Kay Deslys (28 September 1899, in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

– 15 August 1974 in

West Covina, California West Covina is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located east of downtown Los Angeles in the eastern San Gabriel Valley, it is part of Greater Los Angeles Area, Greater Los Angeles. The population for the city was 109,501 ...

) was an English comedy actress, based in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

from the 1920s on. Born as Kathleen Herbert in

, one of her earliest roles was in

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is considered o ...

's celebrated feature ''

The Gold Rush ''The Gold Rush'' is a 1925 American silent comedy film written, produced, and directed by Charlie Chaplin. The film also stars Chaplin in his The Tramp, Little Tramp persona, Georgia Hale, Mack Swain, Tom Murray (actor), Tom Murray, Henry Ber ...

''; she later appeared in several comedies at the

Hal Roach Studios Hal Roach Studios was an American motion picture and, through its TV production subsidiary, Hal Roach Television Corporation, television production studio. Known as ''The Laugh Factory to the World'', it was founded by producer Hal Roach and busin ...

, including several early

Laurel and Hardy Laurel and Hardy were a British-American double act, comedy duo during the early Classical Hollywood cinema, Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–1957) ...

comedies. During the 1930s and 1940s, she played mainly bit and extra roles in feature films before retiring in the early 1950s. She died of congestive heart failure and a stroke in West Covina, Los Angeles County, California, aged 74.*

Selected filmography

Laurel and Hardy Films

* '' Their Purple Moment'' (1928) * '' Should Married Men Go Home?'' (1928) * ''

We Faw Down ''We Faw Down'' is a synchronized sound short subject film directed by Leo McCarey starring comedy duo Laurel and Hardy. It was released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on December 29, 1928. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with ...

'' (1928) * '' Perfect Day'' (1929) * '' Below Zero'' (1930) * '' Fra Diavolo'' (1933)

Other appearances

* ''

Tarnish Tarnish is a thin layer of corrosion that forms over copper, brass, aluminum, magnesium, neodymium and other similar metals as their outermost layer undergoes a chemical reaction. Tarnish does not always result from the sole effects of oxygen in ...

'' (1924) * ''

'' (with Chaplin) (1925) * '' Her Man o' War'' (1926) * '' The Johnstown Flood'' (1926) * '' The Red Mill'' (1927) * '' Fluttering Hearts'' (1927) * '' The Leopard Lady'' (1928) * ''

Take the Heir ''Take the Heir'' is a 1930 American synchronized comedy sound film directed by Lloyd Ingraham and starring Edward Everett Horton, Dorothy Devore and Edythe Chapman.Pitts p.62 While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchroni ...

'' (1930) * ''

The Big Store ''The Big Store'' is a 1941 American comedy film directed by Charles Reisner and starring the Marx Brothers ( Groucho, Harpo and Chico) that takes place in a large department store. Groucho appears as private detective Wolf J. Flywheel (a char ...

'' (with

The Marx Brothers The Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act known for their anarchic humor, rapid-fire wordplay, and visual gags. They achieved success in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in 14 motion pictures. The core group consisted of brothers Chic ...

) (1941) * '' Never Give a Sucker an Even Break'' (with W.C. Fields) (1941) * ''

Reunion in France ''Reunion in France'' is a 1942 American war film distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer starring Joan Crawford, John Wayne, and Philip Dorn in a story about a woman in occupied France who, learning her well-heeled lover has German connections, aids ...

'' (1942)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Deslys, Kay 1899 births 1974 deaths English film actresses English silent film actresses English expatriate actresses in the United States Actresses from London 20th-century English actresses