Trivia

Although Hunter was initially signed by David O. Selznick, she only did loan-outs for the two years she was under contract. Her only work inside the Selznick Studio was three days of screen tests for Hitchcock on "Spellbound," sitting in for Ingrid Bergman as actors were tested for minor roles. Even though she was only shot from behind her head, she impressed Hitchcock, who had lunch with her. A year later he recommended her to Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger for "A Matter of Life and Death.".

Won the Critics Circle and Donaldson awards for her 1947-1948 Broadway debut performance as Stella in "A Streetcar Named Desire".

Political activist, she signed several civil rights petitions and was a sponsor of a 1949 World Peace Conference in New York - which triggered her label of being a Communist sympathizer, for which she was blacklisted in films and TV even though she never even held pro-Communist views. Her testimony to the New York Supreme Court in 1962 against the publishers of "Red Channels" helped pave the way for clearance of many performers unjustly accused of Communist connections.

When a TV movie "Fear on Trial," was made about the famous Faulk/Nizer case, the producers wanted Hunter to play herself. Hunter claimed it contained untrue sequences, so she not only declined to play it, she had her name removed from the script. Lois Nettleton ultimately played the role.

Did voice work for the CBS Radio Mystery Theater.

An agent for David O. Selznick saw her in a stage production of "Arsenic and Old Lace" at the Pasadena Playhouse and signed her to a seven-year contract. Selznick suggested she change her first name to "Kim" and a RKO secretary suggested the last name of "Hunter". A few years later, Irene Mayer Selznick, David's ex-wife by then, recommended Kim for the role of "Stella" in A Streetcar Named Desire (1951).

Gave birth to her 2nd child at age 31, a son Sean Robert Emmett - aka Sean Emmett - on January 20, 1954. Child's father is her 2nd husband, Robert Emmett.

Along with Roddy McDowall, Maurice Evans, Linda Harrison, Ricardo Montalban, John Randolph, Natalie Trundy and Severn Darden, she is one of only nine actors to play the same character in more than one film in the original "Planet of the Apes" series. She played Zira in Planet of the Apes (1968), Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970) and Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971), making her the only actor to play the same character in three of the films.

Joined a repertory group called "Theatre of Fifteen." It disbanded in 1942 when WWII took away most of its male members.

She played the mother of Richard Kiley's character in Blue Moon (1999) in spite of the fact that he was eight months her senior.

Father Donald Cole was a consulting engineer and died in 1926 when Kim was only 3 years old. Mother Grace once performed as a concert pianist. Kim had one brother who was eight years older than she.

She has appeared in two films that have been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) and Planet of the Apes (1968).

Was the 36th actress to receive an Academy Award; she won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) at The 24th Academy Awards on March 20, 1952.

According to an in-depth article on Kim by Joseph Collura in the October 2009 issue of "Classic Images", Kim was quiet and painfully shy as a child and overcame it through the guidance of a local dramatics teacher, a Mrs. Carmine. Included were diction, voice and posture lessons.

Upon her death, she was cremated and her ashes returned to her daughter.

Was one of 4 Best Supporting Actress Oscar winners to have guest starred in Murder, She Wrote (1984). The others are Teresa Wright, Claire Trevor and Shirley Jones.

Gave birth to her 1st child at age 22, a daughter Kathryn Deirdre Baldwin on December 13, 1944. Child's father is her 1st husband, William Baldwin.

The guest starring role in the "Crazy Annie" episode of "Baretta" played by Hunter was originally intended for Lucille Ball. She was nominated for an Emmy for her work. However, because of an internal squabble in the Academy, the initial nominations were discarded and new nominations were substituted. Although Hunter's nomination was a causality, she did get to keep her original Academy nominating certificate.

Hunter was in New York rehearsing for the Horton Foote play, "The Chas" when the Oscar ceremony was held. Bette Davis accepted her Oscar for her although the two had never met. Several years later the two actresses would co-star in "Storm Center.".

A one-time student of the Pasadena Playhouse, she was appearing in a 1942 production of "Arsenic and Old Lace" when she was discovered for film by a David O. Selznick talent representative. Kim was signed by RKO.

Returned to work 9 months after giving birth to her son Sean Emmett to begin her run of the Broadway production "The Tender Trap".

Returned to work 2 months after giving birth to her daughter Kathryn to begin filming You Came Along (1945).

Is one of 4 actresses to have won an Oscar for a movie where they acted out a labor, Hunter's being for A Streetcar Named Desire (1951). The others are Luise Rainer for The Good Earth (1937), Mary Astor for The Great Lie (1941) and Brenda Fricker for My Left Foot (1989).

Despite the fact history has her Blacklisted from Hollywood, she actually did work on live television as well as movies during the entire span of the 1950's.

She was a lifelong liberal Democrat.

Is one of 6 actresses to have won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for playing a character who is pregnant at some point during the film, hers being for A Streetcar Named Desire (1951). The others are Mary Astor for The Great Lie (1941)_, Mary Steenburgen for Melvin and Howard (1980), Brenda Fricker for My Left Foot (1989), Rachel Weisz for The Constant Gardener (2005), and Jennifer Hudson for Dreamgirls (2006).

A street in Englewood Cliffs NJ where she lived is named in her honor.