| Kate Winograd | |||||||
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| Days of our Lives | |||||||
| Portrayed by | Elaine Princi (1977–79) | ||||||
| Current status | Former; Recurring | ||||||
| Duration | 1977–79 | ||||||
| First appearance | July 26, 1977 | ||||||
| Last appearance | May 8, 1979 | ||||||
| Cause/reason | Left Town | ||||||
| Created by | Ann Marcus | ||||||
| Introduced by | Betty Corday and H. Wesley Kenney | ||||||
| Profile | |||||||
| Gender | Female | ||||||
| Occupation | Anesthesiologist | ||||||
| Residence | Unknown Salem, Illinois | ||||||
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Dr. Kate Winograd (not to be confused with Kate Roberts) is a character on the soap opera Days of Our Lives, portrayed by Elaine Princi from 1977-79.
Storylines
Dr Kate Winograd, first appears in July 1977, when she is Head of Anesthesiology at Salem University Hospital. Kate befriends main character Dr Bill Horton, and they fall for each other. Bill romances Kate, but she resists his advances. Kate departs Salem in February 1978, and returns in 1979, when she has a sexual affair with Dr. Neil Curtis.
Kate and Bill's friendship begins when Bill, an accomplished surgeon, retrains in Anesthesiology after losing the ability to do surgery, thanks to a gunshot injury to his arm which causes nerve damage and impairs the use of his right hand. Bill retrains as an anesthesiologist so he can carry on working in the Operating room, and Kate supervises his re-training.
Bill clashes with new Chief of Surgery, Dr. Walter Griffin, because Bill thinks Griffin does unnecessary surgeries on patients and is "knife-happy". Bill is assigned to the night shift by the Chief of Staff Greg Peters, to avoid clashes with Griffin. This puts strain on Bill's marriage with Dr. Laura Horton. Kate speaks up for Bill, saying the other trainees value him, and persuades Peters to put Bill back on the day shift.
Bill's brother's neighbor Fred Barton falls downstairs and hits his head, and Bill rushes him into hospital. Fred hemorrhages and needs emergency brain-surgery, but the only surgeon available is an inexperienced junior trainee. The trainee panics in the Operating Room, and walks out. Bill has to do the surgery himself and he saves the man's life, with Kate assisting. But after the operation Barton is paralyzed from the waist down, and he sues the hospital and Bill and Kate. The trainee surgeon covers himself by saying Bill threw him out of the Operating Room; and Kate and Bill are fired from the hospital.
Both unemployed, and both fighting the suit against them, Bill and Kate spend time with each other, and become close. They go for walks, and Bill kisses Kate at Christmas. At the same time, Laura's own work commitments have also put a strain on their marriage. Unhappy with his relationship with Kate, Laura throws Bill out, and he goes to live at the Salem Inn. Although Kate is in love with him, she also won't let Bill stay with her. She won't be the "other woman".
Bill's brother Mickey Horton persuades the young trainee surgeon to come clean about what he did; and Dr. Marlena Evans helps Fred Barton realize that his paralysis is actually psychological, stemming from childhood traumas. On the day of Bill and Kate's trial, Barton walks into court! The case is thrown out, and Bill and Kate are re-instated at the hospital. That evening Bill and Kate celebrate and share a passionate kiss. But Kate breaks it off, and forces Bill to leave.
Bill has a change of heart, and realizes his love for his wife Laura. He apologizes to Kate, telling her he mistook feelings of loyalty to her as love, and that he wants to remain friends and colleagues. Kate tells him she is leaving to take a job in Cleveland, but she really is heartbroken to miss her chance with the man she loves.
In January 1979, with his hand better, Bill is offered the post of Chief of Surgery, and he accepts. Kate is over her infatuation with Bill, and with Laura's blessing, he re-hires Kate as Head of Anesthesiology. Kate assures Bill and Laura that she and Bill are now just good friends. Kate and Bill work away together when they go help flood-victims out of town.
Laura's mentally-ill mother commits suicide, and Laura is traumatized. She begins to have hallucinations of her dead mother, who tells her to do things. Laura becomes paranoid, and she accuses Kate of moving in on Bill, telling her everyone at the hospital is talking about it. Kate tries to reassure Laura that she is just friends with Bill, to no avail. As Kate's reputation is very important to her, she resigns from the hospital again. Bill asks Kate to stay nearby, but she gives him the cold shoulder. In truth, Kate is having an affair with Neil, and her affair with Neil has just become sexual. Kate is resolved to leave town, as she does not want to cause the breakdown of marriages.