Phyllis Kirk

[george anson]

An American actress (1927-2006) born Phyllis Kirkegaard:

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0456533/

From 'Life' magazine:

[george anson]

Second image is from House Of Wax:

[carolaholic]

. . . in assorted photos.

This lady, long ago, precipitated my first crush on a TV or movie star. (Not that I didn't notice Annette Funicello a year later.) When I saw her on the TV version of The Thin Man, something went boinnnngggg in the rotten kid. I've been meaning to dig out some items and post them after I noticed that George Anson had started a Phyllis Kirk thread (for which, many thanks, George), and I've finally gotten around to it. (Well, some of it . . .) Bring on the pics:

First, three stills from The Sad Sack, a 1957 Jerry Lewis movie I've never seen (not sure how I missed it, since I greatly enjoyed his movies and TV specials back then, though not as much now -- though I still don't share the near-universal dislike most people seem to have for him. And, no, I'm not French.) That's David Wayne with her in the first pic, Jerry Lewis on the couch in the second pic (is she playing an Army shrink?), and I think Wayne is smooching her in the third, while Lewis and an unknown guy stand by.



Then, a still from another movie I've never seen (some fan I am!), City After Midnight, so I can't shed any light on just how dire her character's situation is in this pic.



Then a couple of stills from the 1956 movie Back from Eternity, which I saw on TV a few years ago, and was sorry that I hadn't taped it (some fan I am!). That's Gene Barry on the right in the second pic, and I don't recognize the man in the middle (Robert Ryan?). Later: Many thanks to rkphidelt, who has identified the other man in the photo as Robert Ryan.



Then a couple of stills from TV anthology shows, the first one from, according to a note taped to the back of the photo, Hollywood Summer Theater, Friday, Aug. 17 (1957), the second from "Duffy's Man," an episode of Ford Theater, 1956. I've also scanned the documentation that was attached to the second photo.



Finally, a couple of small photos. I don't know if they're connected with any movie or TV appearance. In the first photo, she's wearing a vest or armless sweater with her name on it (a signature on the photo in white ink, maybe?). The second photo has a signature (also?) which might be hers; however the photo I have is a photo of a signed photo, rather than one which was individually signed. That's also true of the first photo below, if her name there is a signature. If both are signatures, they don't look alike to my inexpert eye.



She looked very different in the early 1950s than she did in the late 1950s (which was when The Thin Man came on). When I saw House of Wax in the late 1970s, I kept wondering if there was another actress named Phyllis Kirk, since she looked so different with her hair up. I think the last time I saw her on TV (rather than in a movie on TV) was on Dick Cavett's late-night talk show in 1970 or 1971. Cavett's a short guy, and most of his guests were as tall as or taller than him, but she was noticeably shorter, which was a surprise. (Peter Lawford, on The Thin Man, must have been a shrimp.) I was sorry to learn later that her career declined in the 1960s and that she had health problems. And that's enough nostalgia for now.

[carolaholic]

. . . one from the April 11-17, 1959 issue of TV Guide, with two facing pages:



The spread's timing, near the end of the TV "season" is ironic, since, IIRC, The Thin Man was only on for two seasons, and was not renewed for the 1959-1960 season.

Later addition: And here are the four photos of the lady, cropped into separate pics. Since other things protrude into her space in each photo, I did some whiteing out to remove them, though I couldn't do anything about the gloves in her hand in the left photo on the second page obscuring part of her skirt in the middle photo without making it worse.



Most of a year earlier, This Week, a weekly tabloid that was inserted in Sunday newspapers (like Parade, which is still around) had a cover story about the lady in its August 17, 1958 issue. Since the magazine was larger than my scanner will accomodate, I had to scan the cover in two takes, and the second page had a photo of the lady, rather overdressed for the beach (where the caption claimed she was) which I had to scan separately from the text and photos at the top of the page. The white arc at the bottom of the first scan in the second row is where I whited out the top of her head where it overlapped into the scan.



And now for some separate scans of the cover and interior photos. The magazine was printed on paper barely a step above the quality of paper used in newspapers, so they'll be kinda grainy:





I'm skeptical of the height (5 feet, 5 inches) the article attributes to the lady. As I said in an earlier post, Dick Cavett is a short guy (though I don't know his actual height), and when she was on his show in 1970 or 1971, he was noticeably taller than Ms. Kirk.

P.S. I thought to check online, and IMDB and some other sites give Cavett's height as 5 feet, 3 inches, though a couple gave his vertical dimension as 5 feet, 6 inches. According to IMDB, Peter Lawford was 6 feet tall, though other sites say 5 feet, 11 inches. And the lady's height, according to online sources, was 5 feet, 5 inches. At which point, I give up . . .

