Phyllis Kirk

Kirk was born in Syracuse, New York,^[3] although some sources state her birthplace as Plainfield, New Jersey. She contracted polio as a child, which resulted in health problems for the rest of her life.^[4] Kirk grew up in Elizabeth, New Jersey and graduated from Battin High School in 1945.^[1]

As a teenager, Kirk moved to New York City to study acting and shortened her last name from Kirkegaard to Kirk. She began her career on Broadway before embarking on a television and film career.^[5] 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.^[6]

Kirk is best known for her many roles throughout the 1950s. In Two Weeks With Love, she sang and danced with Jane Powell, Richardo Montalban and Debbie Reynolds (1950). She appeared with Vincent Price in the 3D horror film House of Wax (1953), the first major 3D movie. She co-starred as Frank Sinatra's love interest in the western he produced, Johnny Concho (1956).^[7] She replaced Gloria Vanderbilt in the role a week before filming began.^[8]

Her most notable television role was opposite Peter Lawford in The Thin Man (1957–1959), wherein they played Nick and Nora Charles. A newspaper columnist described what distinguished Kirk's role in the program: "[I]t's her brains that keep her flying high on 'The Thin Man' series."^[9] She also received an Emmy nomination as Best Actress in a Leading Role (Continuing Character) in a Dramatic Series in 1959.^[10]

She also appeared with Jerry Lewis in his 1957 film The Sad Sack and the 1956 film Back from Eternity. Kirk was a regular on The Red Buttons Show and appeared as a guest on some television programs, including an episode of The Twilight Zone ("A World of His Own"). As her acting career slowed down, Kirk began serving as an activist for various social causes. She vocally opposed death row inmate Caryl Chessman'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.^[5]

She granted interviews and wrote for the American Civil Liberties Union newspaper. Kirk made her last onscreen appearance in a 1970 episode of The F.B.I. before leaving show business altogether to enter public relations. She worked as a publicist for CBS News, and retired in 1992.^[11]

Kirk's marriage to television producer and screenwriter Warren Bush was announced in the press in early 1967,^[12] and lasted until his death in 1991 at the age of 65.^[13][11] A Democrat, she attended the 1960 Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles, California.^[14]

On October 19, 2006, Kirk died of a cerebral aneurysm at age 79 in Woodland Hills, California.^[15] She was buried with her husband Warren Bush at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.^[16]

• Phyllis Kirk at IMDb
• Phyllis Kirk at the Internet Broadway Database  
• Phyllis Kirk Obituary at Legacy
• Freedom From Fear at This I Believe
• Heroine in the "House" on The Astounding B Monster
• Phyllis Kirk at Glamour Girls of the Silver Screen
• Phyllis Kirk discography at Discogs