Phyllis Thaxter

Phyllis St. Felix Thaxter (November 20, 1919 – August 14, 2012)^[1][2] was an American actress. She is best known for portraying Ellen Lawson in Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944) and Martha "Ma" Kent in Superman (1978). She also appeared in Bewitched (1945), Blood on the Moon (1948), and The World of Henry Orient (1964).

Phyllis Thaxter
Thaxter in 1955
Born	Phyllis St. Felix Thaxter (1919-11-20)November 20, 1919 Portland, Maine, U.S.
Died	August 14, 2012(2012-08-14) (aged 92) Longwood, Florida, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1940–1992
Spouses	James T. Aubrey ​ ​ (m. 1944; div. 1962)​ Gilbert Lea ​ ​ (m. 1962; died 2008)​
Children	2
Relatives	Sidney W. Thaxter (grandfather)
Awards	Hollywood Walk of Fame

Early life

Thaxter was born in Portland, Maine, the youngest of three children of Phyllis (née Schuyler) Thaxter, former actress, and future Maine Supreme Court justice Sidney St. Felix Thaxter;^[2] her siblings were brother, Sidney W. Thaxter, and sister, Hildegarde Schuyler Thaxter (later the wife of federal judge Edward Thaxter Gignoux).^[3][4][5] Her grandfather was Major Sidney W. Thaxter, who was awarded the Medal of Honor during the American Civil War.^[6]

Career

Before appearing in films, Thaxter was on the stage. When Dorothy McGuire went to Hollywood, Thaxter replaced her in the Broadway play Claudia.^[7] 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.^[2] In the 1945 film-noir Bewitched, Thaxter played Joan Alris Ellis, a woman with split personality. In 1948, she played a cattle owner's daughter in Blood on the Moon.

Photo of Phyllis Thaxter and Van Johnson from the film, Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo 1944

On August 15, 1952, Thaxter—having recently completed work on Operation Secret and Springfield Rifle, and awaiting the birth of her second child—was hospitalized with what was described as a "mild" and "non-paralytic" case of polio.^[8][9] Although the illness did not impact her pregnancy, it proved sufficiently serious to all but end Thaxter's film career when, the following month, columnist Hedda Hopper reported that the actress's contract with Warner Brothers had, "by mutual agreement", been "quietly washed up".^[8] Of the remaining, predominantly TV-focused four decades of Thaxter's career, the big screen portion comprised four widely spaced credits.^[10]

Thaxter appeared in television series such as Rawhide, portraying Pauline Cushman in the episode "The Blue Spy" (1961), The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, portraying a paralyzed wife being terrorized by her husband in the episode "The Long Silence" (1963), Wagon Train ("The Christine Elliott Story" and "The Vivian Carter Story"), The Twilight Zone ("Young Man's Fancy"), and Alfred Hitchcock Presents.^[11]

She returned to Broadway, appearing in Take Her, She's Mine at the Biltmore in 1961.^[12]

Photo of Mona Freeman, her husband Pat Nerney, and Phyllis Thaxter depicted in Photoplay, 1949

In 1978, Thaxter was cast with Glenn Ford as Jonathan and Martha Kent in the blockbuster film Superman. In 1992, she appeared in the season nine "Family Secrets" episode of Murder, She Wrote.

In 2003, Thaxter had a seconds long appearance in the Midsomer Murders episode "The Fisher King" (season 7, episode 3).

