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Phyllis Thaxter

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Phyllis Thaxter
Thaxter in 1955
Born
Phyllis St. Felix Thaxter

(1919-11-20)November 20, 1919[1][2]
Portland, Maine, U.S.
DiedAugust 14, 2012(2012-08-14) (aged 92)
Longwood, Florida, U.S.
OccupationActress
Years active1940–1992
Spouses
​
​
(m. 1944; div. 1962)​
​
​
(m. 1962; died 2008)​
Children2
RelativesSidney W. Thaxter (grandfather)
AwardsHollywood Walk of Fame

Phyllis St. Felix Thaxter (November 20, 1919 – August 14, 2012) was an American actress. She is best known for portraying Ellen Lawson in Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944) and Martha Kent in Superman (1978). She also appeared in Bewitched (1945), Blood on the Moon (1948), and The World of Henry Orient (1964).

Early life

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Thaxter was born in Portland, Maine, the youngest of three children of Phyllis (née Schuyler) Thaxter, former actress, and future Maine Supreme Court justice Sidney St. Felix Thaxter;[2] her siblings were brother, Sidney W. Thaxter, and sister, Hildegarde Schuyler Thaxter (later the wife of federal judge Edward Thaxter Gignoux).[3][4][5] Her grandfather was Major Sidney W. Thaxter, who was awarded the Medal of Honor during the American Civil War.[citation needed]

Career

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Before appearing in films, Thaxter was on the stage. When Dorothy McGuire went to Hollywood, Thaxter replaced her in the Broadway play Claudia.[6] In 1944, she signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Her movie debut was opposite Van Johnson in the 1944 wartime film Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo.[2] In the 1945 film-noir Bewitched, Thaxter played Joan Alris Ellis, a woman with split personality. In 1948, she played a cattle owner's daughter in Blood on the Moon.

Photo of Phyllis Thaxter and Van Johnson from the film, Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo 1944

On August 15, 1952, Thaxter—having recently completed work on Operation Secret and Springfield Rifle, and awaiting the birth of her second child—was hospitalized with what was described as a "mild" and "non-paralytic" case of polio.[7][8] Although the illness did not impact her pregnancy, it proved sufficiently serious to all but end Thaxter's film career when, the following month, columnist Hedda Hopper reported that the actress's contract with Warner Brothers had, "by mutual agreement", been "quietly washed up".[7] Of the remaining, predominantly TV-focused four decades of Thaxter's career, the big screen portion comprised four widely spaced credits.[9]

Thaxter appeared in television series such as Rawhide, portraying Pauline Cushman in the episode "The Blue Spy" (1961), The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, portraying a paralyzed wife being terrorized by her husband in the episode "The Long Silence" (1963), Wagon Train ("The Christine Elliott Story" and "The Vivian Carter Story"), The Twilight Zone ("Young Man's Fancy"), and Alfred Hitchcock Presents.[10]

She returned to Broadway, appearing in Take Her, She's Mine at the Biltmore in 1961.[11]

Photo of Mona Freeman, her husband Pat Nerney, and Phyllis Thaxter depicted in Photoplay, 1949

In 1978, Thaxter was cast with Glenn Ford as Jonathan and Martha Kent in the blockbuster film Superman. In 1992, she appeared in the season nine "Family Secrets" episode of Murder, She Wrote.

In 2003, Thaxter had a seconds long appearance in the Midsomer Murders episode "The Fisher King" (season 7, episode 3).

