Kay Linaker
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, 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.
Also recorded as Mary Katherine Linaker
Kay Linaker
ebay.com, front of photo, back of photo · Public domain
- Name
- Kay Linaker
- Birth Name
- Mary Katherine Linaker
- Born
- 19 July 1913
- Birthplace
- Pine Bluff, Arkansas, U.S.
- Died
- 18 April 2008
- Place of death
- Keene, New Hampshire, U.S.
- Occupation
- Actress screenwriter
- Nationality
- United States
- Education
- New York University
- Languages
- English
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Documentary summary
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, 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.
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Note VALÉORINE
Kay Linaker (1913–2008) was an actress and screenwriter, of American nationality. The actress was born in Pine Bluff and died in Keene. Kay Linaker was educated at New York University. Languages used include English.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 27 September 2026
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wikidata · Q2526263 · wikipedia · Kay Linaker
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Kay Linaker • Birth Name — Mary Katherine Linaker • Other Names — Kate Phillips Kay Linaker-Phillips • Born — 19 July 1913 • Birthplace — Pine Bluff, Arkansas, U.S. • Died — 18 April 2008 • Place of death — Keene, New Hampshire, U.S. • Occupation — Actress screenwriter • Years Active — 1936–1945 • Children — 2
Biography
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. Linaker acted in supporting roles on Broadway before signing a film contract with Warner Bros. She was signed by the studio after a talent scout saw her in Jackson White at the Providencetown Theater. Her Broadway credits included Every Man for Himself (1940), and Yesterday's Orchids (1934). In 1935, she briefly changed her name to Lynn Acker "for screen purposes", but she soon dropped that name. Most of her film work had her in limited roles, with one of her notable leading parts coming in The Girl from Mandalay (1936). Her screen debut was in The Murder of Dr. Harrigan (1936). Linaker wrote for the Voice of America during World War II in addition to working for the Red Cross. She later taught in the film studies department at Keene State College in New Hampshire from 1980 to 2006. 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.
Personal life
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. 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"
Death
Death
On April 18, 2008, Linaker died in Keene, New Hampshire.
Partial filmography
Partial filmography
• The Murder of Dr. Harrigan (1936) - Sally Keating • Road Gang (1936) - Barbara Winston • The Girl from Mandalay (1936) - Jeanie Barton • Easy Money (1936) - Carol Carter • Crack-Up (1936) - Mrs. Fleming • The Outer Gate (1937) - Lois Borden • Black Aces (1937) - Sandy McKenzie • Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo (1937) - Joan Karnoff • Personal Secretary (1938) - Flo Sampson • The Last Warning (1938) - Carla Rodriguez • I Am a Criminal (1938) - Linda La Rue • Trade Winds (1938) - Grace (uncredited) • Young Mr. Lincoln (1939) - Mrs. Edwards (uncredited) • Charlie Chan in Reno (1939) - Mrs. Russell • Man About Town (1939) - Receptionist (uncredited) • Hotel for Women (1939) - Jane (uncredited) • Girl from Rio (1939) - Vicki • Charlie Chan at Treasure Island (1939) - Egyptian Princess Ectoplasm (uncredited) • Drums Along the Mohawk (1939) - Mrs. Demooth • Heaven with a Barbed Wire Fence (1939) - Nurse • Hidden Enemy (1940) - Sonia Manning • Green Hell (1940) - Woman in Cafe (uncredited) • Free, Blonde and 21 (1940) - Mrs. John Crane • Buck Benny Rides Again (1940) - Brenda Tracy • Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise (1940) - Mrs. Pendleton • Sandy Is a Lady (1940) - Mrs. Porter, Writer's Wife • Mystery Sea Raider (1940) - Flossie La Mare • Kitty Foyle (1940) - Veronica Strafford • The Invisible Woman (1940) - Showroom Buyer (uncredited) • They Dare Not Love (1941) - Barbara Murdock • Blood and Sand (1941) - Guest of Doña Sol (uncredited) • Charlie Chan in Rio (1941) - Helen Ashby • Private Nurse (1941) - Helene • Married Bachelor (1941) - Minor Role (uncredited) • Moon Over Her Shoulder (1941) - Radio Hostess (uncredited) • Cadet Girl (1941) - Minor Role (scenes deleted) • Glamour Boy (1941) - Mrs. Emily Colder • Remember the Day (1941) - Society Reporter (uncredited) • A Close Call for Ellery Queen (1942) - Margo Rogers • The Night Before the Divorce (1942) - Hedda Smythe • Men of Texas (1942) - Mrs. Sarah Olsen • Orchestra Wives (1942) - Margie (uncredited) • War Dogs (1942) - Joan Allen • Pittsburgh (1942) - Secretary (uncredited) • Happy Go Lucky (1943) - Suzanne (uncredited) • Cinderella Swings It (1943) - Madame Dolores • Two Weeks to Live (1943) - Mrs. Madge Carmen • The More the Merrier (1943) - Miss Allen (uncredited) • Let's Face It (1943) - Canteen Hostess (uncredited) • Wintertime (1943) - Wife (uncredited) • Lady in the Dark (1944) - Liza's Mother • Men on Her Mind (1944) - Eloise Palmer • It Happened Tomorrow (1944) - Anniversary Party Attendee (uncredited) • Laura (1944) - Woman (uncredited) • Here Come the Waves (1944) - Pretty Woman (uncredited) • Bring On the Girls (1945) - Commander's Wife (uncredited) (final film role)
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Pine Bluff.
Birth place
Keene.
Death place
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Kay Linaker”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q2526263: Kay Linaker
General reference · Wikidata
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Dennis Hevesi. Kate Phillips, Actress Who Christened 'The Blob', Is Dead at 94. New York Times. April 27, 2008.
- 2.Weaver, Tom. Eye on Science Fiction: 20 Interviews with Classic SF and Horror Filmmakers. McFarland. 215. 2003. 9780786430284.
- 3.'Find' Discovered in Famous Theater. The Los Angeles Times. 23. July 3, 1935.
- 4.The Broadway League. Kay Linaker. Internet Broadway Database.
- 5.Player Changes Name. Motion Picture Herald. 67. August 3, 1935.
- 6.A 'Little' from Hollywood 'Lots'. The Film Daily. 10. August 8, 1935.
- 7.Broadway Actress In Film. The Morning News. 20. August 2, 1935.
- 8.Michael G. Fitzgerald. Kate Phillips (1913–2008). Encyclopedia of Arkansas. May 22, 2014.
- 9.PB native Phillips had long movie career. Arkansas Online. 2023-10-30.
- 10.Phillips. Philadelphia Daily News. 24. April 28, 2008.
- 11.Rust, Brian Arthur Lovell (1922–2011). "Ray Noble" "HP" (Harry Phillips, vocalist). Arlington House. 2. 1311. 1975.
- 12.Hevesi, Dennis. Kate Phillips, 94, actress who co-wrote 'The Blob'. Philadelphia Daily News. New York Times News Service. 10. April 28, 2008.
Bibliography printed in the source article · 2
- Weaver, Tom. Eye on Science Fiction: 20 Interviews with Classic SF and Horror Filmmakers. McFarland. 215–233. 2003. 978-0-7864-3028-4.
- Magers, Boyd. Westerns Women: Interviews with 50 Leading Ladies of Movie and Television Westerns from the 1930s to the 1960s. McFarland. 140–143. 2004. 978-0-7864-2028-5.
References
Citations
References
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reference work
Secondary witnessauthority record
General reference
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 18 August 2026.
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