Brown, Kay (1903–1995)
Brown, Kay (1903–1995)
American producer and agent. Name variations: Kay Brown Barrett. Born in 1903; died of a stroke in Hightstown, New Jersey, on January 18, 1995; graduated from Wellesley College, 1924; married James Barrett; children: two girls.
A powerful Hollywood agent who once ran Selznick International Pictures in New York, Kay Brown was best known for having prodded David O. Selznick into buying the rights to a book titled Gone with the Wind, even though his initial reaction was "A Civil War story won't go." She was also responsible for importing European talent, including Ingrid Bergman , Alfred Hitchcock, Vivien Leigh , and Laurence Olivier, as well as handling some of early Hollywood's brightest stars. Known as one of the most tenacious agents in the business, Kay Brown counted among her clients Arthur Miller, Isak Dinesen, Lillian Hellman , John Gielgud, and Alec Guinness. Of Dinesen, Brown commented: "I adored her work. But I couldn't get anyone to listen to me about Out of Africa in 1952."