Vale – Phyllis Thaxter

The woman who essayed Clark Kent’s mother in Richard Donner’s seminal comic-book flick Superman: The Movie, has passed away. Phyllis Thaxter, who portrayed Martha Kent opposite Glenn Ford’s portrayal of Clark’s adoptive human father Jonathan, trod the boards on Broadway during the 30’s before snagging a contract with MGM in the mid-40’s. Her first big-screen role came in Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo, released in 1944, and she went on to portray the solid female lead in a number of projects including The Sea Of Grass, Blood On The Moon, Wagon Train and The World of Henry Orient. Struck down with poliomyelitis in the 50’s, Thaxter’s career stalled, before she returned to prominence in television and several films, including Superman. Among her television appearances came episodes of Rawhide, The Twilight Zone and Alfred Hitchcock Presents.

Ms Thaxter passed away on August 14th, after a lengthy battle with Alzheimers. She was 92.

Who wrote this?

Rodney Twelftree

“Some people say I like films. Those people are wrong. I *love* films.” – Me. I said this.

Rodney has been writing about films for well over two decades, appreciates a good wine, the love of his wife and kids, and the affection of his dog and cats. He has a fondness of cheesy 90’s action and classic Hollywood, hates that physical media is disappearing, and wishes somebody would make a high-budget series of The Neverending Story.

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