Kathryn Kates

Kathryn Jane Kates (January 29, 1948 – January 22, 2022) was an American actress. She was known for appearances on Seinfeld in the episodes "The Rye" and "The Dinner Party." She also appeared in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Orange Is the New Black, The Many Saints of Newark among other roles in television and film. Kates also has many off-Broadway credits.

Early life and career Kathryn Jane Kates was born in New York City on January 29, 1948. Her father, Louis Kates, was an electronics engineer. Her mother, Sylvia Kates, was an actress who worked under the stage name Madelyn Cates. Kathryn Kates graduated from Great Neck North Senior High School in 1967. She graduated from Tisch School of the arts at New York University in 1971. Ms. Kates moved to Los Angeles in 1974 where she began her acting career. She is one of 25 actors who are founding members of The Colony Theatre, at The Studio Theatre in the Silver Lake district of Los Angeles. Kates, was co-general manager with Barbara Beckley of The Colony from 1975 to 1981. Kates and Beckley produced all of the company's plays during those years. Kathryn Kates played opposite John Larroquette as his mother, lover, and wife: as his mother in Enter Laughing (Cast Theatre, 1974); as his wife in A Company of Wayward Saints (Colony Theatre 1978); and as his lover in The Lady's Not For Burning (Colony Theatre, 1979). Kates also appeared in many of The Colony Theater's L.A. Drama Critics' Circle award-winning productions such as The Grapes of Wrath and The Martian Chronicles.

Later career

One of Kates's most memorable roles was her recurring appearance on Seinfeld as The Counter Woman in the episodes "The Dinner Party" (1994) ) and Lamont Johnson in the television movie Life of The Party: The Story of Beatrice (1982). She won the Drama Logue Award for best actress for her role as Ruby in Marsha Norman's Getting Out (1982), and in 2010 received a Best Supporting Actress nomination from the MITF in NYC for her work in Gray Matters as the high-powered agent, Miriam Berger (2010). thumb

After relocating to New York City in 2006, Kates appeared in over twenty off- and off-off-Broadway productions, and toured Europe (Bucharest, Sibiu and Stockholm) with Saviana Stanescu's Waxing West, She was the Palestinian Aunt in the New York Theatre Workshop production of Food and Fadwa, on Theatre Row in Herman Kline's Midlife Crisis, and, more recently starred along with Greg Mullavey and Gaby Hoffmann in The Last Seder. She was a company member of Daniel Talbott's Rising Phoenix Rep.

Death Kates died of lung cancer at her brother's home in Lake Worth, Florida on January 22, 2022, a week short of turning 74.

Filmography + Film and television credits Year Title RoleNotes 1982 Life of the Party: The Story of Beatrice Diedre TV movie - with Carol Burnett 1982 Jinxed! Miss Nina Film - with Bette Midler 1983 The Taming of the Shrew Player 4 Video 1990 Pastime Ethel Film 1991 Matlock Mabel Maloney Recurring role; 2 episodes 1991 Teenage Exorcist Maid Film 1992 Rachel Gunn, R.N. Episode: "Love Is Here to Stray" 1994 Thunder Alley Nurse #1 Episode: "Never Say Die" 1994–1996 Seinfeld Counter Woman Episodes: "The Dinner Party", "The Rye" 1996 Hudson Street Mrs. Bowman Episode: "Having My Baby" 1997 The Nurse Marsha Harriman Film 1997 Asylum Nurse Taylor Film 1998 Caroline in the City Ginny Episode: "Caroline and the Little White Lies" 2002–2003 Lizzie McGuire Mrs. Carrabino 2 episodes 2003 Judging Amy June Starr Episode: "Into The Fire" 2003 10-8: Officers on Duty Mrs. Berman Episode: "The Wild Bunch"; uncredited 2008 Saveta's Gift Looba Short film 2009 Check-Up: From the Gently Twisted Life of Michael Kleinfeld Susan Kleinfeld Short film 2009 Out of the Fog Ludmilla Bashilevsky Film 2009 Lott Oh Gertrude Short film 2010 Rescue Me Older Woman Episode: "Sanctuary" 2011 Monkey Man Mrs. Howard Film 2011 Pan Am Mrs. Luckovich Episode: "Truth or Dare" 2011 Gun Hill Bora TV movie 2012 Lola Versus Woman at Restaurant Film 2013–2019 Orange Is the New Black Amy Kanter-Bloom 4 episodes 2014 Unforgettable Mary Garroto Episode: "Manhunt" 2016 Feed the Beast Ruth Cline 2 episodes 2016–2017 Shades of Blue Mrs. Saperstein 5 episodes 2017–2020 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Judge Marlene Simons 5 episodes 2019 Friends from College Martha 2 episodes 2019 The Jesus Rolls Older Woman Film 2020 Hunters Hilda Hoffman Episode: "The Mourner's Kaddish" 2020 The Good Fight Amelia Diamond Episode: "The Gang Discovers Who Killed Jeffrey Epstein" 2021 The Many Saints of Newark Angie DeCarlo Film 2023 Extrapolations Mrs. Goldblatt 1 episode; posthumous release