It is so sad that Kay Kendall's life was cut so tragically short as she was truly an exceptional talent, with tremendous comic timing and a killer voice. Her work in Genevieve and Les Girls is truly exceptional - funny, sexy, knowing - she effortlessly steals scenes from world class co-stars. She could have been one of the great comic actresses of the era. Sadly, she died of leukaemia aged just 32. She was never informed that she was dying - her husband Rex Harrison, who had agreed with Kendall's doctor to keep the secret, cared for her through what she believed to be iron deficiency.

Apparently when Harrison performed 'I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face' in My Fair Lady, he was thinking of Kendall which accounts for the emotion in his rendition.