Phyllis Povah
Encyclopedia
Phyllis Povah was an American stage and film actress.
Povah made her Broadway theatre
debut in Mr. Pim Passes By in 1921 and acted in minor roles in several productions over the next two decades. She achieved a notable success in a featured role in the stage production of The Women, and the play ran for 18 months, from 1936 until 1938. When a film version was planned, Povah and Marjorie Main
were the only members of the cast who were chosen to reprise their roles in the film which was released in 1939. (The film was directed by George Cukor
).
The film was a success, but Povah continued to work steadily in theatre, and appeared in the film Let's Face It (1943) with Bob Hope
and Betty Hutton
. Dear Ruth, in which Povah starred with John Dall
and Virginia Gilmore
played on Broadway from 1944 until 1946, and provided her with a substantial role and her biggest success during the 1940s. She made two films in 1952, The Marrying Kind
with Judy Holliday
and Aldo Ray
, and Pat and Mike
with Spencer Tracy
and Katharine Hepburn
, both directed by George Cukor
.
Her final Broadway role was in Anniversary Waltz with MacDonald Carey
and Kitty Carlisle in 1954 and 1955. The film version, retitled Happy Anniversary (1959) and costarring David Niven
and Mitzi Gaynor
, was her final film.
in Port Washington, New York
, aged 82.
Povah made her Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
debut in Mr. Pim Passes By in 1921 and acted in minor roles in several productions over the next two decades. She achieved a notable success in a featured role in the stage production of The Women, and the play ran for 18 months, from 1936 until 1938. When a film version was planned, Povah and Marjorie Main
Marjorie Main
Marjorie Main was an American character actress, mainly at MGM, perhaps best known for her role as Ma Kettle in a series of ten Ma and Pa Kettle movies.-Early life and career:...
were the only members of the cast who were chosen to reprise their roles in the film which was released in 1939. (The film was directed by George Cukor
George Cukor
George Dewey Cukor was an American film director. He mainly concentrated on comedies and literary adaptations. His career flourished at RKO and later MGM, where he directed What Price Hollywood? , A Bill of Divorcement , Dinner at Eight , Little Women , David Copperfield , Romeo and Juliet and...
).
The film was a success, but Povah continued to work steadily in theatre, and appeared in the film Let's Face It (1943) with Bob Hope
Bob Hope
Bob Hope, KBE, KCSG, KSS was a British-born American comedian and actor who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in radio, television and movies. He was also noted for his work with the US Armed Forces and his numerous USO shows entertaining American military personnel...
and Betty Hutton
Betty Hutton
Betty Hutton was an American stage, film, and television actress, comedienne and singer.-Early life:Hutton was born Elizabeth June Thornburg, daughter of a railroad foreman, Percy E. Thornburg and his wife, the former Mabel Lum . While she was very young, her father abandoned the family for...
. Dear Ruth, in which Povah starred with John Dall
John Dall
John Dall was an American actor.Primarily a stage actor, he is best remembered today for two film roles; the cool-minded intellectual killer in Alfred Hitchcock's film Rope, and the trigger-happy lead in the 1950 noir Gun Crazy.He first came to fame as the young prodigy who comes alive under the...
and Virginia Gilmore
Virginia Gilmore
Virginia Gilmore was an American film, stage, and television actress.-Biography:Virginia Gilmore was born as Sherman Virginia Poole in El Monte, California. Her father was a retired officer of the British Army. Gilmore began her stage career in San Francisco at the age of 15, but moved to Los...
played on Broadway from 1944 until 1946, and provided her with a substantial role and her biggest success during the 1940s. She made two films in 1952, The Marrying Kind
The Marrying Kind
The Marrying Kind is a film directed by George Cukor, starring Aldo Ray and Judy Holliday. Other cast members include John Alexander, Charles Bronson, Peggy Cass, Barry Curtis, Tom Farrell, Frank Ferguson, Ruth Gordon , Gordon Jones, Madge Kennedy, Nancy Kulp, Mickey Shaughnessy, and Joan...
with Judy Holliday
Judy Holliday
Judy Holliday was an American actress.Holliday began her career as part of a night-club act, before working in Broadway plays and musicals...
and Aldo Ray
Aldo Ray
Aldo Ray was an American actor.-Life and career:Ray was born in Pen Argyl, PA, to an Italian family of five brothers and one sister. His brother Mario lettered in football at USC in the years 1952-54...
, and Pat and Mike
Pat and Mike
Pat and Mike is a 1952 comedy starring Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy. The movie was directed by George Cukor, who also directed The Philadelphia Story and Adam's Rib.- Plot :...
with Spencer Tracy
Spencer Tracy
Spencer Bonaventure Tracy was an American theatrical and film actor, who appeared in 75 films from 1930 to 1967. Tracy was one of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, ranking among the top ten box office draws for almost every year from 1938 to 1951...
and Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Houghton Hepburn was an American actress of film, stage, and television. In a career that spanned 62 years as a leading lady, she was best known for playing strong-willed, sophisticated women in both dramas and comedies...
, both directed by George Cukor
George Cukor
George Dewey Cukor was an American film director. He mainly concentrated on comedies and literary adaptations. His career flourished at RKO and later MGM, where he directed What Price Hollywood? , A Bill of Divorcement , Dinner at Eight , Little Women , David Copperfield , Romeo and Juliet and...
.
Her final Broadway role was in Anniversary Waltz with MacDonald Carey
Macdonald Carey
Edward Macdonald Carey was an American actor, best known for his role as the patriarch Dr. Tom Horton on NBC's soap opera Days of our Lives...
and Kitty Carlisle in 1954 and 1955. The film version, retitled Happy Anniversary (1959) and costarring David Niven
David Niven
James David Graham Niven , known as David Niven, was a British actor and novelist, best known for his roles as Phileas Fogg in Around the World in 80 Days and Sir Charles Lytton, a.k.a. "the Phantom", in The Pink Panther...
and Mitzi Gaynor
Mitzi Gaynor
-Life and career:Gaynor was born as Francesca Marlene de Czanyi von Gerber in Chicago, Illinois to Pauline Fisher, a dancer, and Henry von Gerber, a violinist, cellist, and music director. The family first moved to Detroit and when she was eleven to Hollywood, California.She trained as a ballerina...
, was her final film.
Death
She died from a heart attackMyocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
in Port Washington, New York
Port Washington, New York
Port Washington is a hamlet and census-designated place in Nassau County, New York on the North Shore of Long Island. As of the United States 2010 Census, the community population was 15,846....
, aged 82.