Kathryn, a blonde, blue-eyed actress, briefly rose to fame in the 1930s as one of Hollywood's fashionable Cinderellas, often billed as 'Sugar Kane', exuding a wholesome, girl-next-door charm. She was marketed by her studio as the female counterpart to MGM's Mickey Rooney.
Born and raised on a farm, Kathryn developed a passion for acting in her mid-teens, when her family relocated to New York. She soon found steady work as a model with the prestigious John Powers Agency, supplementing her family's income by singing and dancing in nightclubs. Her big break came when a Warner Brothers talent scout spotted her during a 1934 fashion show, leading to a contract and a move to California.
Kathryn's subsequent career followed a predictable pattern, often cast as hometown sweethearts or the supportive friend of the leading lady. She enjoyed top billing in one-reel musical specialties, with her happiest moment coming when she co-starred exuberantly opposite Ken Murray and Johnny Downs in the lower half of a double bill, Swing, Sister, Swing (1938),introducing the 'Baltimore Bubble', a short-lived dance fad.
Kathryn was also the only female in the cast of The Spirit of Culver (1939),a patriotic film aimed at junior audiences, designed to revive the careers of former child stars Jackie Cooper and Freddie Bartholomew. On radio, she sang with the Benny Goodman Orchestra in 'Jack Oakie's College', recorded on Sunset Boulevard for CBS.
During World War II, Kathryn went on tour with the United Service Organizations (USO) to entertain overseas service personnel. In 1944, she appeared on stage in one of Earl Carroll's musical variety shows. She retired from the screen three years later and went on to act in live theatre, later nurturing a career as a musical teacher on the Californian lecture circuit until 1989.
Her moniker, 'Sugar Kane', was famously used by Billy Wilder for Marilyn Monroe's character in Some Like It Hot (1959). Kathryn passed away, a centenarian, on March 10, 2019 in Brentwood, California.
