Dorothy Katherine Standing, Lady Clements (18 February 1909 – 4 May 1980), known professionally as Kay Hammond, was an England stage and film actress.
Family
Kay Hammond was born in
London, England as Dorothy Katherine Standing, the daughter of Sir Guy Standing and his wife,
Dorothy Hammond (Dorothy Plaskitt).
[ University of Kent: Theatre collections] Her grandfather was
Herbert Standing (1846–1923) and her uncles were
Wyndham Standing,
Jack Standing, and
Percy Standing.
[ "Unusual Modesty". Manchester Evening News. 2 January 1913. p. 7. Retrieved 24 January 2024. "An actor who actually thought he wasn't good enough for his part has won an action against his manager in the Supreme Court of the United States. ... The actor is Percy Darrell Standing, brother of Guy Standing, who is an Englishman."]
Career
She studied at
RADA and first appeared on the London stage in 1927.
[Morley, Sheridan (1986). The Great Stage Stars : Distinguished Theatrical Careers of the Past and Present. New York: Facts on File Publications. p. 155. .] Her most famous role was that of Elvira in Noël Coward's
Blithe Spirit, which she played in the original stage production. She reprised her role in the 1945 film version opposite
Rex Harrison, Margaret Rutherford and Constance Cummings.
She appeared as a guest of Roy Plomley on Desert Island Discs on 25 February 1951.
Personal life
Hammond's first husband was baronet Sir Ronald George Leon.
Their sons were John Ronald Leon (the actor
John Standing) and Timothy George Leon. Her second husband was the stage actor Sir John Clements.
Death
Kay Hammond died in
Brighton, aged 71, from undisclosed causes, on 4 May 1980.
She was
cremated and her ashes scattered in the memorial garden at Downs Crematorium, Brighton, East Sussex
Filmography
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| TV movie |
| final film role |
Selected stage credits
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Can the Leopard...? by Ronald Jeans (1931)
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Hollywood Holiday by John Van Druten (1931)
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French Without Tears by Terence Rattigan (1938)
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The Happy Marriage by John Clements (1952)
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The Little Glass Clock by Hugh Mills (1954)
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Halliwell's Who's Who in the Movies - John Walker (editor), 14th edition, 2001,
External links
