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Phyllis Thaxter

Highest Rated: 100% The Breaking Point (1950)

Lowest Rated: 14% The Sea of Grass (1947)

Birthday: Nov 20, 1919

Birthplace: Portland, Maine, USA

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.

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Highest rated movies

100% 88% The Breaking Point
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100% 75% Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo
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94% 76% Act of Violence
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93% 86% Superman: The Movie
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91% 58% The World of Henry Orient
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83% 64% Blood on the Moon
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14% 36% The Sea of Grass
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26% Women's Prison
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54% Springfield Rifle
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56% Living in a Big Way
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Filmography

Movies

Credit
93% 86% 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% 58% 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 26% Women's Prison Helene Jensen (Character) - 1955
No Score Yet 47% 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 54% Springfield Rifle Erin Kearney (Character) - 1952
No Score Yet 57% Jim Thorpe, All American Margaret Miller (Character) - 1951
No Score Yet 62% Come Fill the Cup Paula Copeland (Character) - 1951
No Score Yet 62% Fort Worth Flora Talbot (Character) - 1951
100% 88% The Breaking Point Lucy Morgan (Character) - 1950
No Score Yet 71% No Man of Her Own Patrice Harkness (Character) - 1950
94% 76% Act of Violence Ann Sturges (Character) - 1949
No Score Yet 54% Tenth Avenue Angel Helen Mills (Character) - 1948
83% 64% Blood on the Moon Carol Lufton (Character) - 1948
No Score Yet 25% The Sign of the Ram Sherida Binyon (Character) - 1948
No Score Yet 56% Living in a Big Way Peggy Randall (Character) - 1947
14% 36% The Sea of Grass Sara Beth Brewton (Character) - 1947
No Score Yet 44% Bewitched Joan Alris Ellis (Character) - 1945
No Score Yet 58% Weekend at the Waldorf Cynthia Drew (Character) - 1945
100% 75% 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