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for those insisting 1919 (instead 1921): you are the weakest link, goodbye.
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| imagesize =
| imagesize =
| caption = From the film ''[[Bewitched (1945 film)|Bewitched]]'' (1945)
| caption = From the film ''[[Bewitched (1945 film)|Bewitched]]'' (1945)
| birth_date = {{birth date|mf=yes|1919|11|20}}<ref>[http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=1930usfedcen&rank=1&new=1&so=3&MSAV=0&msT=1&gss=ms_r_db&gsfn=Phyllis&gsln=Thaxter&msfng0=Sidney&msfns0=Thaxter&dbOnly=_83004006%7C_83004006_x&dbOnly=_8300 1920 U.S. Census]</ref><ref name=sky/>
| birth_date = {{birth date|mf=yes|1921|11|20}}<ref>[http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=1930usfedcen&rank=1&new=1&so=3&MSAV=0&msT=1&gss=ms_r_db&gsfn=Phyllis&gsln=Thaxter&msfng0=Sidney&msfns0=Thaxter&dbOnly=_83004006%7C_83004006_x&dbOnly=_8300 1920 U.S. Census]</ref><ref name=sky/>
| birth_place = [[Portland, Maine]], U.S.
| birth_place = [[Portland, Maine]], U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|mf=yes|2012|08|14|1919|11|20}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|mf=yes|2012|08|14|1921|11|20}}
| death_place = [[Longwood, Florida]], U.S.
| death_place = [[Longwood, Florida]], U.S.
| birthname = Phyllis St. Felix Thaxter
| birthname = Phyllis St. Felix Thaxter
| death_cause = [[Alzheimer's disease]]
| death_cause = [[Alzheimer's disease]]
| resting_place = Cremated
| resting_place = Cremated, ashes sea
| known_for = '''Ma Kent''' in ''[[Superman (1978 film)|Superman]]'',<br/>'''Ellen Lawson''' in ''[[Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo]]''
| known_for = '''Ma Kent''' in ''[[Superman (1978 film)|Superman]]'',<br/>'''Ellen Lawson''' in ''[[Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo]]''
| spouse = {{ubl|[[James Thomas Aubrey, Jr.]] (1944 &ndash; 1962; divorced); 2 children|[[Gilbert Lea]] (1962 &ndash; 2008, his death)}}
| spouse = {{ubl|[[James Thomas Aubrey, Jr.]] (1944 &ndash; 1962; divorced); 2 children|[[Gilbert Lea]] (1962 &ndash; 2008, his death)}}
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| yearsactive = 1940–1992}}
| yearsactive = 1940–1992}}


'''Phyllis St. Felix Thaxter''' (November 20, 1919&nbsp;– August 14, 2012) was an [[United States|American]] actress.
'''Phyllis St. Felix Thaxter''' (November 20, 1921&nbsp;– August 14, 2012) was an [[United States|American]] actress.


==Early life==
==Early life==
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===Death===
===Death===
Thaxter died on August 14, 2012, in [[Longwood, Florida]], after an eight- or nine-year battle with [[Alzheimer's disease]].<ref>[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/actress-phyllis-thaxter-dies-superman-mother-362757 Actress Phyllis Thaxter, Superman's Mom, Dies at 92], The Hollywood Reporter, August 15, 2012</ref><ref name=sky>{{cite news |author=Denise Grady |coauthors= |title=Phyllis Thaxter, Actress Who Played Superman’s Mother, Dies at 92 |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/19/movies/phyllis-thaxter-actress-who-played-supermans-ma-kent-dies-at-92.html?src=recg |quote=Her death was confirmed by her daughter, Skye Aubrey, who said that Ms. Thaxter had had Alzheimer’s disease for the last eight years. ...|newspaper=[[New York Times]] |date=August 18, 2012 |accessdate=2012-08-22 }}</ref> She was 92 years old. In keeping with her wishes, she was [[cremated]] and her ashes were scattered at sea.
Thaxter died on August 14, 2012, in [[Longwood, Florida]], after an eight- or nine-year battle with [[Alzheimer's disease]].<ref>[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/actress-phyllis-thaxter-dies-superman-mother-362757 Actress Phyllis Thaxter, Superman's Mom, Dies at 92], The Hollywood Reporter, August 15, 2012</ref><ref name=sky>{{cite news |author=Denise Grady |coauthors= |title=Phyllis Thaxter, Actress Who Played Superman’s Mother, Dies at 92 |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/19/movies/phyllis-thaxter-actress-who-played-supermans-ma-kent-dies-at-92.html?src=recg |quote=Her death was confirmed by her daughter, Skye Aubrey, who said that Ms. Thaxter had had Alzheimer’s disease for the last eight years. ...|newspaper=[[New York Times]] |date=August 18, 2012 |accessdate=2012-08-22 }}</ref> She was 90 years old. In keeping with her wishes, she was [[cremated]] and her ashes were scattered at sea.


