Kathryn Ish
Encyclopedia
Kathryn Ish was an American
Broadway
theater, film
, television
and voiceover
actress. She was also a founding member of The Committee
political satire
improvisational comedy group. Her television credits include Laverne & Shirley
.
Ish was born in San Jose, California
. She was reportedly heavily influenced by her high school drama teacher, who was a former vaudeville
actor. She soon developed a reputation for her comedic imitations.
Ish and her husband, actor Richard Stahl, met in New York City
in 1959. They were both working as off Broadway theater actors at the time. They were married later in 1959. Together Ish and Stahl performed in several nightclub
and cabaret
shows throughout the 1960s. The couple also moved to San Francisco. While living in San Francisco, Ish became a founding member of the The Committee Theater
, which she performed with during the 1960s and 1970s.
Ish appeared in over 100 films and television shows throughout her career, including WKRP in Cincinnati
, Laverne & Shirley
, The Love Boat
, and The American President (1995). Additionally, Ish worked as a voiceover actress in over 75 films and television shows. Her voiceover work included the horrified screamers in the 1975 blockbuster, Jaws
.
Ish and Richard Stahl moved to Santa Barbara, California
, in 1975. She worked as an acting and singing teacher at Santa Barbara City College
during her later years.
Richard Stahl died of Parkinson's disease
on June 18, 2006. Ish died of cancer
on December 31, 2007, at her home in Santa Barbara, California. She was 71 years old, and was survived by their daughter Allegra, and a son, Oliver.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
theater, film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
and voiceover
VoiceOver
VoiceOver is a screen reader built into Apple Inc.'s Mac OS X, iOS and iPod operating systems. By using VoiceOver, the user can access their Macintosh or iOS device based on spoken descriptions and, in the case of the Mac, the keyboard. The feature is designed to increase accessibility for blind...
actress. She was also a founding member of The Committee
The Committee (improv group)
The Committee is a San Francisco based improvisational comedy group founded by Alan Myerson and Jessica Myerson . The Myersons were both alums of The Second City in Chicago. The Committee opened April 10, 1963 at 622 Broadway in a 300 seat Cabaret theater that used to be an indoor bocce ball court...
political satire
Political satire
Political satire is a significant part of satire that specializes in gaining entertainment from politics; it has also been used with subversive intent where political speech and dissent are forbidden by a regime, as a method of advancing political arguments where such arguments are expressly...
improvisational comedy group. Her television credits include Laverne & Shirley
Laverne & Shirley
Laverne & Shirley is an American television situation comedy that ran on ABC from January 26, 1976, to May 10, 1983...
.
Ish was born in San Jose, California
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
. She was reportedly heavily influenced by her high school drama teacher, who was a former vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
actor. She soon developed a reputation for her comedic imitations.
Ish and her husband, actor Richard Stahl, met in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1959. They were both working as off Broadway theater actors at the time. They were married later in 1959. Together Ish and Stahl performed in several nightclub
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
and cabaret
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
shows throughout the 1960s. The couple also moved to San Francisco. While living in San Francisco, Ish became a founding member of the The Committee Theater
The Committee (improv group)
The Committee is a San Francisco based improvisational comedy group founded by Alan Myerson and Jessica Myerson . The Myersons were both alums of The Second City in Chicago. The Committee opened April 10, 1963 at 622 Broadway in a 300 seat Cabaret theater that used to be an indoor bocce ball court...
, which she performed with during the 1960s and 1970s.
Ish appeared in over 100 films and television shows throughout her career, including WKRP in Cincinnati
WKRP in Cincinnati
WKRP in Cincinnati is an American situation comedy that featured the misadventures of the staff of a struggling fictional radio station in Cincinnati, Ohio. The show was created by Hugh Wilson and was based upon his experiences working in advertising sales at Top 40 radio station WQXI in Atlanta...
, Laverne & Shirley
Laverne & Shirley
Laverne & Shirley is an American television situation comedy that ran on ABC from January 26, 1976, to May 10, 1983...
, The Love Boat
The Love Boat
The Love Boat is an American television series set on a cruise ship, which aired on the ABC Television Network from September 24,1977, until May 24,1986.The show starred Gavin MacLeod as the ship's captain...
, and The American President (1995). Additionally, Ish worked as a voiceover actress in over 75 films and television shows. Her voiceover work included the horrified screamers in the 1975 blockbuster, Jaws
Jaws (film)
Jaws is a 1975 American horror-thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg and based on Peter Benchley's novel of the same name. In the story, the police chief of Amity Island, a fictional summer resort town, tries to protect beachgoers from a giant man-eating great white shark by closing the beach,...
.
Ish and Richard Stahl moved to Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
, in 1975. She worked as an acting and singing teacher at Santa Barbara City College
Santa Barbara City College
Santa Barbara City College is a two-year community college founded in 1909. It is located on a campus right over the beach in the city of Santa Barbara, California, USA. SBCC offers associate degrees in English, Social Sciences, Computer Science, Engineering, Physics, and occupational and...
during her later years.
Richard Stahl died of Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system...
on June 18, 2006. Ish died of cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
on December 31, 2007, at her home in Santa Barbara, California. She was 71 years old, and was survived by their daughter Allegra, and a son, Oliver.
External links
- Oh My Word from KGO-TV San Francisco