Advanced search
- TITLES
- NAMES
- COLLABORATIONS
Search filters
Enter full date
to
or just enter yyyy, or yyyy-mm below
to
Only includes names with the selected topics
to
or just enter yyyy, or yyyy-mm below
to
1-15 of 15
- Actress
- Soundtrack
This warm and winning, very non-theatrical brunette was born Phyllis St. Felix Thaxter in Portland, Maine, on November 20, 1919. The daughter of Maine Supreme Court Justice Sidney Thaxter, her acting talent came from her mother's side, who was a one-time Shakespearean actress. Phyllis was educated for a time at St. Genevieve School in Montreal and back at Portland's Deering High School.
She apprenticed in summer stock and had joined the Montreal Reperatory Theatre company by the time she made her Broadway debut at age 17 in "What a Life!" in 1939, the "Henry Aldrich" play. She went on to play a maid and to understudy the leading ingénue in "There Shall Be No Night" (1940), which starred America's premiere theatrical couple, Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne, then understudied Dorothy McGuire in the hit dramatic play, "Claudia", later that year. She eventually played the title role both on Broadway and on the road, but lost out on the film role to McGuire.
Hollywood films reached her sights a few years later with the MGM war film, Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944), proving quite convincing as Van Johnson's noble wife. Similar to Margaret Sullavan, June Allyson, Dorothy McGuire and Teresa Wright, Phyllis was depended on as a stabilizing factor in melodramas and war pictures, often the dewy-eyed, altruistic wife, girlfriend or daughter waiting on the home-front.
Other important films included the girl with a split personality in Bewitched (1945), and as a angst-ridden, teary-eyed bride-to-be in Week-End at the Waldorf (1945). She was dutifully wholesome as the daughter who reunites Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn in the movie The Sea of Grass (1947) and evoked tears, yet again, as little Margaret O'Brien's mother in Tenth Avenue Angel (1948). So natural and non-glamorous was she that she tended to blend into the woodwork while the flashier actresses often stole the thunder and the notices.
Audiences did not always fully appreciate Phyllis's understated work. She finished out her MGM contract with Act of Violence (1948), ever-faithful to even the bad guy, this time psychotic gangster Robert Ryan. Phyllis moved to Warner Brothers in the 1950s and played more of the same. The ever-patient wife to a slew of top actors including shady boat skipper John Garfield in The Breaking Point (1950), an alcoholic Gig Young in Come Fill the Cup (1951) and law-abiding Gary Cooper in Springfield Rifle (1952), her nascent career at Warners was suddenly curtailed by illness.
While visiting her family in Portland, she contracted a form of infantile paralysis. Fortunately, she recovered quickly but the ailment triggered the termination of her contract. Film roles were few and far between after this. Still displaying her built-in compassion and concern, her best-known part came with the touching but relatively minor role of farm wife "Martha Kent" in the highly popular Superman (1978) film series with the late Christopher Reeve as her adopted superhero son and Glenn Ford as her husband. She was also a steady guest star on TV with numerous dramatic appearances including The Twilight Zone (1959), The F.B.I. (1965), Cannon (1971), Medical Center (1969), Barnaby Jones (1973) and several TV movies.
Married for nearly two decades to James T. Aubrey (1918-1994), who became president of CBS-TV before taking over MGM, they had three children--including Schuyler, who would become the actress Skye Aubrey. Following the couple's divorce in 1962, Phyllis married Gilbert Lea, who owned Tower Publishing Company in Portland. They eventually retired to Cumberland, Maine, where she involved herself in civic/community activities and dedicated herself to hospital volunteer work.
Phyllis died in Florida on August 14, 2012, at age 92.- Actor
- Writer
- Soundtrack
At 14, Ron Palillo (born Ronald Gabriel Paolillo) started his own summer theater in Cheshire, Connecticut. His parents, Gabriel and Carmel Paolillo, were surprised when the summer theater actually made money. After graduating from high school, Ron went to the University of Connecticut at Storrs, where he majored in drama. He appeared in many school plays in college. After graduation, Ron got a job with a touring company which performed in Shakespearean plays. He claimed to have received invaluable drama training during that tour, acting in Shakespearean masterpieces like "Macbeth", "The Taming of the Shrew" and "A Midsummer Night's Dream".
