Phyllis Thaxter

Phyllis Thaxter
File:Phyllis Thaxter in Bewitched trailer.jpg Phyllis Thaxter From the film Bewitched (1945)
Born	Phyllis St. Felix Thaxter (1919-11-20)November 20, 1919 Portland, Maine, U.S.
Died	Longwood, Florida, U.S.
Cause of death	Alzheimer's disease
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1940–1992
Known for	Ma Kent in Superman, Ellen Lawson in Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo
Spouse(s)	James Thomas Aubrey, Jr. (1944–1962; divorced; 2 children) Gilbert Lea (1962–2008; his death)
Children	Skye Aubrey, James Aubrey

Phyllis St. Felix Thaxter (November 20, 1919 – August 14, 2012) was an American actress.

Early life

Phyllis St. Felix Thaxter was born in Portland, Maine, USA, to Sidney St. Felix Thaxter, who would later become a Justice of the Maine Supreme Court, and his wife, Phyllis (Schuyler), a former actress and member of the Dutch American Schuyler family.

Career

File:Phyllis Thaxter in 1955.jpg

Phyllis Thaxter in a public press photo from 1955.

Prior to appearing in movies, Thaxter was on the stage. When Dorothy McGuire went to Hollywood, Thaxter replaced her in the Broadway play Claudia. 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. In the 1945 film-noir Bewitched, Thaxter played Joan Alris Ellis, a woman suffering from split personality. In 1948, she played a cattle owner's daughter alongside Barbara Bel Geddes in Blood on the Moon.

At MGM, she routinely portrayed the ever-patient wife to a number of leading men. She moved to Warner Brothers in the 1950s, but usually played the same type of roles.

Thaxter's career stalled after an attack of polio in 1952. She made a comeback in such television series as Rawhide, portraying Pauline Cushman in the episode "The Blue Spy" (1961), Wagon Train ("The Christine Elliott Story"), and "The Vivian Carter Story ", The Twilight Zone ("Young Man's Fancy"), and Alfred Hitchcock Presents. She also returned to Broadway, appearing in Take Her, She's Mine at the Biltmore in 1961. In 1978, Thaxter was cast, along with Glenn Ford, as Jonathan and Martha Kent in the blockbuster film Superman.

Personal life

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". While at MGM, Thaxter married James T. Aubrey, Jr., who later became president of CBS-TV and MGM. They divorced in 1962. They had two children: Skye Aubrey, an actress; and James Aubrey.

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

Death

Thaxter died on August 14, 2012, in Longwood, Florida, after an eight- or nine-year battle with Alzheimer's disease. She was 92 years old. In keeping with her wishes, she was cremated and her ashes were scattered into the Atlantic Ocean.

Partial filmography

• Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944)
• Bewitched (1945)
• Week-End at the Waldorf (1945)
• Tenth Avenue Angel (1946)
• The Sea of Grass (1947)
• Living in a Big Way (1947)
• Blood on the Moon (1948)
• Act of Violence (1948)
• No Man of Her Own (1950)
• The Breaking Point (1950)
• Jim Thorpe – All-American (1951)
• Come Fill the Cup (1951)
• Fort Worth (1951)
• Springfield Rifle (1952)
• Women's Prison (1955)
• Man Afraid (1957)
• The World of Henry Orient (1964)
• Superman (1978)

Selected television appearances

• Alfred Hitchcock Presents (guest roles) (1956–1960)
• Wagon Train (1959)
• Rawhide (TV series) (Episode: "The Blue Spy") (1961)
• The Invaders (TV series) (Episode: "The Peacemaker") (1968)
• Once an Eagle (TV miniseries) (1976)

Radio appearances

Year	Program	Episode/source
1952	Stars in the Air	Christmas in Connecticut
1953	Lux Radio Theatre	Close to My Heart
1953	Lux Radio Theatre	The Bishop's Wife

External links

• Phyllis Thaxter at the Internet Movie Database
• Phyllis Thaxter at the Internet Broadway Database
• Phyllis Thaxter at Find a Grave