Kay Linaker
Birthday:
19 July 1913, Pine Bluff, Arkansas, USA
Birth Name:
Mary Katherine Linaker
Kay Linaker was educated at a private school in Connecticut and later attended New York University. While living in New York, she became interested in the stage and began attending the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Her work in several small Broadway roles brought her to the attention of screen scouts and she was signed for movie work. She appe...
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Kay Linaker was educated at a private school in Connecticut and later attended New York University. While living in New York, she became interested in the stage and began attending the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Her work in several small Broadway roles brought her to the attention of screen scouts and she was signed for movie work. She appeared in many films of the 1930s and '40s (including a quintet of Charlie Chans and James Whale's final two films) before meeting and marrying singer-turned-writer Howard Phillips. She relocated to the East and, now calling herself Kate Phillips, began writing for television (her husband became an NBC-TV executive). In more recent years, Phillips taught at universities in Canada and New Hampshire. Show less «
[on Black Aces (1937)] The only B-Western I ever made was "Black Aces". It was a good part as parts in Westerns went . . . I did more than w...Show more »
[on Black Aces (1937)] The only B-Western I ever made was "Black Aces". It was a good part as parts in Westerns went . . . I did more than watch the hero ride off into the sunset. I actually crossed the Kern River on the old swing bridge. No one told me the weight of my body forced the boards to rise to meet my feet with each step. With the wind swinging the bridge from side to side, looking down at the Kern River 40 feet below boiling over the rocks, holding my hat on my head--I had just taken it from one of the "heavies" and it had no chin strap--and hanging onto the handhold cable . . . it was the longest block and a half I ever walked. Buck Jones was furious with the director [Lesley Selander[. As a matter of fact, if I'm not mistaken, Les' credit does not appear on the crawl. The stunt girl, Aline Goodwin, was furious. She was done out of a fat fee and felt it absolutely cruel to put me through such trauma. I heartily agreed-but the scene is effective. Buck Jones was one of God's good gentlemen and an honor to the motion picture business. Show less «
[on Buck Benny Rides Again (1940)] Mark Sandrich was a gifted director and Jack Benny a fine gentleman. Jack was terrified of horses. When w...Show more »
[on Buck Benny Rides Again (1940)] Mark Sandrich was a gifted director and Jack Benny a fine gentleman. Jack was terrified of horses. When we did the runaway scenes on the mechanical horses we both got desperately seasick. In spite of my good scenes that ended on the cutting room floor, the picture was one of the most enjoyable I ever made. If ever an actor earned a halo as a human being, that person was Jack Benny. Show less «
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