Catherine Byers began her professional acting career after her freshman year of college, being accepted as a summer stock apprentice at THE BARN THEATRE in Augusta, Michigan. She was awarded her Equity card at the end of that season. The following year she was cast for the summer season as a principal performer at the ERIE PLAYHOUSE under the respected managing director, Newell Tarrant. Between her junior and senior year of college she went to Chicago where she began doing radio spots. Upon graduation she spent several years in Miami where she was the lead voice in two cartoon classics: she was the voice of PRINCE PLANET & Bonny the Bunny, the commander, of THE AMAZING THREE. She voiced the live action lead of Johnny Sokko in the series JOHNNY SOKKO & THE FLYING ROBOT, which was recently featured (for 6 seconds) in two Samsung Galaxy Gear commercials. She enjoyed success in Miami in theatre, film, tv. radio and, the afore mentioned, film dubbing. A burning desire to perform Shakespeare took her to London. She studied at Studio 68 and earned a role in a two handed play at the well known experimental OPEN SPACE THEATRE.
On coming two New York City, six months later, she dropped her nickname of Bobbie after landing a lead in the David Merrick production of THE PHILANTHROPIST, starring Alec McCowen. She enjoyed six other Broadway engagements, regional and repertory theatre, and OFF BROADWAY plays as well. In the late 1970s Catherine married actor, Lee Toombs and began recording audio books for the Library of Congress. Her Voiceover and radio career took off at the same time….commercials, radio drama and documentary narration. In 1982 she and Lee welcomed their son Alexander McMillan Toombs and raised him on the upper west side in New York City. Catherine has been highly prolific in her audio book career, having narrated close to a thousand books. In recent years she has recorded for commercial companies as well as the LoC. She and the wonderful actor, Patrick Horgan, worked diligently for several years early in this new century recording the classics (books in the public domain) for the commercial market. Catherine and her small family have traveled and lived around the world, always returning to New York.
Catherine is active in her church and serves on the boards of two charities.
