In Hollywood she would marry twice: first to actor John Shelton; secondly to actor/singer Johnnie Johnston. She had one daughter. Throughout the 1950s, she carried on an affair with mogul Howard Hughes, and was briefly engaged to him (although this was not included in the film The Aviator, as the film only profiled Hughes through the late 1940s).
Though she started out as MGM's answer to Deanna Durbin (with films such as Seven Sweethearts and Anchors Aweigh), she proved herself a top star in Thousands Cheer, Anchors Aweigh and Two Sisters From Boston, and in the film versions of the Broadway hits Show Boat (1951) and Kiss Me, Kate (1953). Grayson also appeared in a duo of films with tenor Mario Lanza, and Howard Keel, whom she teamed successfully with in a highly lauded cabaret act in the 1960s.
With the end of MGM's great era of musicals, so ended Miss Grayson's film career. Kathryn was on stage in numerous stage musicals such as Show Boat, Rosalinda, Kiss Me, Kate, Naughty Marietta, and The Merry Widow, for which she was nominated for Chicago's Sarah Siddons Award. This lead to her as a replacement for Julie Andrews on Broadway in 1962 in Camelot, scoring a great success, before going on to star in the National tour for over sixteen months, before leaving the show due to health problems. During her period with the Camelot tour, all box-office records were broken and she gained uniformly excellent notices. She would later play the role of Guenevere during that decade. Grayson had a lifelong dream of being an opera star, and she appeared number of operas in the '60s, such as La Boheme, Madame Butterfly, Orpheus in the Underworld and La Traviata. Her dramatic and comedy stage roles included Night Watch, Noises Off, Love Letters and Something's Afoot as Dottie Otterling.
She also appeared on television occasionally. Her first TV appearances were in the 1950s, and she received an Emmy nomination in 1956 for her performance in the "General Electric Theater" episode "Shadow on the Heart" with John Ericson. Most recently, she appeared in several episodes of Angela Lansbury's long-running series "Murder, She Wrote" in the late 1980s.
Never to be overshadowed these days by other talented or exciting MGM contemporaries such as Jane Powell, Ann Miller, Cyd Charisse, Esther Williams and Ann Blyth, Miss Grayson has gained cult status among a large, and wildly devoted, crowd of fans. Kathryn supervised the Voice and Choral Studies Program at the Idaho State University.
According to her secretary, Grayson died in her sleep at her home in Los Angeles, California on February 17, 2010, aged 88.
Yesterdays
Kathryn Grayson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Days I knew as happy,
Sweet sequester days.
Olden days, golden days,
Days of mad romance and love.
Then gay youth was mine, truth was mine,
Joyous free and flaming life,
Forsooth, was mine.
For today I'm dreaming of yesterdays
Olden days, golden days,
Days of mad romance and love.
Then gay youth was mine, truth was mine,
Joyous free and flaming life,
Forsooth, was mine.
Sad am I, glad am I,
For today I'm dreaming of yesterdays.
In Kathryn Grayson's classic song Yesterdays, the lyrics pay homage to earlier, happier times. The singer reminisces about days of "mad romance and love" and "joyous free and flaming life." These were times when the singer's youth and truth were still present in her life. It is a nostalgic ode to the "sequester days" and the "golden days" that have already passed her by. Grayson's delivery of the lyrics is soulful, giving weight and meaning to each word. The song becomes a reminder of how fleeting youth and opportunity can be and how important it is to cherish those memories.
The lyrics of the song were written by Otto Harbach, and the music was composed by Jerome Kern. The song has been performed by many singers throughout the years, but it is perhaps most famously associated with Billie Holiday, who recorded a version in 1940. The song has become an enduring classic and remains popular among jazz and pop vocalists. Interestingly, the song was originally written for a Broadway show, but it was cut from the production before it opened. Despite this setback, the song's melody was so memorable that it became a hit song anyway.
Line by Line Meaning
Yesterdays, yesterdays,
Speaking of the days gone by, the happy memories that were once experienced.
Days I knew as happy,
Recalling the days that brought happiness into the singer's life.
Sweet sequester days.
Referring to the past days that had their own charms and were spent in solitude.
Olden days, golden days,
Mentioning the olden days in a metaphorical way, as if they were golden, special and invaluable.
Days of mad romance and love.
The artist is thinking of the past days when she experienced a kind of furious love and romance.
Then gay youth was mine, truth was mine,
Reminiscing about the period of her life when she was young, free-spirited, and true to herself.
Joyous free and flaming life,
Describing how life felt at the time; full of joy, freedom, and passion.
Forsooth, was mine.
The artist asserts that she really did experience this passionate time in her life.
Sad am I, glad am I,
The artist is feeling both sad and happy simultaneously when thinking about the past days.
For today I'm dreaming of yesterdays
The artist is dreaming of her past happy days and longing to go back to those days of youth.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: W. AXL ROSE, WEST ARKEEN, BILLY MCMCLOUD, SAUL HUDSON, DUFF ROSE MCKAGAN, IZZY STRADLIN, DEL JAMES, DARREN A. REED, MATT SORUM
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Annamária Pirknerné Nádor
Funny , thank you!
Sam M.
Jesus that voice🌹🌹 she was unbelievable and a great actress like a queen 👸