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".^[7]

While at MGM, Phyllis Thaxter married James T. Aubrey Jr., who later became president of CBS-TV and MGM. They had two children: Susan Schuyler "Skye" Aubrey,^[13] an actress, and James Watson Aubrey. The couple divorced in 1962.^[14][15]

In 1962, Thaxter married Gilbert Lea. They were married for 46 years until his death on May 4, 2008.^[16]

A Republican, she supported the campaign of Dwight Eisenhower in the 1952 presidential election.^[17]

Death

Thaxter died on August 14, 2012, aged 92, in Longwood, Florida after an eight-year battle with Alzheimer's disease.^[2][18]

She was cremated, and her ashes were scattered in Maine.^[19]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role
1944	Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo	Ellen Lawson
1945	Bewitched	Joan Alris Ellis
	Week-End at the Waldorf	Cynthia Drew
1947	The Sea of Grass	Sara Beth Brewton
	Living in a Big Way	Peggy Randall
1948	Tenth Avenue Angel	Helen Mills
	The Sign of the Ram	Sherida Binyon
	Blood on the Moon	Carol Lufton
	Act of Violence	Ann
1950	No Man of Her Own	Patrice Harkness
	The Breaking Point	Lucy Morgan
1951	Fort Worth	Flora Talbot
	Jim Thorpe – All-American	Margaret Miller
	Come Fill the Cup	Paula Copeland
1952	She's Working Her Way Through College	Helen Palmer
	Springfield Rifle	Erin Kearney
	Operation Secret	Maria Corbet
1955	Women's Prison	Helene Jensen
1957	Man Afraid	Lisa Collins
1964	The World of Henry Orient	Mrs. Avis Gilbert
1978	Superman	Martha "Ma" Kent (née Clark)

Selected television appearances

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1953-1956	Lux Video Theatre	various characters	6 episodes
1954	The Motorola Television Hour	Gladys Mitchell	Episode: "Atomic Attack"
1955	Stage 7	Muriel Blandings	Episode: "The Hayfield"
1956-1960	Alfred Hitchcock Presents	various characters	Season 1 Episode 30: "Never Again" as Karen Sewart (1956) Season 2 Episode 2: "Fog Closing In" as Mary Summers (1956) Season 2 Episode 20: "Malice Domestic" as Annette Borden (1957) Season 3 Episode 11: "The Deadly" as Margot Brenner (1957) Season 4 Episode 9: "Murder Me Twice" as Lucy Pryor (1958) Season 6 Episode 5: "The Five-Forty-Eight" as Miss Dent (1960)
1957	Studio One	Laura Morgan	Episode: "The Dark Corner"
1958	The Frank Sinatra Show	Jean Armstrong	Episode: "The Seedling Doubt"
1959-1960	Wagon Train	Christine Elliot/Vivian Carter
1961	Rawhide	Pauline Cushman	Episode: "The Blue Spy"
1962	The Twilight Zone	Virginia Lane Walker	Episode: "Young Man's Fancy"
1963-1964	The Alfred Hitchcock Hour	various characters	Season 1 Episode 25: "The Long Silence" as Nora Cory Manson (1963) Season 2 Episode 6: "Nothing Ever Happens in Linvale" as Mrs. Logan (1963) Season 3 Episode 2: "Change of Address" as Elsa Hollands (1964)
1964	The Fugitive	Enid Langer	Episode: "Detour on a Road Going Nowhere"
1967	Coronet Blue	Eleanor Barclay	Episode: "Faces"
1968	The Invaders	Sarah Concannon	Episode: "The Peacemaker"
1969	Bonanza	Ruth Manning	Episode: "The Clarion"
1970	Medical Center	Celia Jennings	Episode: "Junkie"
1971	Incident in San Francisco	Lois Harmon	TV movie
1972	The Longest Night	Norma Chambers	TV movie
1974	Marcus Welby, M.D.	Kate Tannahill	Episode: "A Full Life"
1975	Barnaby Jones	Aunt Meg Catlin	Episode: "Murder Once Removed"
1976	Once an Eagle	Alma Caldwell
1985	American Playhouse	Rebecca Nurse	3 episodes
1992	Murder, She Wrote	Emily Weymouth	Episode: "Family Secrets"

Radio appearances

Year	Program	Episode/source
1952	Stars in the Air	Christmas in Connecticut[20]
1953	Lux Radio Theatre	Close to My Heart[21]
1953	Lux Radio Theatre	The Bishop's Wife[22]
1955	Lux Radio Theatre	The Bishop's Wife[23]

