Katherine Locke

American actress (1910-1995)

Norman Corwin

(m. 1947)

Children2

Katherine Locke (June 24, 1910 – September 12, 1995) was a Broadway actress in the late 1930s.

Early life

She was born in Kalinkavičy (now Kalinkavichy, Belarus) and raised in the United States. Her father, Morris Locke (né Mendel Lakomowitz^[1]), was a Hebrew teacher and amateur writer.^[2] She was trained as a pianist but chose instead to become an actress.^[3]

Career

Locke was a concert pianist at the beginning of her career.^[4]

After appearing in small roles, at one time as an off-stage barking dog, her career was established by appearing in the 1937 Broadway play Having Wonderful Time, co-starring with John Garfield.^[3]^[5] She appeared in films in the 1940s and 1950s as a supporting actress. She began her film work in the late 1930s in bit parts, but she is remembered today as a stage actress. In addition to appearing on a successful Broadway production of Hamlet playing Ophelia, her stage credits include starring with John Garfield in Having a Wonderful Time, Fifth Column with Lee J. Cobb, and Clash by Night with Tallulah Bankhead.^[6]

Personal life

Locke married radio writer Norman Corwin in Maryland in March 1947.^[4] The couple had two children.^[6]

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1936	Straight from the Shoulder	Gail Pyne
1944	Wilson	Helen Bones
1944	The Seventh Cross	Mrs. Sauer
1948	The Snake Pit	Margaret
1950	The Sound of Fury	Hazel
1951	People Will Talk	Miss James
1952	Flesh and Fury	Mrs. Hollis
1952	The Unexpected	Woman	Episode: "One for the Money"
1958	A Certain Smile	Mme. Vallon

References

^ "Mendel Lakomowitz, Arriving Passenger List, 1912". Ancestry.com. Retrieved April 2, 2021.
^ "Morris Locke, U.S. Census 1930". familysearch.org. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
^ ^a ^b Oliver, Myrna (September 17, 1995). "Katherine Locke; Film and Broadway Actress". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 6, 2017.
^ ^a ^b "Norman Corwin wed to screen actress in Md". The Springfield Daily News. March 24, 1947. p. 3. Retrieved August 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Nott, Robert (2003). He ran all the way : the life of John Garfield (1., Limelight ed.). New York: Limelight Editions. pp. 65–69. ISBN 978-0879109851.
^ ^a ^b "Obituaries". The Hollywood Reporter. September 18, 1995. p. 36. ProQuest 2469199118. Locke became the toast of Broadway's 1937 season when she starred opposite John Garfield in 'Having a Wonderful Time.' She followed that role playing Ophelia in the Maurice Evans production of Hamlet. Other Broadway plays included 'Fifth Column' with Lee Cobb and 'Clash by Night' with Tallulah Bankhead. [...] Survivors include her husband, writer-director-producer Norman Corwin, whom she married in 1947 after starring in some of his productions; a son, Anthony; and a daughter Diane Corwin Okarski.