Phyllis Kennedy

Phyllis Kennedy
Kennedy in Love Affair (1939)
Born	(1914-06-16)June 16, 1914 Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Died	December 29, 1998(1998-12-29) (aged 84) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting place	Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1932–1968
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Paul Card Howell (m. 1944; died 1994)
Children	2

Phyllis Kennedy (June 16, 1914 – December 29, 1998) was an American film actress.

Early life

She was born on June 16, 1914, in Detroit, Michigan. Following her high school graduation in 1932, she got employment as a clothes model in a local department store. During her modeling period, one of her friends recommended that she try her hand at acting. She began her acting career on the New York stage in a small role in a 1935 production of Jane Eyre. Soon, she decided to try her hand in the film industry. Around 1935, she broke her back while dancing in a show in Denver and was told she would never dance again.^[1] Two years later, she was able to dance again.^[2]

Hollywood years

Kennedy was noticed by Ginger Rogers when she performed as a chorus girl in Shall We Dance?^[3] She did some comedy dances for Rogers offstage, which impressed the other actress.^[4]^[5] This relationship led to her being cast as a maid in Stage Door with Rogers and Katharine Hepburn.^[3] She was eventually signed onto RKO Radio.^[6] She then began getting parts in films playing dimwitted servants; most notably in such films as Vivacious Lady (1938), Mother Carey's Chickens (1938), Love Affair (1939), East Side of Heaven (1939), and Anne of Windy Poplars (1940).

Well into the 1940s Kennedy made over twenty film appearances although a lot of her film roles were uncredited. In later years she made appearances on shows like the Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour, The Missourians, and The Lone Ranger. She also appeared as an uncredited Cockney in the film My Fair Lady (1964). Her last screen appearance was in Finian's Rainbow in 1968 in an uncredited role.

Later years and personal life

Kennedy was a Methodist^[7] and a registered Republican who supported Dwight Eisenhower's campaign during the 1952 presidential election.^[8]

Kennedy's cremains were scattered into the Garden of Roses at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery.^[9]

Partial filmography

Stage Door (1937) - Maid^[10]
Vivacious Lady (1938)^[6]
Mother Carey's Chickens (1938)^[11] - Annabelle^[12]
Love Affair (1939)^[13]
East Side of Heaven (1939)^[14]
Laugh Your Blues Away (1942) - Patricia Conklin^[15]
Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)^[16] - (uncredited)
An American Romance (1944) - Receptionist^[17]
The Heavenly Body (1944) - Maid^[18]
Faithful in My Fashion (1946) - Secretary^[19]
Chicago Deadline (1949) - Maid^[20]
A Dangerous Profession (1949) - Maid^[21]

References

Citations

^ "'Stage Door' House Maid Gets Break". The Tampa Tribune. December 5, 1937. p. 43. Retrieved October 24, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Windfall". Oakland Tribune. November 28, 1937. p. 44. Retrieved October 24, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
^ ^a ^b "Phyllis Kennedy, a chorus girl in". Chicago Tribune. June 11, 1937. p. 27. Retrieved October 24, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Chorine Phyllis Kennedy". Oakland Tribune. July 11, 1937. p. 56. Retrieved October 24, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Ginger Rogers has become the idol of Phyllis". The Sydney Morning Herald. August 24, 1937. p. 28. Retrieved October 24, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
^ ^a ^b "Phyllis Kennedy Signed for 'Vivacious Lady'". The Baltimore Sun. December 5, 1937. p. 51. Retrieved October 24, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Morning News, January 10, 1948, Who Was Who in America (Vol. 2)
^ Motion Picture and Television Magazine, November 1952, page 34, Ideal Publishers
^ Wilson, Scott. Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed.: 2 (Kindle Locations 25047-25048). McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. Kindle Edition.
^ "Little Chorus Dancer Blooms as Comedienne". Hartford Courant. June 13, 1937. p. 19. Retrieved October 24, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Fay Bainter in 'Mother Carey's Chickens'". The Los Angeles Times. April 25, 1938. p. 11. Retrieved October 24, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Hippodrome". The Mercury. September 12, 1938. p. 6. Retrieved October 24, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Movieland Jottings and Castings". The Los Angeles Times. November 5, 1938. p. 25. Retrieved October 24, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "The Movie Lots Beg to Report". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. March 7, 1939. p. 17. Retrieved October 24, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Tinee, Mae (November 23, 1942). "It Seems Almost Certain Mae Didn't Like This Picture". Chicago Tribune. p. 20. Retrieved October 24, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Add to Cohan Film". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. December 30, 1941. p. 6. Retrieved October 24, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
^ AFI 1999, p. 68.
^ "House Maids Galore!". The Miami News. May 25, 1943. p. 4. Retrieved October 24, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
^ AFI 1999, p. 711.
^ AFI 1999, p. 414-415.
^ AFI 1999, p. 544.