Kate Lynch

Last updated
Kate Lynch
Born (1959-06-29) June 29, 1959 (age 64)
Nationality Canadian
Occupations
  • Actress
  • theatre director
  • playwright
  • drama teacher

Kate Lynch (born June 29, 1959) is a Canadian film, television and stage actress, drama teacher, theatre director and playwright.

Contents

Biography

In 1980 she won the Genie Award for Best Actress for Meatballs . [1] She was notably adept at improvisation against the formidable Bill Murray; director Ivan Reitman commented,

I ... chose her because I felt she could perform the strength that was required. And she was attractive without being overly beautiful, and I thought in a strange way that was going to be good. If you look at my other films with Bill, I'm really proud of the male/female pairings. They're always with very strong women. Kate was very strong in Meatballs. Certainly P.J. Soles stands up to him in a different way in Stripes. And certainly Sigourney Weaver in the two Ghostbuster films. But you still feel the romance in each one of those. [2]

In her acceptance speech, however, she communicated the belief that she had won the award more for the fact of being a Canadian actress in a popular hit film, at a time when Canadian films still predominantly cast bigger-name stars from the United States, than for her actual performance. [3] She was nominated for the same award in 1988 for her role in Taking Care ; although she did not win on that occasion, she told the press that being nominated for that film meant more to her than winning for Meatballs, as by this time the quality of Canadian film had significantly improved and the controversial division of the Genie acting categories into separate awards for Canadian and foreign actors had been discontinued. [4]

Her other film credits include Lie with Me , Soup for One , Def-Con 4 , God Bless the Child and The Guardian , while her television credits include Custard Pie, Anne of Avonlea and guest roles in Adderly, Danger Bay, Seeing Things, Queer as Folk, This Is Wonderland, Lost Girl and Degrassi. [5]

As a playwright, her plays include Newcomer, Ten Minute Play: The Musical, The Road to Hell (cowritten with Michael Healey), Tales of the Blonde Assassin and Early August. [6]

As a director, she has directed plays for the Shaw Festival, the Blyth Festival and Theatre Passe Muraille, including productions of William Shakespeare's Henry V , A Midsummer Night's Dream , Pericles and Cymbeline , Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot , Terence Rattigan's French Without Tears , Noël Coward's Star Chamber , Eve Ensler's The Vagina Monologues [7] and Michael Healey's The Nuttalls. She has taught for University College Drama Program, the Stratford Festival, the Shaw Festival, George Brown College [8] and Ryerson University (now Toronto Metropolitan University).

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1979 Meatballs Roxanne
1979 Summer's Children Kathy
1980 Nothing Personal Audrey Seltzer
1983 Skullduggery Janet
1985 Def-Con 4 Jordan
1987 Taking Care Angie
1989 Eddie and the Cruisers II: Eddie Lives! Lyndsay Caputo
1992 The Shower Sheila
2003 The Republic of Love Dr. French
2003Masterpiece MondayVivianShort
2005 Lie with Me Marla
2010New YearCarla Cook
2011The Fair SexKimShort
2014The BoxWomanShort
2016Acting UpMissy TaylorShort

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1977 Custard Pie Sheila Ann MurphyTV series
1978 For the Record Becky"Cementhead"
1979 The Littlest Hobo Susan"Smoke"
1980 A Population of One Marg
1984 Seeing Things Edna"An Eye on the Future"
1984 The Guardian FranTV film
1985 The Edison Twins Diane Comstock"Running on Empty"
1985 Murder in Space EleanorTV film
1985Murder: By Reason of InsanityEleanor SterlingTV film
1986 Reckless Disregard Lauren GartnerTV film
1986 Easy Prey Fran AltmanTV film
1986Murder Sees the LightEleanor SterlingTV film
1986-87 Danger Bay Dr. Woodward"The Ultimate Gift", "Time Out"
1987 Adderly Dr. Cook"Nemesis"
1987 Anne of Avonlea Pauline HarrisTV miniseries
1987Sadie and SonAngela PedrozaTV film
1987 Night Heat Sally Koretski"The Victim"
1987 Street Legal Anne Madison"Gold Rush"
1988 The Ray Bradbury Theater Alicia Hart"Gotcha!"
1988 God Bless the Child CarrieTV film
1988 The Twilight Zone Claire"Acts of Terror"
1991 Maniac Mansion Erlene"Brainiac Mansion"
1991 Road to Avonlea Theodora Dixon"It's Just a Stage"
1991 Counterstrike Maureen"Tie a Yellow Ribbon"
1991 Street Legal Daria Roberts"Reasonable Doubt"
1992 Amy Fisher: My Story Roseann FisherTV film
1993 E.N.G. Dr. Claire Shemko"Pandora's Box"
1993 X-Rated Louise FosterTV film
1994 Lives of Girls and Women Greta StoreyTV film
1996The Haunting of LisaAnnTV film
2003 Coast to Coast Nessle CarrowayTV film
2003 Doc Mrs. Stoddard"Angels in Waiting"
2004Open HeartViolet WellsTV film
2004 Fungus the Bogeyman SepticTV series
2005 This Is Wonderland Barbara Spiddick"2.3", "2.9"
2008Of Murder and MemoryAnnaTV film
2011 Lost Girl Baba Yaga"Mirror, Mirror"
2012 Degrassi: The Next Generation Dr. Frank"Need You Now: Part 2"
2015 Saving Hope Dr. Clara Levine"Beasts of Burden"

Theatre

YearTitleCompanyRoleRef.
2000Smudge by Alex Bulmer Nightwood Theatre [9]

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References

  1. Tom Henighan, The Maclean's Companion to Arts and Culture. Raincoast Books, 2000; ISBN   978-1551922980.
  2. Labrecque, Jeff (12 June 2012). "Bill Murray in 'Meatballs': Ivan Reitman on the film that started it all". Entertainment. Meredith Corporation.
  3. Manjunath Pendakur, Canadian Dreams and American Control: The Political Economy of the Canadian Film Industry. Wayne State University Press, 1990. ISBN   978-0814319994. p. 192.
  4. "What has winning a Genie meant to you?" Cinema Canada , February/March 1989. p. 27.
  5. "Kate Lynch". IMDb. Retrieved 2018-03-24.
  6. "Actors take us backstage in Early August", London Free Press, August 12, 2011.
  7. Jeanne Beker, Finding Myself in Fashion. Viking Canada, 2011. ISBN   978-0670064571.
  8. "Kate Lynch". Centre for Drama, Theatre & Performance Studies. 2018-06-08. Retrieved 2019-03-22.
  9. Kaplan, Jon (2000-11-16). "Alex Bulmer's groundbreaking Smudge goes inside the mind's eye. Sight unseen". NOW Magazine. Retrieved 2020-08-11.