Kate Mostel

Kate Mostel, born Kathryn Cecilia Harkin on October 8, 1918, in Philadelphia, was an American dancer, actress, and memoirist who performed on Broadway between 1950 and 1953. The youngest of eight children, she made her first stage appearance in a children's act called Broadway Varieties.

After leaving high school, Harkin joined Catherine Littlefield's ballet company, and following her departure from that troupe she danced in nightclubs across Chicago, New Jersey, New York, and Rio de Janeiro. In 1940 she became a Rockette at Radio City Music Hall. She married the actor Zero Mostel in 1944, and the couple had two sons, Joshua and Tobias.

Mostel transitioned from dance into acting, accumulating Broadway credits that included The Bird Cage, The Ladies of the Corridor, One Night Stand, and Three Men on a Horse. She also appeared alongside her husband in his adaptation of The Imaginary Invalid.

In 1978, following Zero Mostel's death, she co-authored a memoir with actress Madeline Lee Gilford, who was married to actor Jack Gilford. The book, titled 170 Years of Show Business and published by Random House, chronicled the professional and personal lives of both couples, including their encounters with figures such as Dorothy Parker and Lotte Lenya. Papers relating to Mostel are held at the New York Public Library. She died in New York City on January 22, 1986.