Kay Medford

Kay Medford (September 14, 1914 – April 10, 1980), was an American character actress.

Born Margaret O'Regan in New York City, the daughter of first-generation Irish parents, she was the original "Mama" in Bye Bye Birdie, starring opposite Dick Van Dyke on Broadway, garnering excellent reviews. She lost the film role to another Irish-American actress, Maureen Stapleton.

She appeared in the Warner Bros. rock and roll movie Jamboree (1957) in which she played the manager of singer Pete Porter, played by Paul Carr. Her rival and competitor in the movie is played by Bob Pastine, who is the manager of Honey Wynn, played by Freda Holloway.

She also appeared on Broadway in Carousel, Paint Your Wagon and Funny Girl as the mother of Fanny Brice. For her performance as Mrs. Brice, she was nominated for a 1964 Tony Award for Featured Actress (Musical),^[1] and when she repeated the role in the 1968 film adaptation, she received a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.^[2]

From 1969-1970 she co-starred opposite John Forsythe as his sister, Harriet Endicott, in the CBS series To Rome With Love.

She died from cervical cancer in New York City in 1980, aged 65.

References

External links

• Kay Medford at the Internet Movie Database
• Kay Medford at the Internet Broadway Database
• Kay Medford at the Internet off-Broadway Database
• Kay Medford at Find a Grave