Phyllis Thaxter

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BIRTHDAY

November 20, 1921

Portland, ME

RECENT CREDITS

Superman: The Movie (FILM) Dec. 15, 1978

The World of Henry Orient (FILM) Jan. 1, 1964

Women's Prison (FILM) Jan. 1, 1955

She's Working Her Way Through Colle... (FILM) Jul. 12, 1952

The Breaking Point (FILM) Sep. 30, 1950

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BIOGRAPHY

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The daughter of a Supreme Court judge, Phyllis Thaxter followed the example of her mother, a former actress. Thaxter made her first stage appearance, at the Ogunquit (Maine) Playhouse. In her teens, she received on-the-job training with the Montreal Repertory. On Broadway from 1938, she appeared in such popular plays as What a Life!, There Shall Be No Night, and Claudia. Signed to an MGM contract in 1944, Phyllis was often wasted in traditional faithful-wife roles, but on occasion was permitted a wider acting range in such parts as the schizophrenic heroine of Arch Oboler's Bewitched (1944). While at MGM, Phyllis married James Aubrey, who later ascended to the presidency of CBS-TV (andstill later, took over MGM); the union lasted until 1962, producing a daughter, actress Skye Aubrey. Sidelined by an attack of infantile paralysis in 1952, Thaxter made a slow, steady stage, screen and TV comeback in character parts, frequently accepting roles that would challenge her physical limitations. In 1978, after a long absence from the screen, Phyllis Thaxter was cast as Ma Kent in Superman: The Movie.

~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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