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Mary Katherine Linaker (July 19, 1913 – April 18, 2008) was an American actress and screenwriter who appeared in many B movies during the 1930s and 1940s, most notably Kitty Foyle (1940). Linaker used her married name, Kate Phillips,[2] as a screenwriter, notably for the cult film The Blob (1958). She is credited with coining the name “The Blob” for the movie, which was originally titled The Molten Meteor.[1]

Biography

Linaker was born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas and graduated from a private school in Connecticut and from New York University. She went on to attend the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.[3]

Linaker acted in supporting roles on Broadway before signing a film contract with Warner Bros.[1] She was signed by the studio after a talent scout saw her in Jackson White at the Providencetown Theater.[4] Her Broadway credits included Every Man for Himself (1940), and Yesterday’s Orchids (1934).[5]

In 1935, she briefly changed her name to Lynn Acker “for screen purposes”,[6] but she soon dropped that name.[7] Most of her film work had her in limited roles, with one of her notable leading parts coming in The Girl from Mandalay (1936).[2] Her screen debut was in The Murder of Dr. Harrigan (1936).[8]

Linaker wrote for the Voice of America during World War II in addition to working for the Red Cross.[2]

She later taught in the film studies department at Keene State College in New Hampshire from 1980 to 2006.[9]

From the 1960s to her death, Linaker dedicated much of her time to education. She went on to teach acting and screenwriting at Hampshire Country School in Rindge, New Hampshire.[10]

Personal life

Linaker – on June 9, 1953, in Bedford, New York – married Howard Baron Phillips (1909–1985), who initially was a baritone and writer but later worked as an executive with NBC television.[11] In December 1936, for about a year, Phillips sang with Ray Noble under the pseudonym Howard Barrie.

See “I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm“[12]

Death

On April 18, 2008, Linaker died in Keene, New Hampshire.[2]

Partial filmography

References

  1. ^ a b c Dennis Hevesi (April 27, 2008). “Kate Phillips, Actress Who Christened ‘The Blob’, Is Dead at 94”. Obituaries. New York Times. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
  2. ^ a b c d Hevesi, Dennis (April 28, 2008). “Kate Phillips, 94, actress who co-wrote ‘The Blob’“. Philadelphia Daily News. Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. New York Times News Service. p. 10. Retrieved October 29, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  3. ^ Weaver, Tom (2003). Eye on Science Fiction: 20 Interviews with Classic SF and Horror Filmmakers. McFarland. p. 215. ISBN 9780786430284. Retrieved January 18, 2017.
  4. ^ “‘Find’ Discovered in Famous Theater”. The Los Angeles Times. California, Los Angeles. July 3, 1935. p. 23. Retrieved October 29, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  5. ^ “Kay Linaker”. Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Archived from the original on October 30, 2018. Retrieved October 30, 2018.
  6. ^ “Player Changes Name”. Motion Picture Herald. August 3, 1935. p. 67. Retrieved January 18, 2017.
  7. ^ “A ‘Little’ from Hollywood ‘Lots’“. The Film Daily. August 8, 1935. p. 10. Retrieved January 18, 2017.
  8. ^ “Broadway Actress In Film”. The Morning News. Delaware, Wilmington. August 2, 1935. p. 20. Retrieved October 29, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  9. ^ Michael G. Fitzgerald (May 22, 2014). “Kate Phillips (1913–2008)”. Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
  10. ^ “PB native Phillips had long movie career”. Arkansas Online. October 30, 2023. Archived from the original on November 4, 2023. Retrieved June 7, 2026.
  11. ^ “Phillips”. Philadelphia Daily News. Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. April 28, 2008. p. 24. Retrieved October 29, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  12. ^ Rust, Brian Arthur Lovell (1922–2011) (1975). The American Dance Band Discography, 1917–1942. Arlington House – via Google Books (University of Michigan Library) Free access icon.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) LCCN 75-33689; ISBN 978-0-8700-0248-9, 0-8700-0248-1; OCLC 1818389 (all editions).
    1. “Ray Noble” “HP” (Harry Phillips, vocalist). Vol. 2. p. 1311.

Further reading

  • Weaver, Tom (2003). “Kay Linaker”. Eye on Science Fiction: 20 Interviews with Classic SF and Horror Filmmakers. McFarland. pp. 215–233. ISBN 978-0-7864-3028-4.
  • Magers, Boyd; Fitzgerald, Michael G. (2004). “Kay Linaker”. Westerns Women: Interviews with 50 Leading Ladies of Movie and Television Westerns from the 1930s to the 1960s. McFarland. pp. 140–143. ISBN 978-0-7864-2028-5.