Kate Mostel

Kate Mostel, born Kathryn Harkin (1918–1986), was an American dancer, actress and memoirist.

Life Kathryn Cecilia Harkin was born in Philadelphia on October 8, 1918. The youngest of eight children, she made her first stage appearance in the children's act Broadway Varieties. After leaving high school, she joined Catherine Littlefield's ballet company. After leaving the company later, she danced in nightclubs in Chicago, New Jersey, New York, and Rio de Janeiro. In 1940 she became a Rockette at Radio City Music Hall.

In 1944 she married the actor Zero Mostel. The couple had two sons, Joshua and Tobias.

Kate Mostel moved into acting, appearing on Broadway in The Bird Cage, The Ladies of the Corridor and Three Men on a Horse.

Mostel died in New York City on January 22, 1986. Papers relating to her are held at the New York Public Library.

Books (with Madeline Lee Gilford) 170 Years of Show Business. New York: Random House, 1978.