I am six.' The other performers played along, inventing their own characters, and Eloise evolved into Thompson's backstage persona. One day in 1949, Thompson arrived late for rehearsal and made her apologies by saying in a high-pitched voice, 'I am Eloise. It was during a rehearsal with the Williams Brothers that the character of Eloise was invented. After leaving MGM in 1946, Thompson performed with Andy Williams and his brothers in a nightclub act. As a vocal coach, Thompson had a number of high-profile students, including Judy Garland, Lena Horne, and Frank Sinatra. Fromġ942 to 1946, Thompson worked under contract with MGM as an arranger, songwriter, and vocal coach on such films as The Ziegfeld Follies, The Harvey Girls, and The Kid from Brooklyn. As Thompson's reputation as a jazz singer and arranger grew, she attracted the attention of film studios. Thompson later moved to New York City, where she worked with the Fred Waring Band as a singer and arranger and with Jim Backus as a co-producer on a short-lived radio show for CBS. She soon began singing with the Mills Brothers on radio programs and performing at jazz clubs in San Francisco. At seventeen she moved to California and changed her name to Kay Thompson. As a child, Thompson trained as a pianist at Washington University and, at the age of fifteen, she performed with the St. At the age of four, she began playing jazz piano. Louis, Missouri-her birth name is Kitty Fink. Thompson was born on November 9, 1912, in St. Eloise has continued to be a top seller for fifty years, inspiring multiple lines of dolls, records, clothes, and other Eloise paraphernalia.

The first volume in the series, Eloise: A Book for Precocious Grown Ups (1955), became an instant commercial success, and the subsequent merchandising pioneered the marketing of ancillary products for books and movies.

Her thoughts are written as stream-of-consciousness and are frequently filled with colorful phrases and a definite lack of inhibition. An intelligent and frank child, Eloise gets herself into one scrape after another, often providing insights into the world of adults along the way. For further information on her life and works, see CLR, Volume 22.Ī noted singer, songwriter, actress, and choreographer, Thompson is best known in the literary world as the creator of a series of picture books about Eloise, an animated six-year-old girl who lives in New York City's Plaza Hotel. The following entry presents an overview of critical commentary on Thompson's work through 2003. (Born Kitty Fink) American author of picture books.

Eloise by Kay Thompson