Personal life

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Patricia Bosworth, in her biography of Montgomery Clift, tells of Thaxter's close relationship with Clift in the early 1940s, writing that they "seemed so close that a great many people assumed they would eventually marry".[6]

While at MGM, Phyllis Thaxter married James T. Aubrey Jr., who later became president of CBS-TV and MGM. They had two children: Susan Schuyler "Skye" Aubrey (1946–2020),[12] an actress, and James Watson Aubrey (born 5 January 1953). The couple divorced in 1962.[13][14]

In 1962, Thaxter married Gilbert Lea. They were married for 46 years until his death on May 4, 2008.[15]

A Republican, she supported the campaign of Dwight Eisenhower in the 1952 presidential election.[16]

Death

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Thaxter died on August 14, 2012, aged 92, in Longwood, Florida after an eight-year battle with Alzheimer's disease.[2][17]

She was cremated, and her ashes were scattered in Maine.[18]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role
1944 Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo Ellen Lawson
1945 Bewitched Joan Alris Ellis
Week-End at the Waldorf Cynthia Drew
1947 The Sea of Grass Sara Beth Brewton
Living in a Big Way Peggy Randall
1948 Tenth Avenue Angel Helen Mills
The Sign of the Ram Sherida Binyon
Blood on the Moon Carol Lufton
Act of Violence Ann
1950 No Man of Her Own Patrice Harkness
The Breaking Point Lucy Morgan
1951 Fort Worth Flora Talbot
Jim Thorpe – All-American Margaret Miller
Come Fill the Cup Paula Copeland
1952 She's Working Her Way Through College Helen Palmer
Springfield Rifle Erin Kearney
Operation Secret Maria Corbet
1955 Women's Prison Helene Jensen
1957 Man Afraid Lisa Collins
1964 The World of Henry Orient Mrs. Avis Gilbert
1978 Superman Ma Kent

Selected television appearances

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Year Title Role Notes
1953-1956 Lux Video Theatre various characters 6 episodes
1954 The Motorola Television Hour Gladys Mitchell Episode: "Atomic Attack"
1955 Stage 7 Muriel Blandings Episode: "The Hayfield"
1956-1960 Alfred Hitchcock Presents various characters Season 1 Episode 30: "Never Again" as Karen Sewart (1956)

Season 2 Episode 2: "Fog Closing In" as Mary Summers (1956)

Season 2 Episode 20: "Malice Domestic" as Annette Borden (1957)

Season 3 Episode 11: "The Deadly" as Margot Brenner (1957)

Season 4 Episode 9: "Murder Me Twice" as Lucy Pryor (1958)

Season 6 Episode 5: "The Five-Forty-Eight" as Miss Dent (1960)

1957 Studio One Laura Morgan Episode: "The Dark Corner"
1958 The Frank Sinatra Show Jean Armstrong Episode: "The Seedling Doubt"
1959-1960 Wagon Train Christine Elliot/Vivian Carter
1961 Rawhide Pauline Cushman Episode: "The Blue Spy"
1962 The Twilight Zone Virginia Lane Walker Episode: "Young Man's Fancy"
1963-1964 The Alfred Hitchcock Hour various characters Season 1 Episode 25: "The Long Silence" as Nora Cory Manson (1963)

Season 2 Episode 6: "Nothing Ever Happens in Linvale" as Mrs. Logan (1963)

Season 3 Episode 2: "Change of Address" as Elsa Hollands (1964)

1964 The Fugitive Enid Langer Episode: "Detour on a Road Going Nowhere"
1967 Coronet Blue Eleanor Barclay Episode: "Faces"
1968 The Invaders Sarah Concannon Episode: "The Peacemaker"
1969 Bonanza Ruth Manning Episode: "The Clarion"
1970 Medical Center Celia Jennings Episode: "Junkie"
1971 Incident in San Francisco Lois Harmon TV movie
1972 The Longest Night Norma Chambers TV movie
1974 Marcus Welby, M.D. Kate Tannahill Episode: "A Full Life"
1975 Barnaby Jones Aunt Meg Catlin Episode: "Murder Once Removed"
1976 Once an Eagle Alma Caldwell
1985 American Playhouse Rebecca Nurse 3 episodes
1992 Murder, She Wrote Emily Weymouth Episode: "Family Secrets"

Radio appearances

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Year Program Episode/source
1952 Stars in the Air Christmas in Connecticut[19]
1953 Lux Radio Theatre Close to My Heart[20]
1953 Lux Radio Theatre The Bishop's Wife[21]
1955 Lux Radio Theatre The Bishop's Wife[22]

