Phyllis Thaxter
Born the daughter of a Shakespearean actress and a Supreme Court justice for the state of Maine, Phyllis Thaxter had the love of performing arts and an impeccable sense of poise instilled in her at an early age. She followed in her mother's footsteps with her Broadway debut in Henry Aldrich's play "What a Life!" at 17. She made her film debut a few years later with a supporting role in the Spencer Tracy World War II drama "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo." In 1947, she would costar with Tracy again, playing his and Katharine Hepburn's onscreen daughter in the melodrama "The Sea of Grass." It was around this time that Thaxter befriended film star Montgomery Clift. The two were inseparable, with rumors floating that they were sure to marry; they did not wed but maintained a friendship for years. Though the talented ingénue appeared in a number of films, often snagging roles as the even-tempered wife or girlfriend, Thaxter was deemed less glamorous than her peers and never reached star status. In the 1950s, a case of temporary paralysis ended her contract with Warner Brothers. While she recovered from this form of infantile paralysis, her film career did not. Thaxter tenaciously moved into television, where she appeared in nearly 50 different programs before she retired in the early 1990s.
Photos
Phyllis Thaxter
Filmography
Movies
Credit | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
93% |
|
Superman: The Movie | Martha Kent (Character) | - | 1978 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Longest Night | Norma Chambers (Character) | - | 1972 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Incident in San Francisco | Lois Harmon (Character) | - | 1971 |
91% |
|
The World of Henry Orient | Mrs. Avis Gilbert (Character) | - | 1964 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Man Afraid | Lisa Collins (Character) | - | 1957 |
No Score Yet |
|
Women's Prison | Helene Jensen (Character) | - | 1955 |
No Score Yet |
|
She's Working Her Way Through College | Helen Palmer (Character) | - | 1952 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Operation Secret | Maria Corbet (Character) | - | 1952 |
No Score Yet |
|
Springfield Rifle | Erin Kearney (Character) | - | 1952 |
No Score Yet |
|
Jim Thorpe, All American | Margaret Miller (Character) | - | 1951 |
No Score Yet |
|
Fort Worth | Flora Talbot (Character) | - | 1951 |
No Score Yet |
|
Come Fill the Cup | Paula Copeland (Character) | - | 1951 |
100% |
|
The Breaking Point | Lucy Morgan (Character) | - | 1950 |
No Score Yet |
|
No Man of Her Own | Patrice Harkness (Character) | - | 1950 |
94% |
|
Act of Violence | Ann Sturges (Character) | - | 1949 |
No Score Yet |
|
Tenth Avenue Angel | Helen Mills (Character) | - | 1948 |
83% |
|
Blood on the Moon | Carol Lufton (Character) | - | 1948 |
No Score Yet |
|
The Sign of the Ram | Sherida Binyon (Character) | - | 1948 |
No Score Yet |
|
Living in a Big Way | Peggy Randall (Character) | - | 1947 |
14% |
|
The Sea of Grass | Sara Beth Brewton (Character) | - | 1947 |
No Score Yet |
|
Bewitched | Joan Alris Ellis (Character) | - | 1945 |
No Score Yet |
|
Weekend at the Waldorf | Cynthia Drew (Character) | - | 1945 |
100% |
|
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo | Ellen Lawson (Character) | - | 1944 |
TV
Credit | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
No Score Yet | 89% | Murder, She Wrote | Emily Weymouth (Guest Star) | 1992 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Barnaby Jones | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1975 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Marcus Welby, M.D. | Kate Tannahill (Guest Star) | 1974 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Cannon | Rita McBain (Guest Star) | 1972 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Bonanza | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1969 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Fugitive | Enid Langer (Guest Star) | 1964 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Alfred Hitchcock Hour | Unknown (Character) | 1963-1964 |
92% | 96% | The Twilight Zone | Virginia Lane Walker (Character) | 1962 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Rawhide | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1961 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Thriller | Unknown (Character) | 1961 |
No Score Yet | 87% | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Margot Brenner (Character) | 1956-1958 1960 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Wagon Train | Vivian Carter (Guest Star) | 1959-1960 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Climax! | Unknown (Character) | 1955-1957 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The United States Steel Hour | Judith (Character) | 1953 1955 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Stage 7 | Unknown (Character) | 1955 |