Sunday, October 22, 2006

Phyllis Kirk, R. I. P.


WRAL.com - AP Entertainment News - 'House Of Wax' Actress Kirk Dies At 79: "LOS ANGELES -- Phyllis Kirk, who played the raven-haired beauty stalked by Vincent Price in the 1950s horror film 'House of Wax,' has died. She was 79.

Kirk died Thursday of a post cerebral aneurysm at the Motion Picture and Television Hospital in Woodland Hills, said her publicist, Dale Olson.

Born Phyllis Kirkegaard in Plainfield, N.J., she moved to New York City in her late teens to study acting and shortened her last name to Kirk. She appeared in several Broadway plays before moving to Hollywood, where she co-starred with such leading men as Frank Sinatra ('Johnny Concho') and Jerry Lewis ('The Sad Sack').

She gained the most attention for her role in 'House of Wax' because it was the first major 3-D movie.

Kirk later worked in television, memorably playing Peter Lawford's wife in the series 'The Thin Man.' She was also a regular on 'The Red Buttons Show' and hosted the ABC talk show 'The Young Set.'"

I was hugely impressed with House of Wax, which I've seen in 3-D a couple of times, but I remember Kirk best from The Thin Man on TV and also from The Red Buttons Show, which was a favorite of mine.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

My all-time favorite TV actress: gorgeous, wildly sophisticated (she dated Mort Sahl, for heaven's sake!), witty and bright. I'll miss her.

Bill Drennan
Baraboo, WI

Unknown said...

At least Sahl's still around.

Anonymous said...

One of Hollywood's most beautiful women. Talented sophisticated, talented, oh and did I say beautiful. classy, and oh so much more.