Patricia Morison

Patricia Morison
Patricia Morison in 1939
Born	Eileen Patricia Augusta Fraser Morison (1915-03-19) March 19, 1915 (age 101) New York City, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Actress, singer, artist
Years active	1933–1989

Eileen Patricia Augusta Fraser Morison (born March 19, 1915) is a retired American stage and film actress and mezzo-soprano singer. She made her feature film debut in 1939 after several years on the stage. She was lauded as a beauty with large eyes and extremely long, dark hair. During this period of her career, she was often cast as the femme fatale or "other woman". It was only when she returned to the Broadway stage that she achieved her greatest success as the lead in the original production of Cole Porter's Kiss Me, Kate.

She lives in Los Angeles, California, where she celebrated her 100th birthday on March 19, 2015.

Eileen Patricia Augusta Fraser Morison was born in New York City on March 19, 1915, although some sources have erroneously given her year of birth as 1914.

Her father, William Morison, was a playwright and occasional actor who billed himself under the name Norman Rainey. Her mother, Selena Morison (née Fraser) worked for British Intelligence during World War I. After graduating from Washington Irving High School in New York, Morison studied at the Arts Students League while taking acting classes at the Neighborhood Playhouse. She also studied dance under Martha Graham. During this time she was employed as a dress shop designer at Russeks Department Store.

Morison made her stage debut at the Provincetown Playhouse in the musical revue Don't Mind the Rain, in which she sang a song "Simple Silly I." Her Broadway debut came in November 1933, with a short-lived play, Growing Pains. After that, she proceeded to understudy Helen Hayes in the role of Victoria Regina. She understudied all the other women in the cast. Hayes, however, never missed a performance and Morison never had the opportunity to play the lead role.