Patricia Kathryn Johnston was born on the 7th of October 1948 to an American actress and popular coloratura soprano Kathryn Grayson and American actor and singer Johnnie Johnston. Frances Raeburn being her aunt was an actress known for her roles in Seven Sweethearts.
The Coloratura Soprano
Zelma Kathryn Elisabeth Hedrick, better known as Kathryn Grayson, was an American actress and coloratura soprano who died on February 17, 2010. At the age of 12 years old, Grayson began her training as an opera singer. By the early 1940s, she had a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and she quickly built a career based primarily on her work in musicals. Following a few supporting parts, she took the lead in movies including Thousands Cheer (1943), Anchors Aweigh (1945), Show Boat (1951), and Kiss Me Kate (1953), both starring Howard Keel.
After the popularity of film musicals decreased, she worked in theatre and performed in Camelot (1962-1964). Later in the decade, she appeared in several of operas, including La Traviata, Orpheus in the Underworld, Madama Butterfly, and La bohème.
Zelma Kathryn Elisabeth Hedrick was one of four children born to a building contractor and realtor Charles Hedrick and Lillian Hedrick (née Grayson) on February 9, 1922, in Winston Salem, North Carolina.
At her Los Angeles home, one Wednesday, Kathryn Grayson, a diminutive singer, and actress whose operatic voice and campus sweetheart beauty personifies the glitz of Hollywood movies and musicals in the 1940s and 50s, passed away. She was 88.
The “My Heart Sings” Singer
The father of Patricia Kathryn Johnston, Johnny Johnston was a well-known American actor and singer during the 1940s who was born on December 1, 1915, and passed away on January 6, 1996. He was given the name John Clifford Johnston when he was born in St. Louis, Missouri. Johnston hosted his show on NBC-Blue in the latter half of the 1930s. With the Capitol label, Johnston scored several singles.
Johnston has five marriages and five children. His union with actress Kathryn Grayson on August 22, 1947, in Carmel, California, was one of his marriages. His second spouse was Grayson. The couple’s daughter Patricia “Patty Kate” Kathryn Johnston was born on October 7, 1948. On November 15, 1950, Grayson and Johnston divorced. On October 3, 1951, Grayson and Johnston were granted a divorce for mental cruelty. During the filming of the “This Time for Keeps”, Johnston allegedly read Grayson’s private letters aloud to the girls in his fan club, including the “all-too-graphic details surrounding what she appreciated about his lovemaking,” according to Esther Williams, Johnston’s co-star from the movie. Later, in the New York City, he ran a nightclub.
That Famous Aunt
Patricia’s aunt, Frances Raeburn was born in Winston Salem, North Carolina, in the United States, on August 15, 1924. She was an actress best known for Swing Out, Sister (1945), and Seven Sweethearts (1942). She previously wed David Miller and Sidney Abraham Kurstin. She passed away in Los Angeles County, California, Unites States of America, on December 26, 1976. She is the younger sister of Michael Butler, Kathryn Grayson, and Johnny Johnston’s ex-sister-in-law.
Conclusion
The life of Patricia Kathryn Johnston was one filled with success, personal struggles, and a big secret. The secret was uncovered when she was diagnosed with cancer, and it revealed that she had been living with HIV for many years. The impact of the secret was far-reaching, and it taught Johnston some important lessons about life. Despite her diagnosis, Johnston continued to inspire thousands of women and make a positive impact on the workplace. Her legacy continues to live on today.