[beutelwolf]

German lobby card

[johnbear]

found this one

1856x2400

[Know-It-All]

[CandyMoFan]

Phyllis made a big splash in 1953 with the new 3D thriller HOUSE OF WAX, with Vincent Price playing the very scary proprietor of a wax museum, stealing dead bodies for his wax figures, fooling his paying customers. Had his eye on Phyllis for Marie Antoinette but was foiled by the police, saving Phyllis from horrible death. Lots of fun with the all new 3D glasses on (objects coming right at you!) and the slick horror movie script and filming. Scared the pants off many a kid, prompting some sleepless nights, leaving on an extra night light!

[CandyMoFan]

Phyllis Kirk

18 September 27 is born in Plainfield, New Jersey, of Danish descent to Theodore Kirkegaard and his wife Adele
c. 32 her sister Peggy is born
? attends school in Syracuse, New York
? suffers from polio during childhood
48 is working as a waitress when she’s discovered by the Harry Conover modeling agency
? illustrator Jon Whitcomb takes her in tow and for a year she becomes "The Whitcomb Face," used by him in almost all of his drawings
? decides to forgo the lucrative modeling assignments and does a season of stock with Edward Everett Horton
Winter 48 / 49 is on Broadway in My Name is Aquilon
June 49 is in the touring company of Noel Coward's Present Laughter
? Paul Small, the agent, sees her and signs her for Hollywood / is Lili Palmer's understudy on Broadway when discovered by Sam Goldwyn. Her first part will be the second lead in Beloved Over All.
15 June 49 leaves the cast of Present Laughter to report to Hollywood for her first part in Beloved Over All
September 49 she and fellow starlet Joan Evans are pictured kissing Harold Lloyd, Jr., son of the comedian, on the eve of his professional debut before the camera
columnist Dorothy Kilgallen knows that "it's all over between fickle Farley Granger and model Phyllis Kirk..."
October 49 columnist Sheila Graham writes: "Discount the Farley Granger-Phyllis Kirk romance stories. They are both in the same picture, Beloved Over All. Enough said."
November 49 tests for the MGM Robert Walker picture The Skipper Surprises His Wife. "If Phyllis doesn't get the role, Diana Lynn will."
December 49 she and air ace Flip Cochrane zoom about Hollywood
January 50 is reported being groomed for stardom. "She's a cutie - a combination of Colleen Moore and Lana Turner."
July 50 she and MGM music wizard Andre Previn are reported "two bright, young things about town, but they deny marriage rumors. 'Nothing serious,' says Previn, 'but we're just decided not to see each other more than seven nights a week.'" Previn's 21; she's 22.
August 50 she and Previn give themselves a farewell dinner at the Tallyho two nights before his departure to Camp Cook. "Uncle Sam cancelled their wedding plans."
October 50 from Camp Cook Previn sends her an unusual gift. It's an autographed first edition of Once an Actor Always an Actor by John Barrymore.
says about her romance with Andre Previn, who's in the Army now: "I'm 22. So is Andre. We are both very ambitious about our careers. We are just as ambitious to be happily married. We don't feel the time is right now."
November 50 is named "Orchid Queen" by the Society of American Florists and will reign during National Flower Week from October 29 until November 5
December 50 is seen at the Kings with Sy Bartlett
January 52 replaces Veronica Lake on TV's "Hollywood Screen Test"
columnist Ed Sullivan tells from "Little Old New York" that she's dating Barney Strauss
May 52 is dropped from MGM because they have no parts for her and from the cast of the Broadway hit Point of No Return because she is too inexperienced
August 52 she and Pete Rugulo are among the ringsiders at Billy Daniel and Peggy King's opening at the Mocambo
53 is chosen over Joan Weldon and Vera Miles for a part in House of Wax. She isn’t fond of co-star Charles Bronson, but has fond memories of Paul Picerni and Frank Lovejoy. After filming, she’s off to London.
June 53 columnist Walter Winchell knows that her true love is Art Napoleon in Hollywood. "She jilted three teevy bookings to rush back to him..."
July 53 columnist Harrison Carroll reports: "Now it's Phyllis Kirk and Jennings Lang"
August 53 denies that she and Jennings Lang "of the Walter Wanger-Joan Bennett bang-bang episode" are on their way to the altar
December 53 complains from Great Britain: "What's this country needs is a good delicatessen."
February 54 says she won't marry at least until 1960 "because a girl doesn't know her own mind until she's 30. I want to be able to separate from make-believe emotions before I settle down. All actors, girls and men should get their emotions straightened out before rushing into marriage."
August 54 she and Ted Cott are a daily double at Chandler's
September 54 Winchell tells: "Ted Cott, NBC vice prexy (who's seen 'em all) is forgetting about Phyllis Kirk. Connie Fry (a pretty Music Corporation secretary) is the reason or is she?..."
February 55 Winchell knows: "Jerry Herzfeld (of the racetrack clan) isn't Marie McDonald's honey. His long-time heart is pretty Phyllis Kirk..."
March 55 she, "who usually restricts her dates to show people," is reported steadying with a medico
September 55 dates writer Bill Bowers
December 55 her 23-year-old kid sister, Peggy Frantz, becomes supervisor of surgery at the Los Angeles Shriners Hospital for Crippled Children
May 56 Winchell knows: "Producer Robert Joseph (Tiger at the Gates) hogged a Gilmore's phone booth for 2 hours to woe Phyllis Kirk on the Coast..."
she and Bob Neal are reported "flying - without parachutes..."
June 56 her fight scenes with Anita Ekberg in Back from Eternity are deleted by the censors as "two much shOOwing..."
July 56 columnist Lee Mortimer tells: "Phyllis Kirk, touring in Johnny Concho personal appearances, has disc jock Bill Williams spinning love platters in her via 'Dial 111'..."
is linked with almost every bachelor in New York and in Hollywood so why "shouldn't she be linked with Lou Spence, the songwriter..."
September 56 Mortimer reports her "suffering from press agent woes with a press agent who says he discovered her, now claiming he was married to her... (So is that a fate worse than death?)..."
