Kay Halle

Kay Halle
Kay Halle (1938)
Photo by Carl Van Vechten
Born
Katherine Murphy Halle

October 13, 1903
DiedAugust 7, 1997 (age 93)
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)Journalist
Author
Radio broadcaster
Parent(s)Blanche Murphy Halle
Samuel Horatio Halle
FamilySalmon Portland Chase Halle (uncle)

Katherine 'Kay' Murphy Halle (October 13, 1903 – August 7, 1997) was an American journalist, broadcaster and socialite.

She was born in Cleveland, Ohio, the daughter of Blanche (née Murphy) and Samuel Horatio Halle.[1] Her father co-founded the Halle Brothers department store with his brother, Salmon Portland Chase Halle. Her mother was an Irish Catholic and her father Jewish.[1] She attended Smith College and the Cleveland Institute of Music.[1]

Halle was a department store heiress, World War II intelligence operative with the Office of Strategic Services, and intimate confidant and/or mistress of many luminaries of the 20th century, including George Gershwin, Randolph Churchill, W. Averell Harriman, Joseph P. Kennedy, Walter Lippmann, and Buckminster Fuller.[2][3] She compiled and edited Irrepressible Churchill: A Treasury of Winston Churchill's Wit in 1966.[4][5]

  1. ^ a b c Smith, J.Y. (August 12, 1997). "Kay Halle, Washington Grand Dame, Dies At 93". Washington Post.
  2. ^ Thomas, Robert McG. (5 October 1997). "Kay Halle, 93, an Intimate of Century's Giants". The New York Times.
  3. ^ Service, New York Times News (24 August 1997). "KAY HALLE, GLAMOROUS HEIRESS WHO CAPTIVATED THE POWERFUL". chicagotribune.com.
  4. ^ "Kay Halle Personal Papers | JFK Library". www.jfklibrary.org.
  5. ^ Randolph Churchill: The Young Unpretender, edited by Kay Halle, 1971.