart attack) Birth Name Janet Cole Height 5' 3½" (1.61 m) Mini Biography The daughter of 'Donald Cole' and Grace (nee Lind), she was educated at Miami Beach High. She studied at the Actors Studio and her first professional appearance was as Penny in Penny Wise in Miami in November 1939. She appeared as Stella in "A Streetcar Named Desire" at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, New York in December 1947. (She won an Oscar for the reprise of this performance on film in 1951). Spouse Robert Emmett (20 December 1951 - 8 April 2000) (his death) 1 child William Baldwin (11 February 1944 - 12 February 1946) (divorced) 1 child Trivia Son, Sean Emmett (or Emmitt), born 1954, is a rock musician (Mainstream, Sienna) Daughter Kathy was born to Kim and Marine Capt. William A. Baldwin and became a judge in Connecticut. Now the mother of four, she used to ride on the handlebars of Marlon Brando's motorcycle. Kim was blacklisted in films and TV even though she was never a Communist or even held pro-Communist views. But as a strong believer in civil rights she signed a lot of petitions and was a sponsor of a 1949 World Peace Conference in New York. Her testimony to the New York Supreme Court in 1962 against the publishers of "Red Channels" helped pave the way for clearance of many performers unjustly accused of Communist connections. Author of "Loose in the Kitchen," an autobiographical cookbook, published in 1975. An agent for David O. Selznick saw Kim in a stage production at the Pasadena Playhouse and signed her to a seven-year contract. Selznick suggested she change her name to Kim and an RKO secretary suggested the last name of Hunter. A few years later, Irene Mayer Selznick, David's ex-wife by then, recommended Kim for the role of Stella in A Streetcar Named Desire (1951). She played the mother of Richard Kiley's character in Blue Moon (1999) (TV) in spite of the fact that he was eight months her senior. Personal Quotes "For a long while, I wouldn't talk about it at all. I do now, because there's a whole new generation that doesn't remember. And the more one knows, the more one can see, and not allow history to repeat itself." - Kim Hunter, referring to her "blacklisting" That's fairly accurate, I think, for a great number of us. Becoming a star wouldn't have bothered me, but what is a star? A star isn't anything. An actor acts. That's the important thing. (on being an actress instead of a star)