Kay Medford


Margaret Kathleen Regan, better known as Kay Medford, was an American actress. For her performance as Rose Brice in the musical Funny Girl and the film adaptation of the same name, she was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical and an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Early years

Medford was born in 1919 in New York City to James and Mary Regan, first-generation Irish-American parents. Her mother had been an actress with a Shakesearean stock group in Connecticut. She was orphaned in her teens. She adopted the name Kay Medford professionally, and began her career after graduating from high school and working as a nightclub waitress.

Career

Medford began entertaining professionally by performing at summer resorts in the Catskill Mountains. In 1949, she toured with a nightclub routine in which she did impersonations of Hollywood celebrities.
Medford was the original Mama in Bye Bye Birdie on Broadway, garnering excellent reviews. Medford appeared in the Warner Bros. rock and roll film, Jamboree. She made her Broadway debut in 1951 in the musical Paint Your Wagon.
She was cast in Carousel, then appeared onstage in Funny Girl as the mother of Fanny Brice ; for this performance she was nominated for a 1964 Tony Award for Featured Actress, and when she repeated the role in the 1968 film adaptation, she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Her many film credits included roles in A Face in the Crowd, The Rat Race, BUtterfield 8, Girl of the Night, Ensign Pulver, A Fine Madness, The Busy Body, Angel in My Pocket, Twinky, But I Don't Want to Get Married!, Fire Sale, and Windows.
On television, Medford portrayed Harriet Endicott on To Rome with Love, Gloria's mother on That's Life, and Maria's mother on On Our Own, and was a member of the cast of The Dean Martin Show. She also guest-starred on series, including Decoy, Marcus Welby, M.D.,The Partridge Family, and Barney Miller.

Death

Medford never married and had no children. She died of cancer in New York City in 1980, aged 60.

Partial filmography