A rare combination of icy aloofness and earthy sensuality helped to make actress Kim Novak (February 13, 1933- ) one of the top box office stars in Hollywood during the 1950s and early 1960s. The former model was originally envisioned as a replacement for Marilyn Monroe by Columbia chief Harry Cohn, but Novak floundered in her early roles, which required her to provide eye candy and little else. Later films like "Picnic" (1955) and "The Man with the Golden Arm" (1955) gave her the chance to display her dramatic and even vulnerable sides, but it was Alfred Hitchcock who provided her with an enduring showcase as the object of James Stewart's affections in "Vertigo" (1958).