Kim Novak
Columbia Pictures originally recruited Kim Novak as a replacement for the studio’s waning star, Rita Hayworth, who had enjoyed immense popularity in the 1940s but saw a decline in the 1950s. She was also positioned to compete with 20th Century Fox’s Marilyn Monroe. Novak secured her place in film history with her role in Alfred Hitchcock’s “Vertigo.”
After the mid-1960s, Novak only sporadically appeared in films until her retirement in the early 1990s. She faced a battle with breast cancer publicly announced in 2010. fortunately undergoing successful treatments and still being with us today.