==Partial filmography==
==Partial filmography==
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|ALTERNATIVE NAMES= Thaxter, Phyllis St. Felix
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES= Thaxter, Phyllis St. Felix
|SHORT DESCRIPTION=American actress
|SHORT DESCRIPTION=American actress
|DATE OF BIRTH= November 20, 1919
|DATE OF BIRTH= November 20, 1921
|PLACE OF BIRTH= Portland, Maine, U.S.
|PLACE OF BIRTH= Portland, Maine, U.S.
|DATE OF DEATH= August 14, 2012
|DATE OF DEATH= August 14, 2012
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[[Category:American television actors]]
[[Category:American television actors]]
[[Category:People from Portland, Maine]]
[[Category:People from Portland, Maine]]
[[Category:1919 births]]
[[Category:1921 births]]
[[Category:2012 deaths]]
[[Category:2012 deaths]]
[[Category:People with poliomyelitis]]
[[Category:People with poliomyelitis]]

Revision as of 23:44, 14 November 2012

Phyllis Thaxter
From the film Bewitched (1945)
Born
Phyllis St. Felix Thaxter

(1921-11-20)November 20, 1921[1][2]
Portland, Maine, U.S.
DiedAugust 14, 2012(2012-08-14) (aged 90)
Longwood, Florida, U.S.
Cause of deathAlzheimer's disease
Resting placeCremated, ashes sea
OccupationActress
Years active1940–1992
Known forMa Kent in Superman,
Ellen Lawson in Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo
Spouses
ChildrenSkye Aubrey, James Aubrey

Phyllis St. Felix Thaxter (November 20, 1921 – August 14, 2012) was an American actress.

Early life

Phyllis St. Felix Thaxter was born in Portland, Maine to Sidney St. Felix Thaxter, who would later become the Justice of the Maine Supreme Court, and his wife, a former actress.

Career

Phyllis Thaxter smiling and looking off to her left in a press head shot from 1955.
Phyllis Thaxter in a public press photo from 1955.

She had frequently worked on Broadway since 1940. In 1944, she signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Her movie debut was opposite Van Johnson in the wartime film Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo.[2] Thaxter played Joan Alris Ellis, a woman suffering from split personality in the film-noir Bewitched in 1945. 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 television series such as Rawhide, Wagon Train, The Twilight Zone, and Alfred Hitchcock Presents. In 1978, Thaxter was cast along with Glenn Ford as Ma and Pa Kent in Superman.

Personal life

Author 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."[3] 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.[4]

Death

Thaxter died on August 14, 2012, in Longwood, Florida, after an eight- or nine-year battle with Alzheimer's disease.[5][2] She was 90 years old. In keeping with her wishes, she was cremated and her ashes were scattered at sea.

Partial filmography

References

  1. ^ 1920 U.S. Census
  2. ^ a b c Denise Grady (August 18, 2012). "Phyllis Thaxter, Actress Who Played Superman's Mother, Dies at 92". New York Times. Retrieved 2012-08-22. Her death was confirmed by her daughter, Skye Aubrey, who said that Ms. Thaxter had had Alzheimer's disease for the last eight years. ... {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  3. ^ Bosworth, Patricia (2004). Montgomery Clift: A Biography. Limelight Editions. p. 80. ISBN 978-0879101350.
  4. ^ "Obituary: Gilbert Lea". Town Topics: Princeton's Weekly Newspaper. 2008-05-21.
  5. ^ Actress Phyllis Thaxter, Superman's Mom, Dies at 92, The Hollywood Reporter, August 15, 2012
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