Background and career
Marilyn Pauline "Kim" Malloy (née Novak; born February 13, 1933) is a retired American actress. Her contributions to cinema have been honored with two Golden Globe Awards, an Honorary Golden Bear, a Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Novak began her career in 1954 after signing a contract with Columbia Pictures, and quickly became one of Hollywood's top box office stars, appearing in Picnic (1955), The Man with the Golden Arm (1955), and Pal Joey (1957). She gained prominence for her performance in Alfred Hitchcock's thriller Vertigo (1958), which is recognized as one of the greatest films ever made. Other notable films include Bell, Book and Candle (1958), Strangers When We Meet (1960), and Kiss Me, Stupid (1964). By 1965 Novak mostly withdrew from acting and has appeared only sporadically in films since, but has studied art and displayed her paintings in major galleries. She appeared in The Mirror Crack'd (1980) and had a regular role on the primetime series Falcon Crest (1986–1987). After a disappointing experience during the filming of Liebestraum (1991), she retired from acting.
Marilyn Pauline Novak was born in Chicago, Illinois, on February 13, 1933. She is the second daughter of Joseph and Blanche (née Kral) Novak; both appeared with her in the 1962 film The Notorious Landlady. Both of her parents were born in Chicago and were of Czech descent. Joseph (1897–1987) was a history teacher and took a job as a freight dispatcher on the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad during the Great Depression. Novak attended William Penn Elementary, Farragut High School, and Wright Junior College, where she carpooled with Frank Studrawa and Joe Tyrner. She won two scholarships to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. During the summer break in her last semester of junior college Novak went on a cross-country tour as a promotional model for Detroit Motor Products Corporation's Deepfreeze home freezer at trade shows. Novak was pronounced "Miss Deepfreeze".
In San Francisco, after the refrigerator company tour ended, Novak and two other models decided to travel to Los Angeles, to check out the film industry. In Los Angeles, the three, with her as Marilyn Novak, were extras in Son of Sinbad (filmed in 1953, released in 1955), and later, for The French Line (1953), starring Jane Russell at RKO. In Los Angeles, Novak was discovered by an agent, who signed her to a long-term contract with Columbia Pictures. From the beginning of her career, she wanted to be an original and not another stereotype. Therefore, Novak fought with Columbia's CEO, Harry Cohn, over the changing of her name. Cohn suggested the name "Kit Marlowe", arguing, "Nobody's gonna go see a girl with a Polack name!", but Novak insisted on keeping her name, saying, "I'm Czech, but Polish, Czech, no matter, it's my name!" They eventually settled on the name "Kim Novak" as a compromise. Columbia intended for Novak to be their successor to Rita Hayworth, their biggest star of the 1940s, whose career had declined; also, the studio was hopeful that Novak would bring them the same box-office success Marilyn Monroe brought 20th Century-Fox. Novak's first role for the studio was in the film noir Pushover (1954), in which she received third billing below Fred MacMurray and Philip Carey. She then co-starred in the romantic comedy Phffft (1954) as Janis, a character who finds Robert Tracey (Jack Lemmon) "real cute". Both films were reasonably successful at the box office, and Novak received favorable reviews for her performances. In her third feature film, 5 Against the House (1955), a gritty crime drama, she received second billing after Guy Madison but above Brian Keith, all three above the title. It was only a minor critical and box-office success. Novak then played Madge Owens in the film version of Picnic (1955), from the William Inge play, co-starring William Holden and Rosalind Russell. Its director, Joshua Logan, felt that it would be more in character for Novak to have red hair; she agreed to wear a red wig during filming. Logan says Harry Cohn suggested Novak appear in the film but did not insist upon it: the director tested her for the role several times and was delighted with her performance, feeling she was close to her character. Picnic was a resounding critical and box-office triumph, and Novak won a Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer. She was also nominated for the BAFTA Film Award for Best Foreign Actress but did not win. She appeared as a mystery guest on the game show What's My Line? on February 5, 1956, to promote the film's opening at the Radio City Music Hall. Director Otto Preminger then cast her in The Man with the Golden Arm (1955), in which she played Frank Sinatra's sultry ex-girlfriend. In a cast that included Eleanor Parker, Novak received praise for being one of the film's bright spots, and the film was a box-office hit.
Novak's next project, The Eddy Duchin Story (1956), cast her as Marjorie Oelrichs, the wife of pianist Eddy Duchin, played by Tyrone Power. Because the two leads did not get along during filming, Novak nearly considered backing out of the production but decided against it. At the time of its release, the film was a critical and box-office hit, with many suggesting that Novak's advertisements for No-Cal diet soda contributed positively to the film's success. Offered a choice for her next project, she selected the biopic Jeanne Eagels (1957), in which she portrayed the stage and silent-screen actress who was addicted to heroin. Co-starring Jeff Chandler, the film was a largely fictional account of Eagels' life. The film drew negative reviews but turned a profit at the box office. Eagels' family sued Columbia over the way Eagels had been depicted in the movie. After appearing in a series of successful movies, Novak became one of the biggest box-office draws of 1957 and 1958. Columbia then placed her in a film adaptation of the musical Pal Joey (also 1957), based on the 1940 novel and Broadway play, both written by John O'Hara. Playing Linda English, a naive showgirl, she co-starred opposite Frank Sinatra (again) and Rita Hayworth. Released in October, the film received favorable reviews; Variety called the film "strong, funny entertainment," although Novak's performance has generated a mixed reaction, partly because of noticeable lack of on-screen charisma. The movie was a box-office hit and has been considered one of Novak's better performances.
Director Alfred Hitchcock was working on his next film, Vertigo (1958), when his leading actress, Vera Miles, became pregnant and had to withdraw from the complex roles of Madeleine Elster and Judy Barton. Hitchcock approached Harry Cohn to offer Novak the female lead without even requesting a screen test. Though Cohn hated the script, he allowed Novak to read it because he considered Hitchcock to be a great director. Novak loved it, as she could identify with the character, and agreed to take part in the film without meeting Hitchcock. At the same time she was striking for more money from Columbia and refused to show up for work on the set to protest against her salary of $1,250 a week. Novak hired new agents to represent her and demanded an adjustment in her contract. Cohn, who was paid $250,000 for Novak to do Vertigo, suspended her, but after a few weeks of negotiations he relented and offered her a new contract. She received a raise to $3,000 a week and told the press, "I don't like to have anyone take advantage of me."
Novak finally reported for work, and according to Hitchcock she had "all sorts of preconceived notions" about her character, including what she would and would not wear. Before shooting began she told the director she did not like the grey suit and black shoes she was slated to wear, thinking them too heavy and stiff for her character. Novak later recalled, "I didn't think it would matter to him what kind of shoes I wore. I had never had a director who was particular about the costumes, the way they were designed, the specific colors. The two things he wanted the most were those shoes and that gray suit." Indeed, Hitchcock explained to Novak that the visual aspect of the film was even more important to him than the story and insisted on her wearing the suit and the shoes that he had been planning for several months. Novak learned to make it work for her, as she saw it as a symbol of her character. Nonetheless, Hitchcock allowed Novak the freedom to develop the character herself. As she later recalled: "It excites me to work on dual personalities because I think I have many myself. And I think that I was able to use so much of me in that movie. At first I was feeling insecure because I kept saying, "Is this right? How do you want me to play this character?" Hitchcock said: "I hired you and that's who I want, what you bring to this role. But what I do expect from you is to stand where I want you to, wear what I want you to and speak in the rhythm that I want you to." And he worked a long time with me to try to get the right rhythm." The role took on a personal significance for her, as she felt she went through the same thing as her character when she arrived in Hollywood:
