{{short description|American actress (1931-2013)}} {{Infobox person | name = Kate Williamson | image = | imagesize = | caption = | birth_name = Robina Jane Sparks | birth_date = September 19, 1931 | birth_place = Ellenville, New York, U.S. | death_date = December 6, 2013 (aged 82) | death_place = Encino, California, U.S. | occupation = Actress | spouse = Al Ruscio (1954–2013; his death) | children = 4 | mother = Nydia Westman | website = | years_active = 1977–2003}}
'''Robina Jane Sparks''', also known as '''Kate Williamson''' (September 19, 1931 – December 6, 2013) was an American actress, whose career spanned nearly three decades.<ref>[http://www.seattlepi.com/entertainment/tv/tvguide/article/Ellen-Actress-Kate-Williamson-Dies-at-83-5044875.php Notice of death of actress Kate Williamson] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131212040151/http://www.seattlepi.com/entertainment/tv/tvguide/article/Ellen-Actress-Kate-Williamson-Dies-at-83-5044875.php |date=2013-12-12 }}, Seattle Post-Intelligencer; accessed December 10, 2013.</ref>
==Biography== Williamson was born as Robina Jane Sparks in 1931, the daughter of actress/singer Nydia Westman and writer/producer Salathiel Robert Sparks, sometimes called Robert S. Sparks.<ref>[https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/07/kate-williamson-dead_n_4405251.html?ir=Entertainment Kate Williamson Dead], huffingtonpost.com, December 7, 2013.</ref> She began her acting career in 1977. Most of Williamson's credits were television appearances. She was best known for her roles on ''Ellen'' (1995), ''Disclosure'' (1994), and ''Dahmer'' (2002).<ref>[https://deadline.com/2013/12/r-i-p-ellen-actress-kate-williamson-648763/ "R.I.P. 'Ellen' Actress Kate Williamson"], deadline.com, December 2013.</ref>
==Personal life== She married character actor Al Ruscio in June 1954, and was known to her loved ones as "Jane Kate Ruscio".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://forestlawn.tributes.com/show/Jane-Kate-Ruscio-97299612|title=Obituary|publisher=forestlawn.tributes.com|accessdate=July 25, 2023}}</ref> The couple had four children and remained together until Ruscio's death in November 2013.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/16/al-ruscio-dead-actor_n_4289781.html|title=Al Ruscio Dead: Veteran Character Actor Dies At 89|date=November 17, 2013|work=The Huffington Post}}</ref> Less than one month later, Williamson died following a prolonged illness on December 6, 2013, aged 82, in Encino, Los Angeles, California. She was survived by her four children and five grandchildren.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/actress-kate-williamson-dies-at-663985|title=Actress Kate Williamson Dies at 82|author=Erik Hayden|date=December 7, 2013|work=The Hollywood Reporter}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{IMDb name|0932074}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Williamson, Kate}} Category:1931 births Category:2013 deaths Category:American television actresses Category:American film actresses Category:20th-century American actresses Category:21st-century American actresses Category:Actresses from New York (state) {{US-screen-actor-1930s-stub}}