Rising at a moment when Hollywood was redefining glamour and stardom, Kim Novak (born as Marilyn Pauline “Kim” Malloy) emerged as one of the most striking screen presences of the 1950s and early 1960s.
She began her film career in 1954 after signing with Columbia Pictures and quickly became a major box-office draw, starring in Picnic (1955), The Man with the Golden Arm (1955), and Pal Joey (1957).
Her reputation was cemented by Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo (1958), now widely regarded as one of the greatest films ever made, followed by notable roles in Bell, Book and Candle (1958), Strangers When We Meet (1960), and Kiss Me, Stupid (1964).
Before Hollywood took notice, Novak spent the summer break of her final junior college semester traveling across the country as a promotional model for Detroit Motor Products Corporation’s Deepfreeze home freezer at trade shows.
During this tour, she was publicly dubbed “Miss Deepfreeze,” a title that hinted at her growing visibility.
When the promotion ended in San Francisco, Novak and two fellow models decided to head to Los Angeles to explore opportunities in film.
In Los Angeles, billed as Marilyn Novak, she worked as an extra in Son of Sinbad (filmed in 1953, released in 1955) and later appeared in The French Line (1953), starring Jane Russell at RKO.
An agent soon discovered her and secured a long-term contract with Columbia Pictures. From the outset, Novak was determined to avoid becoming a manufactured stereotype, which led to a clash with studio head Harry Cohn over her name.
Cohn proposed “Kit Marlowe,” insisting, “Nobody’s gonna go see a girl with a Polack name!”, while Novak stood firm, replying, “I’m Czech, but Polish, Czech, no matter, it’s my name!” The compromise was the name Kim Novak.
Columbia positioned Novak as the successor to Rita Hayworth and hoped she would deliver the kind of box-office appeal Marilyn Monroe brought to 20th Century-Fox.
Her first starring role for the studio came in the film noir Pushover (1954), where she received third billing behind Fred MacMurray and Philip Carey.
She followed this with the romantic comedy Phffft (1954), playing Janis, who finds Robert Tracey (Jack Lemmon) “real cute.”
Her breakthrough arrived with Picnic (1955), adapted from William Inge’s play and co-starring William Holden and Rosalind Russell.
Director Joshua Logan believed Madge Owens would feel more authentic with red hair, and Novak agreed to wear a red wig.
Logan later explained that while Harry Cohn suggested her for the role, he did not force the decision; after multiple screen tests, the director was impressed by how closely Novak embodied the character.
Picnic became both a critical and commercial success, earning Novak a Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer.
Hitchcock’s Vertigo (1958) entered Novak’s career under unusual circumstances when Vera Miles withdrew due to pregnancy.
Hitchcock offered the role to Novak without requesting a screen test, and although Cohn disliked the script, he allowed her to consider it out of respect for the director.
Novak later described Hitchcock as a gentleman but recalled the experience as unsettling. “I don’t know if he ever liked me. I never sat down with him for dinner or tea or anything, except one cast dinner, and I was late to that.
It wasn’t my fault, but I think he thought I had delayed to make a star entrance, and he held that against me. During the shooting, he never really told me what he was thinking.” She later learned that Hitchcock had been disappointed not to have Miles in the role.
Upon its release, Vertigo received mixed reviews and only modest box-office returns, yet its reputation grew steadily over time.
In 2012, the British Film Institute’s Sight & Sound critics’ poll ranked it as the greatest film ever made, securing Novak’s place in cinema history.
Still young at the height of her fame, Novak largely stepped away from acting by 1966 and appeared only occasionally thereafter.
Later performances included The Mirror Crack’d (1980) and a regular role on the television series Falcon Crest from 1986 to 1987. Her personal life also drew public attention. In the mid-1950s, Novak was linked to Ramfis Trujillo and later to Sammy Davis Jr. in 1957.
A BBC documentary alleged that Columbia chief Harry Cohn used mob threats to force an end to her relationship with Davis.
She also dated Michael Brandon, Wilt Chamberlain, and David Hemmings, and was engaged to director Richard Quine in 1959.
Novak married English actor Richard Johnson in 1965; the marriage ended the following year, though they remained friends.
In 1966, Novak left Hollywood for Big Sur, choosing a quieter life devoted to painting, raising horses, and occasional film work. She met her second husband, equine veterinarian Robert Malloy, in 1974 during a house call for one of her Arabian mares.
They married on March 12, 1976, and later built a log home near the Williamson River in Chiloquin, Oregon, where Novak continued to live largely out of the spotlight, with two adult stepchildren becoming part of her family.