References

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  1. ^ "Phyllis Thaxter - 1930 United States Federal Census". Ancestry.com.
  2. ^ a b c d Grady, Denise (August 18, 2012). "Phyllis Thaxter, Actress Who Played Superman's Mother, Dies at 92". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-08-22.
  3. ^ "Mrs Phyllis St. Felix Thaxter, Hildegarde and Baby Phyllis, Portland". Lewiston Journal Magazine. March 12, 1921. p. 7. Retrieved October 13, 2024. "The little ones are named Sidney W., Hildegarde and Baby Phyllis."
  4. ^ "Announce Plans for Wedding of Miss Hildegarde Thaxter; Miss Phyllis Thaxter Will Attend Sister for Event June 30 at St. Luke's Cathedral". Portland Press Herald. June 5, 1938. p. C2. Retrieved October 13, 2924. "... Miss Hildegarde Schuyler Thaxter, daughter of Judge and Mrs. Sidney St. Felix Thaxter of Danforth Street and Cushing's Island, and Edward Thaxter Gignoux, son of Col. and Mrs. Frederick E. Gignoux of Cape Elizabeth, who will be married Thursday, June 30. [...] Among the boys in the Portland group will be Sidney W. Thaxter, brother of the bride-elect."
  5. ^ "Deaths Elsewhere: Retired Federal Judge Dies". The Star Press. November 6, 1988. p. 44. Retrieved October 13, 2024. "Gignoux is survived by his wife of 50 years, the former Hildegarde Thaxter..."
  6. ^ a b Patricia Bosworth (2004). Montgomery Clift: A Biography. Limelight Editions. p. 80. ISBN 978-0879101350.
  7. ^ a b Hopper, Hedda (September 4, 1952). "Hollywood". New York Daily News. p. C14. Retrieved October 14, 2024.
  8. ^ Byrne, John E. (August 31, 1952). "Polio More Than a Word; Phyllis Thaxter Determined to Fight Dread Disease". Portland Press Herald. p. 2A. Retrieved October 14, 2024.
  9. ^ "Phyllis Thaxter Filmography". American Film Institute. Retrieved October 14, 2024.
  10. ^ The Alfred Hitchcock Hour : The Long Silence (1963) - Robert Douglas | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie, retrieved 2024-02-21
  11. ^ Ken Bloom (2004). Broadway: Its History, People, and Places: an Encyclopedia. Taylor & Francis. p. 71. ISBN 978-0-415-93704-7.
  12. ^ Barnes, Mike (December 18, 2020). "Skye Aubrey, Actress in 'The Carey Treatment' and 'Batman,' Dies at 74". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
  13. ^ "James T. Aubrey Jr. '41". Princeton Alumni Weekly. June 18, 2018. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  14. ^ "The Regency Firing". Time Magazine. March 12, 1965. Archived from the original on May 1, 2008. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
  15. ^ "Obituary: Gilbert Lea". Town Topics. Princeton, New Jersey. May 21, 2008. Retrieved 2015-10-16.
  16. ^ Motion Picture and Television Magazine, November 1952, page 34, Ideal Publishers
  17. ^ Barnes, Mike (August 15, 2012). "Actress Phyllis Thaxter, Superman's Mom, Dies at 92". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2015-10-15.
  18. ^ Wilson, Scott (September 5, 2016). Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed. McFarland. p. 741. ISBN 978-0-7864-7992-4. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
  19. ^ Kirby, Walter (March 16, 1952). "Better Radio Programs for the Week". The Decatur Daily Review. p. 44. Retrieved 2015-05-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ Kirby, Walter (March 1, 1953). "Better Radio Programs for the Week". The Decatur Daily Review. p. 46. Retrieved 2015-06-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ Kirby, Walter (May 10, 1953). "Better Radio Programs for the Week". The Decatur Daily Review. p. 50. Retrieved 2015-06-27 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ^ "Those Were the Days". Nostalgia Digest. 42 (3): 32. Summer 2016.
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