Phyllis Kirk (born Phyllis Kirkgaard;
[ September 18, 1927 October 19, 2006) was an American actress.
]
Early life
Kirk was born in Syracuse, New York
Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffa ...
, although some sources state her birthplace as Plainfield, New Jersey
Plainfield is a city in Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, known by its nickname as "The Queen City." . She contracted polio
Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe s ...
as a child, which resulted in health problems for the rest of her life. Kirk grew up in and graduated from Battin High School.["Murray's Niece Appears in Film"]
''Courier News
The ''Courier News'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Somerville, New Jersey, that serves Somerset County and other areas of Central Jersey. The paper has been owned by Gannett since 1927.
Notable employees
* John Curley, former pre ...
'', October 25, 1950. Accessed February 9, 2022, via Newspapers.com
Ancestry.com LLC is an American genealogy company based in Lehi, Utah. The largest for-profit genealogy company in the world, it operates a network of genealogical, historical records, and related genetic genealogy websites.
In November 2018, ...
. "A niece of Police Capt. and Mrs. Patrick J. Murray. 7 Jefferson Ave., appears in the motion picture ''Our Very Own'', now showing at the Strand Theater. She is Phyllis Kirk, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Theodore Kirkgaard of Elizabeth, a graduate of Battin High School in Elizabeth, and a former Conover model."
Career
As a teenager, Kirk moved to New York City to study acting and changed her last name from Kirkegaard to Kirk. She began her career 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 ...
before embarking on a television and film career. Among 1949 stage appearances were ''My Name is Aquilon'' in New York and the road company of ''Present Laughter'' before beginning her long-term contract with Samuel Goldwyn in Hollywood that summer.
Kirk is best known for her many roles throughout the 1950s. She appeared with Vincent Price
Vincent Leonard Price Jr. (May 27, 1911 – October 25, 1993) was an American actor, art historian, art collector and gourmet cook. He appeared on stage, television, and radio, and in more than 100 films. Price has two stars on the Hollywood Wal ...
in the 3-D horror film '' House of Wax'' (1953). Her most notable television role was opposite Peter Lawford
Peter Sydney Ernest Lawford ( Aylen; 7 September 1923 – 24 December 1984) was an English-American actor.Obituary ''Variety'', 26 December 1984.
He was a member of the " Rat Pack" and the brother-in-law of US president John F. Kennedy and sen ...
in ''The Thin Man
''The Thin Man'' (1934) is a detective novel by Dashiell Hammett, originally published in a condensed version in the December 1933 issue of ''Redbook''. It appeared in book form the following month. A film series followed, featuring the main cha ...
'' (19571959), wherein they played Nick and Nora Charles
Nick and Nora Charles are fictional characters created by Dashiell Hammett in his novel ''The Thin Man''. The characters were later adapted for film in a series of films between 1934 and 1947; for radio from 1941 to 1950; for television from 1957 ...
. A newspaper columnist described what distinguished Kirk's role in the program: " 's her brains that keep her flying high on 'The Thin Man' series."[ ]
She also appeared with Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis (born Joseph Levitch; March 16, 1926 – August 20, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, singer, filmmaker and humanitarian. As his contributions to comedy and charity made him a global figure in popular culture, pop culture ...
in his 1957 film '' The Sad Sack'' and the 1956 film ''Back from Eternity
''Back from Eternity'' is a 1956 American drama film about a planeload of people stranded in the South American jungle and subsequently menaced by headhunters. The film stars Robert Ryan, Rod Steiger, Anita Ekberg and Gene Barry. The film is a ...
''. Kirk was a regular on ''The Red Buttons
Red Buttons (born Aaron Chwatt; February 5, 1919 – July 13, 2006) was an American actor and comedian. He won an Oscar and a Golden Globe for his supporting role in the 1957 film '' Sayonara''. He was nominated for awards for his acting work ...
Show'' and appeared as a guest on some television programs, including an episode of ''The Twilight Zone
''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, su ...
'' ("A World of His Own
"A World of His Own" is episode thirty-six of the American television anthology series ''The Twilight Zone''. It was the last episode of the show's first season and essentially comedic in tone. It originally aired on July 1, 1960, on CBS.
Openin ...
"). As her acting career slowed down, Kirk began serving as an activist for various social causes. She vocally opposed death row
Death row, also known as condemned row, is a place in a prison that houses inmates awaiting Capital punishment, execution after being convicted of a capital crime and sentenced to death. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of ...
inmate Caryl Chessman
Caryl Whittier Chessman (May 27, 1921 – May 2, 1960) was a convicted robber, kidnapper and serial rapist who was sentenced to death for a series of crimes committed in January 1948 in the Los Angeles area. Chessman was charged with 17 counts a ...
's death sentence and visited Chessman in prison until his execution in 1960. After the Watts Riots in 1965, she funded preschool programs for underprivileged families in South Los Angeles
South Los Angeles, also known as South Central Los Angeles or simply South Central, is a region in southwestern Los Angeles County, lying mostly within the city limits of Los Angeles, south of downtown.
It is "defined on Los Angeles city maps as ...
.[
She granted interviews and wrote for the ]American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...
newspaper. Kirk made her last onscreen appearance in a 1970 episode of ''The F.B.I.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...
'' before leaving show business altogether to enter public relations
Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. P ...
. She worked as a publicist for CBS News
CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio service CBS. CBS News television programs include the ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs '' CBS News Sunday Morning'', '' 60 Minutes'', and '' 48 H ...
, and retired in 1992.[ ]
Personal life
Kirk's marriage to television producer
A television producer is a person who oversees one or more aspects of video production on a television show, television program. Some producers take more of an executive role, in that they conceive new programs and pitch them to the television net ...
and screenwriter
A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based.
...
Warren Bush was announced in the press in early 1967, and lasted until his death in 1992.[ A ]Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
, she attended the 1960 Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
.
On October 19, 2006, Kirk died of a cerebral aneurysm
An intracranial aneurysm, also known as a brain aneurysm, is a cerebrovascular disorder in which weakness in the wall of a cerebral artery or vein causes a localized dilation or ballooning of the blood vessel.
Aneurysms in the posterior circul ...
at age 79 in Woodland Hills, California
Woodland Hills is a neighborhood bordering the Santa Monica Mountains in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California.
Geography
Woodland Hills is in the southwestern region of the San Fernando Valley, which is located east of Ca ...
. She was buried with her husband Warren Bush at Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...
in Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
.
Filmography
Film
Television
Award nominations
References
External links
*
*
*
Obituary
on the Los Angeles Daily News
The ''Los Angeles Daily News'' is the second-largest-circulating paid daily newspaper of Los Angeles, California. It is the flagship of the Southern California News Group, a branch of Colorado-based Digital First Media.
The offices of the ''Dai ...
Freedom From Fear
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This I believe
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The Astounding B Monster
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Glamour_Girls_of_the_Silver_Screen
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Kirk,_Phyllis
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Kirk, Phyllis
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Kirk, Phyllis
1927 births
2006 deaths
American film actresses
American stage actresses
American television actresses
20th-century American actresses
Actresses from Syracuse, New York
Burials at Arlington National Cemetery
People from Elizabeth, New Jersey
People with polio
Deaths from intracranial aneurysm
New York (state) Democrats
California Democrats
21st-century American women