November 56 will fly to London for a BBC two-hour live TV drama after she completes a current assignment with ABC-TV's "Ford Theater"
December 56 is expected back in Manhattan for the Christmas holidays
is greeted at the Bundle of Joy party by guests who think she is singer Lisa Kirk
February 57 is seen at Chandler's with actor Michael Redgrave
songwriter Bob Merrill is reported getting inspiration from her at the Left Bank
April 57 her new romance is George Baker, the Sad Sack cartoonist
c. May 57 is at Mocambo to hear Frank Sinatra
June 57 maintains an apartment in New York, her home, and lives in a fancy hotel while in Hollywood. "Five, six hours sleep is just fine for me," she says. "With eight hours sleep I'm droopy."
Winchell tells: "Phyllis Kirk's No. 1 and No. 2 swain are medicos. One on each coast..."
August 57 she and George Norman are considered "love-birds of the week"
Winchell writes: "Lenny Lewis (he's singer Morgana King's manager) would like to manage Phyllis Kirk. Calls her long-distance every day to tell her so..."
Early July 58 as public relations campaign chairwoman of the Los Angeles County Epilepsy Society, she asks the public for support in its July fund drive. She says she first became interested in the problem of epilepsy as a small child when she witnessed several epileptic seizures suffered by a friend of the family.
August 58 is Mort Sahl's favorite hospital visitor
November 58 Winchell tells: "'Thin Man' Peter Lawford and his TV wife Phyllis Kirk make love like mad for the viewers, but hardly talk off-camera..."
makes the Roundtable scene with disc jockey William B. Williams
October 59 columnist Earl Wilson tells: "Comedian Mort Sahl bought a Beverly Hills home. The Phyllis Kirk marriage close?..."
10 + 11 February 60 visits 38-year-old convicted robber and rapist Caryl Chessman twice on Death Row in San Quentin Prison. Wearing smart horn-trimmed glasses and a cloche hat, a charcoal-gray suit coat and a matching tight skirt, she registers at San Quentin as P. H. Kirkegaard. "I used my real name because I didn't want anyone know I was here. I feared people in Los Angeles might make something of it and subject me to harassment," she says. She spends 90 minutes with Chessman in the Death Row visiting room. She declines to discuss her interviews with reporters or to say whether she planned another visit with Chessman, who is scheduled to die on February 19.
March 60 appears in a hearing in Los Angeles for a state abolition committee calling the death penalty "ritual barbarianism"
End April 60 signs a telegram appealing to Governor Edmund G. Brown stating: "Chessman has not killed. What good is served us, all of us, the citizens of our state and indeed all people everywhere to kill him or anyone? The execution would be a wounding and tragic injustice. We beg you to use your good offices and good conscience in an act of mercy to reprieve Caryl Chessman." Other signers are Christopher Isherwood, Dore Schary, Robert Ryan, Marlon Brando, Millard Kaufman, Aldous Huxley, Norman Corwin, and Ray Bradbury. Because of this view, she runs into trouble with her agent, the William Morris Agency. Chessman will die in the gas chamber on May 2.
May 60 flies to New York from Los Angeles to replace Audrey Meadows on "Masquerade Party"
June 60 she and Mort Sahl resume their romance
August 60 is seen at Jack's at the Beach with Douglas Homes
September 60 is among the guests of the "New Frontiers" fete hosted by Club 22 for Democratic Women in Los Angeles. Ted Kennedy is on hand with a few chosen campaign words.
31 September 60 attends a Democratic dance and rally held at the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium. Other show people scheduled are Mercedes McCambridge, Rosemary De Camp, and Henry Fonda.
October 60 window dressing for the Democrats, she and Jeff Chandler talk to 50 high school kids in North Hollywood
21 October 60 attends an evening of "food, fun, fashion, frolic and funds" held by the San Fernando Valley Democratic Club at the Pump Room in Studio City
February 61 Mortimer tells that Mort Sahl's latest is June Wilkinson, "who must weigh in at about twice his last, peanut-sized Phyllis Kirk..."
March 61 is expected to marry Three Penny Opera producer Carmen Charles Capalbo when his divorce is final, "probably next month..." Capalbo is two years her senior.
November 61 Winchell thinks that she and Capalbo may have married in October 1961
November 62 columnist Mike Connolly expects her and Capalbo to "issue a betrothal flash"
October 63 is on stage at the Drury Lane Theater in Ten Little Indians
65 has her own TV talk show, ABC’s "The Young Set"
September 66 is bridesmaid at the New York wedding of Caskie Stinett, of Holiday magazine, and Judith Rand of Chicago. Pulitzer Prize playwright Marc Connelly is best man.
c. End December 66 marries Warren Vollman Bush in Juarez, Mexico. Bush is a CBS news producer and writer-turned-independent film and TV producer and broadcasting consultant and has two daughters, Andrea and Kathy, from a former marriage. He's about 41; she's 39. "We met each other several years ago and decided to know each other better," she says.
67 is the lead in the Broadway hit Wait Until Dark
October 67 is on stage at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Wait Until Dark
69 she and Bush move to Los Angeles
April 77 is a senior associate in the public relations firm of Connie Stone and Associates
May 77 columnist Dick Kleiner writes: "Phyllis, a good friend of mine, has had some health problems which limit her acting. But she is now working in the Hollywood public relations field and doing a fine job. She has been married for some years to TV producer Warren Bush, the man who put together the recent 'National Disaster Survival Test' for NBC."
November 77 helps the Barbizon Hotel for Women celebrate its 50th anniversary by narrating a 1920s fashion show
? the Bushes reside in West Hollywood, California
? develops difficulty in walking properly, but not because of any known illness
16 April 91 becomes the widow of Bush who dies at age 65 in Los Angeles
19 October 06 dies at age 79 at the Motion Picture and Television Hospital in Woodland Hills, California, from post cerebral aneurysm. She is survived by her sister Megan Kirk Flax and two stepdaughters.
? is cremated and interred in Arlington National Cemetery next to Bush

