Kate McComb

Kate Norton McComb (née Scudder, formerly Walker; 1871–1959) was an American stage and radio actress whose Broadway career spanned from 1926 to 1943. Born in Sacramento, California, she also performed as a pianist and singer throughout her life.

As a child, McComb attended boarding school and studied piano, but at age 17 she contracted pneumonia. Her doctor advised her against pursuing a career as a concert pianist and recommended she sing instead. She later married John Rector McComb (1862–1920), and when he developed cerebral meningitis, the couple relocated from New York City to Great Barrington, Massachusetts, hoping the change would aid his recovery. During her years in Great Barrington, McComb became active in the local community: she organized a dramatic production in June 1914 for the Visiting Nurse Association, performed in Petticoat Perfidy in Albany, New York, in May 1916, and served as both a soloist at the town's Episcopal Church and choir director at its Congregational Church in 1918. In 1923, she sang and played piano on WJZ radio in New York City.

McComb did not initially intend to act professionally. It was only after her husband and mother had died and her son had left home for college that she decided, at age 52, to pursue a professional stage career. She debuted in a stock production of St. Elmo's Fire before appearing on Broadway in Juno and the Paycock. She went on to perform in a number of Broadway productions, including The Moon Vine, Morning's at Seven, Black Diamond, Riddle Me This, and No Questions Asked. She also played a small part in Silver Flute and appeared in the Broadway comedy Harvey.

Alongside her stage work, McComb maintained an active radio career. From 1928 to 1930, she appeared with Parker Fennelly on the NBC radio program Snow Village Sketches. Her other radio credits included the sketch comedy A House Divided, the serial The Rise of the Goldbergs, and the soap opera The O'Neills, in which she played Mrs. O'Neill. Although The O'Neills ran for nearly ten years, only a single episode from 1938 survives. She also portrayed Maggie in the 1944 radio serial The Strange Romance of Evelyn Winters and played Dr. Brent's mother on Road of Life.

McComb died in 1959. On October 13 of that year, the Kate McComb Playhouse opened in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, with a performance of The Wizard of Oz. The theater was established by Mr. and Mrs. Malcolm McComb in honor of his mother.