# Katharine Raht

Katharine "Kay" Raht (May 8, 1901 – December 2, 1983) was an American character actress of radio, stage and screen, best known as the longtime radio voice of Mrs. Alice Aldrich, mother of Henry Aldrich, in the radio show The Aldrich Family.

## Early life and career

Born and raised in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Raht was the daughter of Kate Mears Edmiston and prominent wool manufacturer Charles Augustus Raht, and the granddaughter of mining engineer Julius Eckhardt Raht. She attended the Shipley School and Bryn Mawr College, where she earned both her Bachelor and Master of Arts degrees, in 1923 and 24, respectively.
Following her graduation, Raht spent the better part of the 1920s and thirties teaching French at Foxcroft School in Middleburg, Virginia and at the University of Chattanooga, school years preceding occasional forays into summer stock. Finally, in 1937, prior to launching her acting career in earnest, Raht put in several months' work with Bob Porterfield's Barter Theatre (an experience she later described as "better training than any acting school"), including roles in Frederick Jackson's The Long Night and actor/director John Cromwell's Alice.

### The Aldrich Family

In 1938, what began as a small, non-speaking role in the Broadway production of Thornton Wilder's Our Town, upgraded eventually to understudy—and, later still, replacement— for Evelyn Varden, as Mrs. Julia Gibbs, led in turn to a successful audition for what, over nearly a decade and a half, became Raht's signature role as Aldrich Family matriarch Alice Aldrich. (Mrs. Aldrich is the wife of Sam, mother of Henry and Mary, and, most notably, the family member whose "stentorian" summons—"Hen-ry-y-y-y?! Hen-ry Aldrich!"—opens each episode, eliciting the equally iconic response, "Coming, Mother," from the show's young protagonist.) During World War II, Raht served for two years as senior hostess at the Stage Door Canteen, where visiting GIs were especially appreciative of the running gag regarding her "three sons named Henry"—those being Ezra Stone, Norman Tokar, and Dick Jones, each of the three "Henry Aldriches" who had performed alongside Raht before himself joining the armed services. In total, Raht numbered among her Aldrich offspring at least five Henrys—the aforementioned plus Raymond Ives and Bobby Ellis—as well as six Marys, including Jone Allison, Charita Bauer, Betty Field, Ann Lincoln, Mary Mason, and Patricia Peardon.
One striking irony regarding the show is the fact that neither Raht nor her customary Aldrich spouse House Jameson—these being by far the most frequently and famously featured of Aldrich Family parents (and the ones who, as a result, received myriad parenting-related correspondence)—had ever, in real life, been a parent; indeed, Raht never married.

### Theater

In the fall of 1956, struck by what would prove her penultimate Broadway appearance, several critics drew attention to Raht's brief but impactful contribution as Aunt Mary Drexel in the biographical comedy The Happiest Millionaire, starring Walter Pidgeon as Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle. Commending both her work and that of fellow cast member Ruth White—as "the formidable and caustic Mrs. Benjamin Duke"—was the Cleveland Plain Dealer's William F. McDermott, who then noted that "in the similar role of Aunt Mary Drexel, Katharine Raht moves with the authority of a battleship in a fleet of rowboats." Likewise noting that similarity was Boston Globe critic Cyrus Durgin, whose observation is tinged with regret.
   Katharine Raht as old Aunt Mary Drexel is well-matched with Ruth White as the sharp-spoken and domineering Mrs. Duke. A pity the two could not have had a whole scene of venomous conversation with each other.
An amusing—albeit initially concerning—Millionaire sidelight, pitting the typically indomitable Raht against a whole new 'breed' of female adversary, is recounted by entertainment writer Dorothy Kilgallen.
   [D]uring rehearsals in New York an alligator handbag tied to a stick had served as a substitute for the real thing so often that the actress quite forgot she would eventually be confronted by a genuine 'gator. When Abigail, a six-foot long, 200-pound, utterly repulsive creature writhed on stage on cue, Miss Raht delivered her line, "Don't you dare!", gulped, and fainted dead away.

