Biography

Phyllis Kirk

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Of Danish descent and born in Syracuse, New York, Phyllis Kirk worked as a waitress and a perfume counter clerk before she began a modeling career. Stage roles ensued before Hollywood beckoned. She was a contract player at MGM and then Warner Brothers, where in her most famous role she was stalked by maniacal sculptor Vincent Price in House of Wax (1953). Kirk's talents were better showcased on the small screen, where she had dramatic roles on many prestigious series and consequently made the covers of TV Guide and Life magazines. Probably her best-known TV role was Nora Charles, the daffy, fast-talking wife of Peter Lawford on The Thin Man (1957). During her acting career, she also worked as an interviewer and writer for the ACLU. After her final roles in the 1970s, she went to work in public relations before retiring.
- IMDb mini biography by: Tom Weaver <TomWeavr@aol.com>

After the 1965 Watts race riots, she helped fund two preschool programs for poor families in the South Los Angeles neighborhood.
Known for being outspoken, Phyllis worked with the American Civil Liberties Union to campaign against capital punishment in the late 1950s. Before the California Assembly, she spoke against the death sentence of Caryl Chessman, nicknamed the "Red Light Bandit," who had been convicted on seventeen counts of kidnapping, robbery, rape and sexual assault. She visited him in prison several times before he was executed in 1960. The notoriety effectively led to the end of her acting career.
Became a publicist for CBS News.
Retired from acting in the 1970s.
Probably best remembered on series TV for playing stylish Nora Charles to Peter Lawford's sleuth Nick on The Thin Man (1957) for which she received an Emmy nomination. The series was loosely based on the classic series of films starring Myrna Loy and William Powell.

[on Bryan Foy, the producer of House of Wax (1953)] . . . he was just a divine old curmudgeon. That's exactly what he was, with a hellish reputation for being impossible. I got called to his office before anyone had even told me that I was going to be in that film, and he looked at me long and hard and said, "Wellll, Miss Kirk, we're giving you this part because you're the only intelligent actress I know that I can stand."

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