Kay Morley

Brunette B-movie starlet, born Leona Elaine Winona DeVinna in Pocatello, Idaho, was one of the five children of Edgar DeVinna (at one time superintendent at a Native American reservation) and his wife Lorena. By her own account, she was 'discovered' by a talent scout while visiting a friend in Hollywood. Under her new stage moniker as Kay Morley, she started off in show biz as a Goldwyn Girl. Her first noteworthy appearance was in Youth Aflame (1944), a teenage delinquency drama released by Jay-Dee-Kay Productions, a low budget studio which specialized in exploitation films. After that, Kay alternated between western leading ladies (suitable to her skills as an adept equestrian) opposite the likes of Johnny Mack Brown and Jimmy Wakely and complementing a few lightweight musical comedies. Kay segued into television during the early 50s and wound down her screen career by the middle of the decade. She later worked as a manager in the fashion industry at Bullock's department store in Palm Springs.