## Personal life and death

An only child who lost her mother at age nine and her father twenty years later, Raht never married and, whether by design or happenstance, she appears to have all but flown under the radar of the entertainment/gossip columnists. That said, she did maintain at least some ties to her birthplace and her extended family, specifically her cousin, Mrs. Charles Scott Thomas (née Louise Raht Llewellyn). In addition, Raht did at least briefly reside with fellow stage and radio actress Dorothy Sands. Self-described "partner" and "head" on their respective 1940 U.S. Census form entries, the roommates did eventually collaborate professionally on at least one substantial project, when, in April 1943, both Raht and Sands were added to the regular cast of the NBC serial Snow Village Sketches.
Raht died in December 1983 at age 82 in her home town of Chattanooga, Tennessee.

## Works
### Plays

Plays :
| Year | Play | Role | Theater | Notes |
| 1938 | Our Town | People of the Town; Lady in the Box | Henry Miller's Theatre Morosco Theatre | February 4, 1938 – February 12, 1938 February 14, 1938 - November 19, 1938 |
| 1947 | The Heiress | Elizabeth Almond | Biltmore Theatre | September 29, 1947 - September 18, 1948 |
| 1950 | The Heiress | Elizabeth Almond | City Center | Jan 9, 1947 – May 17, 1947 |
| 1953 | Sabrina Fair | Margaret | National Theatre Royale Theatre | November 11, 1953 – May 15, 1954 May 17, 1954 – August 21, 1954 |
| 1956 | The Happiest Millionaire | Aunt Mary Drexel | Lyceum Theatre | November, 1956 – July 13, 1957 |
| 1963 | Love and Kisses | Nanny | Music Box Theatre | December 18, 1963 – December 28, 1963 |

### TV appearances

TV :
| TV Show | Role | Episode | Year |
| Studio One | Mrs. Otherly (as Katherine Raht) | | 1952 |
| Westinghouse Theatre | | "The Shadowy Third" | 1952 |
| Robert Montgomery Presents | Mrs. Grady (as Katherine Raht) | "Appointment in Samara" | 1953 |
| Rocky King, Detective | | | 1953 |
| The Web | | "Death Has Nine Lives" | 1954 |
| The Man Behind the Badge | Customer | "The Cleveland Story" | 1954 |
| The Man Behind the Badge | (as Katharine Baht) | "The Case of the Berkshire Fires" | 1954 |
| The Mail Story | | "Dead Letters" | 1954 |
| Armstrong Circle Theatre | | "Trapped" | 1955 |
| Ethel and Albert | | Ep. 4.2 | 1955 |
| The Way of the World | | Ep. airing June 27, 1955 | 1955 |
| The Way of the World | | Ep. airing June 28, 1955 | 1955 |
| The Way of the World | | Ep. airing June 29, 1955 | 1955 |
| The Way of the World | | Ep. airing June 30, 1955 | 1955 |
| The Way of the World | | Ep. airing July 1, 1955 | 1955 |
| The Goldbergs | Mrs. Fuller (as Katherine Raht) | | 1955 |
| Ford Star Jubilee | | "This Happy Breed" | 1956 |
| Robert Montgomery Presents | Aggie (as Katherine Raht) | "All Expenses Paid" | 1956 |
| Hallmark Hall of Fame | Sister Inez | "Cradle Song" | 1956 |
| The Goldbergs | Genevieve Lubitsch | "Molly's Fish" | 1956 |
| The Dupont Show of the Month | Mrs. Chauvenet (as Katherine Raht) | "Harvey" | 1958 |
| Hallmark Hall of Fame | Anne Marie (as Katherine Raht) | "A Doll's House" | 1959 |
| Children of Strangers | Mrs. Fuller | | 1959 |
| The Play of the Week | | "The Grass Harp" | 1960 |
| Hallmark Hall of Fame | Sister Inez | "Cradle Song" | 1960 |
| Frontiers of Faith | Matron | "The Priest" | 1966 |
| Winter of the Witch | Mrs. Butterwaite | | 1969 |