Dumb.com » » Celebrity Biographies » » Kim Novak
Kim Novak Biography
|
|
Kim Novak eventually moved to Los Angeles, where she pursued modeling. It was in Los Angeles where she landed a small role in the 1954 film, The French Line. She was soon discovered and landed a six month contract with Columbia Pictures, who made her their own version of Marilyn Monroe. During this time, she still went by the name Marilyn Novak, but after many arguments she and the studio finally agreed on a name that had her real last name on it. Kim Novak was mentored by Harry Cohn, who had advised her to lose weight and wear brassieres.
Kim Novak nurtured her acting talent and took the initiative of going to acting school. Her first major film was called Pushover, where she starred opposite Fred MacMurray. It was this film that introduced her to the audience, and established her as a beauty onscreen, although her acting skills had yet to be brushed up. Kim Novak had better reviews with her next film, Phffft!, where she starred with Jack Lemmon and Judy Holiday. By this time she had already established herself as an American actress.
Since then, Kim Novak starred in many more movies including The Man with A Golden Arm, Jeanne Eagels, Picnic, and two pictures where she costarred with Frank Sinatra: Five Against the House, and Pal Joey. Picnic earned her a BAFTA nomination for Best Foreign Actress. By 1957, Kim Novak’s popularity grew so much she made the cover of Time Magazine. In 1958, Kim Novak made her most memorable performance in Alfred Hitchcock’s movie Vertigo. She had a dual role in the movie, playing both a dead woman and the mysterious double, and was fantastic in the movie.
Kim Novak left Columbia in 1962. Unfortunately, during the sixties, Kim Novak’s movies were those that did not do so well, although it was more on the films and not her acting. These include Of Human Bondage; Kiss Me, Stupid; and The Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders. She then took a temporary break from acting and returned in 1968, with the movie The Legend of Lylah Clare, which also failed.
Kim Novak’s last movie was 1991’s Liebestraum, but due to some arguments, the director had cut her off many scenes. She also had television appearances through the years, such as The Third Girl from the Left, Malibu, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and Falcon Crest. Kim Novak was labeled number 92 in Empire Magazine’s 100 Sexiest Stars in Film History.
Kim Novak was married twice, to Richard Johnson, an English actor; and to Dr. Robert Malloy, who is a veterinarian. On July 2000, her house in Oregon burnt down which was claimed to be a result of a tree falling on a power line. She was not hurt, and her husband Dr. Malloy and her animals survived the fire.