Sources:
I Was a Monster Movie Maker by Tom Weaver, Modern Screen, Screen Portraits, Chronicle-Telegram, Syracuse Post-Standard, The Oneonta Daily Star, Waterloo Sunday Courier, The Delta Democrat-Times, Traverse City Record-Eagle, The Charleston Gazette, The Monessen Daily Independent, Olean Times Herald, The Burlington Daily Times-News, Dixon Evening Telegraph, The Lowell Sun, The Modesto Bee, East Liverpool Review, Humboldt Standard, Valley Morning Star, Nevada State Journal, The Era, Redlands Daily Facts, The Zanesville Signal, Joplin Globe, The Great Bend Daily Tribune, Mansfield News-Journal, Syracuse Herald-Journal, Chronicle-Telegram, Kingsport News, The Hammond Times, The Lima News, Van Nuys News, Charleston Daily Mail, Oakland Tribune, Long Beach Press-Telegram, The Vidette-Messenger, The Independent, The Palladium-Times, Reno Evening Gazette, Independent Star-News, The Times Recorder, The Pasadena Independent, Long Beach Independent Press-Telegram, San Francisco Chronicle, www.Ancestry.com
Recommended Books:
I Was a Monster Movie Maker by Tom Weaver
Links:

[Wendigo]

The Twilight Zone s1 e36 - A World of His Own
Episode aired July 1, 1960
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0734553/