Introduction
Mary Katherine Linaker, known professionally as Kay Linaker, Kate Phillips, and Kay Linaker-Phillips (July 19, 1913, Pine Bluff, Arkansas – April 18, 2008, Keene, New Hampshire) 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 (Kay Phillips) as a screenwriter, notably for the cult movie hit The Blob (1958). She is credited with coining the name "The Blob" for the movie, which was originally titled "The Molten Meteor".
Biography
Linaker graduated from a private school in Connecticut and from New York University. She went on to attend the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. She acted in supporting roles on Broadway before signing a film contract with Warner Bros. She briefly changed her name to Lynn Acker "for screen purposes", but she soon dropped that name.
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 supporting the children at Hampshire Country School in Rindge, New Hampshire. Linaker volunteered countless hours over the many years as English teacher and drama coach at the very small private school for twice exceptional children whose alumni include Temple Grandin.
Partial filmography
- The Murder of Dr. Harrigan (1936)
- The Girl from Mandalay (1936)
- Crack-Up (1936)
- Charlie Chan at Monte Carlo (1937)
- The Outer Gate (1937)
- The Last Warning (1938)
- Heaven with a Barbed Wire Fence (1939)
- Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise (1940)
- Charlie Chan in Rio (1941)
- Men of Texas (1942)
- Cinderella Swings It (1943)