After his Shakespearean tour, Ron became a member of a repertory company in Miami, Florida. Shortly after arriving in New York, Ron got a role in the off-Broadway success "Hot l Baltimore." He stayed with the show for over a year. Because of his work in "Hot L Baltimore". Ron was given a lead role in a musical special, "The Last Sweet Days of Isaac", on television. After Isaac, he once again went on tour and appeared with Mickey Rooney in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and with Jan Sterling in a serious play, "Summer Brave". He has two brothers and a sister. His elder brother, Richard Paolillo, is an eye surgeon, his brother Robert Paolillo, is a salesman and his sister Ann, became a teacher.- Anna Orso was born on 11 December 1938 in Naples, Italy. She was an actress, known for The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004), The Good Thief (1980) and La prima legge di Newton (2012). She died on 14 August 2012 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.
- Rosemary Rice was born on 2 May 1925 in Montclair, New Jersey, USA. She was an actress, known for Mama (1949), The Edge of Night (1956) and Kraft Theatre (1947). She was married to John B. Merrell. She died on 14 August 2012 in Stamford, Connecticut, USA.
- Director
- Writer
- Editor
Biplab Roy Chowdhury was born on 6 October 1942 in Calcutta, Bengal Presidency, British India. He was a director and writer, known for Nirbachana (1994), Spandan (1982) and Aranya Rodana (1992). He died on 14 August 2012 in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.- Jocelyn Page was born on 23 July 1925 in Dawlish, Devon, England, UK. She was an actress, known for BBC Sunday-Night Theatre (1950), World Theatre (1959) and BBC Sunday-Night Play (1960). She was married to Stephen Hancock. She died on 14 August 2012 in England, UK.
- Walter Fiedler was born on 23 September 1931 in Germany. He was an actor, known for Tatort (1970), Alarm in den Bergen (1965) and Ein Guru kommt (1980). He died on 14 August 2012 in Munich, Germany.
- After success in Sydney as a young Hamlet, and including featuring in the film directed by Charles Chauvel, "Sons of Matthew," he moved to England where he appeared in rep before moving to London for TV and the Old Vic., returning to Australia in the 1960s with fellow actor Fernande Glynne,(stage name) whom he married whilst in England. Unhappy with the state of theatre in Australia, he started the Australian Theatre for Young People with Alastair Duncan and Eleanor Whitcombe, and then moved to Tasmania to create the Tasmanian theatre company with the aim of employing Australian actors to perform Australian plays in repertory. He married Tasmania born actor Gillian Hunter . When support for the arts was withdrawn, due to changes at the federal level, he turned the TTC into an entrepreneurial venture, and later combined this with managing the Theatre Royal in Hobart. He had three sons, Michael, David and James
- Producer
- Director
- Additional Crew
Al Rabin was born on 26 January 1936 in Waukegan, Illinois, USA. He was a producer and director, known for Days of Our Lives (1965), Sanford and Son (1972) and Guiding Light (1952). He died on 14 August 2012 in California, USA.- Lucius Reichling was born on 8 March 1947 in Berlin, Germany. He died on 14 August 2012 in Hamburg, Germany.
- Sidonia Blasinska was born on 20 December 1932 in Lódz, Lódzkie, Second Polish Republic [now Lódz, Lódzkie, Poland]. She died on 14 August 2012 in Poznan, Wielkopolskie, Poland.
- Svetozar Gligoric was born on 2 February 1923 in Belgrade, Serbia. He was an actor, known for Kad sam bio mali (1964), Mali program (1977) and Sunce na pocinku (1992). He was married to Danica. He died on 14 August 2012 in Belgrade, Serbia.
- Art Department
- Costume and Wardrobe Department
Remy Charlip was born on 10 January 1929 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. He is known for Great Performances: Dance in America (1976), Frames of Reference (1978) and Artists in Exile: A Story of Modern Dance in San Francisco (2000). He died on 14 August 2012 in San Francisco, California, USA.- Ontario Sneed was born on 27 August 1986 in Decatur, Illinois, USA. He died on 14 August 2012 in Clinton, Illinois, USA.
- Sergey Kapitsa was born on 14 February 1928 in Cambridge, England, UK. He died on 14 August 2012 in Moscow, Russia.