Patricia Morison, Stage Star of ‘Kiss Me, Kate’, Dies at 103

Patricia Morison, who starred as shrewish diva Lilli Vanessi in the original 1948 Broadway production of “Kiss Me, Kate” as well as Anna Leonowens in the 1954 run of “The King and I” opposite Yul Brynner, died of natural causes in her Los Angeles home Sunday.

She was 103.Morison was born on March 15, 1915 in New York City, the daughter of playwright and actor William Morison and Selena Fraser, a British Intelligence agent during World War I.

After graduating from high school, Morison took acting classes at the Neighborhood Playhouse and made her stage debut at the Provincetown Playhouse in the musical revue “Don’t Mind the Rain.” Her Broadway debut followed shortly, in 1933’s “Growing Pains,” though she never appeared on stage, instead acting as the stand-by for Helen Hayes in the lead role of Victoria Regina.After catching the eye of talent scouts, Morison signed a contract with Paramount Pictures and

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