References

1. "Phyllis Thaxter - 1930 United States Federal Census". Ancestry.com.
2. Grady, Denise (August 18, 2012). "Phyllis Thaxter, Actress Who Played Superman's Mother, Dies at 92". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-08-22.
3. "Mrs Phyllis St. Felix Thaxter, Hildegarde and Baby Phyllis, Portland". Lewiston Journal Magazine. March 12, 1921. p. 7. Retrieved October 13, 2024. "The little ones are named Sidney W., Hildegarde and Baby Phyllis."
4. "Announce Plans for Wedding of Miss Hildegarde Thaxter; Miss Phyllis Thaxter Will Attend Sister for Event June 30 at St. Luke's Cathedral". Portland Press Herald. June 5, 1938. p. C2. Retrieved October 13, 2924. "... Miss Hildegarde Schuyler Thaxter, daughter of Judge and Mrs. Sidney St. Felix Thaxter of Danforth Street and Cushing's Island, and Edward Thaxter Gignoux, son of Col. and Mrs. Frederick E. Gignoux of Cape Elizabeth, who will be married Thursday, June 30. [...] Among the boys in the Portland group will be Sidney W. Thaxter, brother of the bride-elect."
5. "Deaths Elsewhere: Retired Federal Judge Dies". The Star Press. November 6, 1988. p. 44. Retrieved October 13, 2024. "Gignoux is survived by his wife of 50 years, the former Hildegarde Thaxter..."
6. "Sidney Warren Thaxter". cmohs.org. Congressional Medal of Honor Society. Retrieved 13 January 2025.
7. Patricia Bosworth (2004). Montgomery Clift: A Biography. Limelight Editions. p. 80. ISBN 978-0879101350.
8. Hopper, Hedda (September 4, 1952). "Hollywood". New York Daily News. p. C14. Retrieved October 14, 2024.
9. Byrne, John E. (August 31, 1952). "Polio More Than a Word; Phyllis Thaxter Determined to Fight Dread Disease". Portland Press Herald. p. 2A. Retrieved October 14, 2024.
10. "Phyllis Thaxter Filmography". American Film Institute. Retrieved October 14, 2024.
11. The Alfred Hitchcock Hour : The Long Silence (1963) - Robert Douglas | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie, retrieved 2024-02-21
12. Ken Bloom (2004). Broadway: Its History, People, and Places: an Encyclopedia. Taylor & Francis. p. 71. ISBN 978-0-415-93704-7.
13. Barnes, Mike (December 18, 2020). "Skye Aubrey, Actress in 'The Carey Treatment' and 'Batman,' Dies at 74". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
14. "James T. Aubrey Jr. '41". Princeton Alumni Weekly. June 18, 2018. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
15. "The Regency Firing". Time Magazine. March 12, 1965. Archived from the original on May 1, 2008. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
16. "Obituary: Gilbert Lea". Town Topics. Princeton, New Jersey. May 21, 2008. Retrieved 2015-10-16.
17. Motion Picture and Television Magazine, November 1952, page 34, Ideal Publishers
18. Barnes, Mike (August 15, 2012). "Actress Phyllis Thaxter, Superman's Mom, Dies at 92". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2015-10-15.
19. Wilson, Scott (September 5, 2016). Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed. McFarland. p. 741. ISBN 978-0-7864-7992-4. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
20. Kirby, Walter (March 16, 1952). "Better Radio Programs for the Week". The Decatur Daily Review. p. 44. Retrieved 2015-05-23 – via Newspapers.com.
21. Kirby, Walter (March 1, 1953). "Better Radio Programs for the Week". The Decatur Daily Review. p. 46. Retrieved 2015-06-23 – via Newspapers.com.
22. Kirby, Walter (May 10, 1953). "Better Radio Programs for the Week". The Decatur Daily Review. p. 50. Retrieved 2015-06-27 – via Newspapers.com.
23. "Those Were the Days". Nostalgia Digest. 42 (3): 32. Summer 2016.

External links

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