Kay Walsh
Walsh inLease of Life (1954)
Born	Kathleen Walsh (1911-11-15)15 November 1911 Chelsea,London, England
Died	16 April 2005(2005-04-16) (aged 93) Chelsea, London, England
Occupation(s)	Actress, dancer, writer
Years active	1934–1981
Spouses	David Lean ​ ​ (m. 1940; div. 1949)​ Elliott Jaques ​ ​ (m. 1953, divorced)​

Kathleen Walsh (15 November 1911 – 16 April 2005) was an English actress, dancer, and screenwriter. Her film career prospered after she met her future husband, film directorDavid Lean, with whom she worked on productions such asIn Which We Serve andOliver Twist.

Walsh was born on 15 November 1911 inChelsea, London.^[1][2] She was raised inPimlico by her grandmother.^[3] She began her career as a dancer inWest Endmusic halls, and at the age of 17 she began going out with Pownoll Pellew (later 9thViscount Exmouth), and they shared an interest in sports cars.^[4] She made her film debut inHow's Chances? (1934) in a small part, and had a larger role inGet Your Man, another 1934 film. She continued to act in "quota quickies" films for several years. Walsh first metDavid Lean, then a film editor, in 1936, during the filming ofSecret of Stamboul. They began a relationship, and Walsh broke her engagement to Pellew. Walsh and Lean married on 23 November 1940. She appeared in the filmsIn Which We Serve (1942) andThis Happy Breed (1944), both directed by Lean and written byNoël Coward. Walsh campaigned for Lean to receive co-director credit onIn Which We Serve.^[5]

Walsh contributed dialogue to the 1938 film ofPygmalion,^[5] and devised the scenario for the closing sequence of Lean's film adaptation ofGreat Expectations (1946), receiving a writing credit on the latter film.^[6] She devised the opening sequence of Lean's adaptation ofOliver Twist (1948) and played Nancy. Walsh and Lean divorced in 1949 on grounds of infidelity based on Lean's relationship with actressAnn Todd. Walsh continued to work as a character actress in films through the 1950s, including films withAlfred Hitchcock andRonald Neame. Her own favourite film role was that of the barmaid Miss D. Coker in Neame's 1958 film ofThe Horse's Mouth, withAlec Guinness.^[3]

Between films, Walsh appeared regularly in plays and farces at theStrand andAldwych theatres, directed byBasil Dean. She starred withPeter Coke in the 1938 thrillerDeath on the Table andRalph Lynn at Aldwych in the 1940 comedyNap Hand. She was a semi-regular on the 1979 Anglo-Polish TV seriesSherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, and remained active in films until her retirement in 1981. Her last role was inNight Crossing (1982).^[6]

Walsh's second marriage was to the Canadian psychoanalystElliott Jaques, and they adopted daughter Gemma in 1956. This marriage also ended in divorce.

Walsh lived in retirement in London. She died on 16 April 2005 at theChelsea and Westminster Hospital, aged 93, from multiple burns, following an accident.^[1]

• Cox, David (2006).Ave Atque Vale - the story of the Vale Special. Berkshire: Martin Publications.ISBN 978-0-9553010-0-1.
• Kevin Brownlow,David Lean,Faber & Faber, 1997.
• Silverman, Stephen M.,David Lean,Harry N. Abrams, 1989.

• Kay Walsh atIMDb 

• 1911 births
• 2005 deaths
• 20th-century English actresses
• English film actresses
• English people of Irish descent
• English stage actresses
• English television actresses
• Actresses from London
• People from Chelsea, London
• Actors from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea

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