Phoebe Foster (born Angeline Egar; July 9, 1896 – June 1975) was an American theater and film actress.

Career

Foster studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. She began appearing on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

in 1914, starting with a production of Roi Cooper Megrue's ''Under Cover''. Her subsequent Broadway appearances included ''The Cinderella Man'' (1916), ''Three's a Crowd'' (1919), '' Captain Applejack'' (1921), ''

The Jazz Singer ''The Jazz Singer'' is a 1927 American musical drama film directed by Alan Crosland. It is the first feature-length motion picture with both synchronized recorded music score as well as lip-synchronous singing and speech (in several isolate ...

'' (1925), and ''Topaze'' (1930). After appearing in a couple of short films, in 1931 she made her feature film debut in

George Cukor George Dewey Cukor (; July 7, 1899 – January 24, 1983) was an American film director and film producer. He mainly concentrated on comedies and literary adaptations. His career flourished at RKO when David O. Selznick, the studio's Head ...

's ''

Tarnished Lady ''Tarnished Lady'' is a 1931 American pre-Code drama film directed by George Cukor and starring Tallulah Bankhead and Clive Brook. The screenplay by Donald Ogden Stewart is based on his short story, ''A Story of a New York Lady''. Plot Nancy ...

'' alongside

Tallulah Bankhead Tallulah Brockman Bankhead (January 31, 1902 – December 12, 1968) was an American actress. Primarily an actress of the stage, Bankhead also appeared in several prominent films including an award-winning performance in Alfred Hitchcock's '' L ...

. That same year she also appeared in

Edmund Goulding Edmund Goulding (20 March 1891 – 24 December 1959) was a British screenwriter and film director. As an actor early in his career he was one of the 'Ghosts' in the 1922 silent film '' Three Live Ghosts'' alongside Norman Kerry and Cyril Chadwi ...

's ''

The Night Angel ''The Night Angel'' is a 1931 American pre-Code drama film written and directed by Edmund Goulding. The film stars Nancy Carroll, Fredric March, Phoebe Foster, Alison Skipworth and Alan Hale, Sr. The film was released on July 18, 1931, by Paramo ...

'' with

Nancy Carroll Nancy Carroll (born Ann Veronica Lahiff; November 19, 1903 – August 6, 1965) was an American actress. She started her career in Broadway musicals and then became an actress in sound films and was in many films from 1927 to 1938. She was t ...

and

Fredric March Fredric March (born Ernest Frederick McIntyre Bickel; August 31, 1897 – April 14, 1975) was an American actor, regarded as one of Hollywood's most celebrated, versatile stars of the 1930s and 1940s.Obituary '' Variety'', April 16, 1975, ...

. In 1933, she was in the comedies '' Our Betters'' and '' Dinner at Eight'', both directed by Cukor. Two years later she appeared in the Tolstoy adaptation ''

Anna Karenina ''Anna Karenina'' ( rus, «Анна Каренина», p=ˈanːə kɐˈrʲenʲɪnə) is a novel by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy, first published in book form in 1878. Widely considered to be one of the greatest works of literature ever writt ...

'' with

Greta Garbo Greta Garbo (born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson; 18 September 1905 – 15 April 1990) was a Swedish-American actress. Regarded as one of the greatest screen actresses, she was known for her melancholic, somber persona, her film portrayals of tragic ch ...

. In 1935 she also returned to Broadway for the brief run of ''Living Dangerously''. In 1936 she had her first stage appearance in London, starring in a production of ''

Night of January 16th ''Night of January 16th'' (sometimes advertised as ''The Night of January 16th'') is a theatrical play by Russian-American author Ayn Rand, inspired by the death of the "Match King", Ivar Kreuger. Set in a courtroom during a murder trial, an ...

''. Foster's last movie was ''

The Gorgeous Hussy ''The Gorgeous Hussy'' is a 1936 American period film directed by Clarence Brown, and starring Joan Crawford and Robert Taylor. The screenplay was written by Stephen Morehouse Avery and Ainsworth Morgan, which was based on a 1934 novel by Samuel ...

'' in 1936. Her final Broadway production was ''American Landscape'' (1938).

Personal life

Foster was born in 1896 as Angeline Egar (possibly Eager)Sources differ as to whether the family name was spelled 'Egar' or 'Eager'. in Center Harbor, New Hampshire. She was the daughter of Arthur and Emily Egar. Foster married millionaire Harold LeRoy Whitney, heir to an ironworks fortune, on September 12, 1927. Whitney had divorced his previous wife just days before. The couple kept the marriage secret for several days before the press discovered it. They filed for divorce in 1943. Phoebe Foster died in 1975 in Boston, Massachusetts.

Credits

Broadway

*1914: ''Under Cover'' *1915: ''Under Fire'' *1915: ''Back Home'' *1916: ''The Cinderella Man'' *1917: ''The Lassoo'' *1917: ''The Gipsy Trail'' *1918: ''By Pigeon Post'' *1919: ''First is Last'' *1919: ''Three's a Crowd'' *1921: ''Toto'' *1921: '' Captain Applejack'' *1924: ''Garden of Weeds'' *1924: ''High Stakes'' *1925: ''

'' *1926: ''The Donovan Affair'' *1927: ''Interference'' *1929: ''Scotland Yard'' *1929: ''The Amorous Antic'' *1930: ''Topaze'' *1930: ''That's the Woman'' *1930: ''The Truth Game'' *1931: ''Cynara'' *1935: ''Living Dangerously'' *1938: ''Bachelor Born'' *1938: ''American Landscape''

Film

*1919: ''An Honorable Cad'' (Short) *1930: ''Grounds for Murder'' (Short) *1931: ''

'' as Germaine Prentiss *1931: ''

'' as Theresa Masar *1933: '' Our Betters'' as Princess *1933: '' Scarlet River'' as Phoebe Foster (uncredited) *1933: '' Dinner at Eight'' as Miss Alden *1935: ''

'' as Dolly *1935: ''

O'Shaughnessy's Boy ''O'Shaughnessy's Boy'' is a 1935 film starring Wallace Beery and Jackie Cooper and directed by Richard Boleslawski. The picture was partly set in a circus. The cinematographer was James Wong Howe. Plot summary The plot involves a one-armed l ...

'' as Girl on Camel in Parade (uncredited) *1936: '' The White Angel'' as Mrs. Elizabeth Herbert *1936: ''

'' as Emily Donaldson (uncredited) (final film role)

Notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Foster, Phoebe 1896 births 1975 deaths 20th-century American actresses Actresses from New Hampshire American film actresses American stage actresses People from Center Harbor, New Hampshire