Kate Norton McComb ( Scudder, formerly Walker; 1871–1959) was an American radio and stage actress who performed on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

. She also played the piano and sang. Originally not wanting to act professionally, McComb began her professional career at age 52. The Kate McComb Playhouse in

Great Barrington, Massachusetts Great Barrington is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 7,172 at the 2020 census. Both a summer resort and home to Ski Butternut, ...

, was dedicated in her honor.

Biography

McComb was born in

Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...

in 1871. As a child, she attended

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...

and played the piano, until she contracted

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

at age 17. Due to her pneumonia, her doctor advised that she not become a concert pianist and should sing instead. She later married John Rector McComb (1862–1920), and when he contracted

cerebral meningitis Meningitis is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, headache, and neck stiffness. Other symptoms include confusion o ...

, they relocated from

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, in hopes that it would help him recover. In her amateur career, McComb organized a dramatic production in June 1914 for the local Visiting Nurse Association. In May 1916, she performed in ''Petticoat Perfidy'' in

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York City ...

. McComb was a soloist at Great Barrington's Episcopal Church and the choir director at its Congregational Church in 1918. In 1923, McComb sang and played piano on WJZ radio in New York City. At age 52, after her husband and mother had died and her son had moved away to attend college, she decided to pursue a professional career as a stage actress. She debuted in a stock production of ''St. Elmo's Fire'', and appeared on

in ''

Juno and the Paycock ''Juno and the Paycock'' is a play by Seán O'Casey. Highly regarded and often performed in Ireland, it was first staged at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin in 1924. It is set in the working-class tenements of Dublin in the early 1920s, during the Ir ...

''. She played a small part in ''Silver Flute'' and appeared with

Parker Fennelly Parker W. Fennelly (October 22, 1891 – January 22, 1988) was an American character actor who appeared in ten films, numerous television episodes and hundreds of radio programs. Early life The son of gardener Nathan Fennelly and Estelle Doll ...

in the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

radio show ''

Snow Village Sketches ''Snow Village Sketches'', aka ''Soconyland Sketches'', was a comedy-drama radio series broadcast on three different networks from 1928 to 1946. Beginning February 29, 1928 on NBC, Socony Oil sponsored ''Soconyland Sketches'', scripted by William ...

'' from 1928 to 1930. She was in the radio sketch comedy ''A House Divided''. Back on Broadway, she performed in ''Blood Money'', ''Magnolia'', ''Riddle Me This'', and ''No Questions Asked''. Her other roles included the radio serial '' The Rise of the Goldbergs'', the play ''

Harvey Harvey, Harveys or Harvey's may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Harvey'' (play), a 1944 play by Mary Chase about a man befriended by an invisible anthropomorphic rabbit * Harvey Awards ("Harveys"), one of the most important awards ...

'', Mrs. O'Neill in the 1930s soap opera ''

The O'Neills ''The O'Neills'' is a radio and TV serial drama. The radio iteration of the show aired on Mutual, CBS and NBC from 1934 to 1943. Created by actress-writer Jane West, the series was sponsored at various times by Gold Dust, Ivory Snow, and Standar ...

'', Maggie in the 1944 radio serial ''The Strange Romance of Evelyn Winters'', and Dr. Brent's mother in ''Road of Life''. Although ''The O'Neills'' was on the radio for almost 10 years, only one episode from 1938 still exists. Kate McComb died in 1959.

Legacy

On October 13, 1959, the Kate McComb Playhouse opened in

, with a performance of ''The Wizard of Oz''. The theater was established by Mr. and Mrs. Malcolm McComb in honor of his mother.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:McComb, Kate 1871 births 1959 deaths Actresses from Sacramento, California American stage actresses American radio actresses