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Phyllis Brooks

Phyllis Brooks

Actor

Born July 18, 1915 in Boise, Idaho, USA

Died August 1, 1995

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Biography

Phyllis Brooks was an American actress and model. Brooks was born Phyllis Seiler in Boise, Idaho on July 18, 1915. She began her career in films at age 20, and had been known as the "Ipana Toothpaste Girl" due to her work as a model. Brooks, who had about 30 performances in films, was a B-movie leading lady during the 1930s and 1940s, with roles in such films as In Old Chicago (1937), Little Miss Broadway (1938), and the Shanghai Gesture (1941). In the late 1930s, she dated Cary Grant, who called her Brooksie, and rumors that the two would be married were circulated. Brooks, something of a socialite, also dated Howard Hughes.

Along with fellow actress Una Merkel, and accompanied by noted actor Gary Cooper, Phyllis was the first civilian woman to travel to the Pacific Theater of War during World War II, on a USO tour. She was married to Torbert Macdonald, an 11-term Massachusetts Congressman who was John F. Kennedy's roommate at Harvard, and who remained a close friend and confidante throughout his life. She moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts with her new husband in 1945 so he could complete his Harvard Law degree. Congressman Macdonald had been a Harvard football captain and a decorated PT boat captain in World War II. He died in office in 1976.

Phyllis continued performing in summer stock theater after her marriage, and hosted the first television interview program in Boston in the early 1950s (on WBZ-TV). She retired from public performances after that, concentrating on raising her family. The couple had four children, the eldest of whom was President Kennedy's godson. She died on August 1, 1995 in Cape Neddick, Maine at the age of 80.

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ZO - Short Film

Filmography

Actor

38

Type

Year

ZO Short Film2024

Suspense Poster

Suspense TV Series1949Marjorie Standish

High Powered Poster

High Powered Feature Film1945Marian Blair

The Unseen Poster

The Unseen Feature Film1945Maxine

Dangerous Passage Poster

Dangerous Passage Feature Film1944Nita Paxton

Lady in the Dark Poster

Lady in the Dark Feature Film1944Allison DuBois

Wilson Feature Film1944Granddaughter

Hi Ya, Sailor Poster

Hi Ya, Sailor Feature Film1943Nanette

No Place for a Lady Poster

No Place for a Lady Feature Film1943Dolly Adair

Silver Spurs Poster

Silver Spurs Feature Film1943Mary Hardigan

The Shanghai Gesture Poster

The Shanghai Gesture Feature Film1941The Chorus Girl

The Flying Squad Poster

The Flying Squad Feature Film1940Ann Perryman

Charlie Chan in Reno Poster

Charlie Chan in Reno Feature Film1939Vivian Wells

Lucky to Me Poster

Lucky to Me Feature Film1939Pamela Stuart

Slightly Honorable Poster

Slightly Honorable Feature Film1939Sarilla Cushing

Charlie Chan in Honolulu Poster

Charlie Chan in Honolulu Feature Film1938Judy Hayes

City Girl Poster

City Girl Feature Film1938Ellen Ward

In Old Chicago Poster

In Old Chicago Feature Film1938Ann Colby

Little Miss Broadway Poster

Little Miss Broadway Feature Film1938Barbara Shea

Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm Poster

Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm Feature Film1938Lola Lee

Screen Snapshots Series 18, No. 4 Short Film1938Self

Straight Place and Show Poster

Straight Place and Show Feature Film1938Barbara 'Babs' Drake

Up the River Poster

Up the River Feature Film1938Helen Lindsay

Walking Down Broadway Poster

Walking Down Broadway Feature Film1938Vicki Stone

Ali Baba Goes to Town Poster

Ali Baba Goes to Town Feature Film1937Phyllis Brooks - at Premiere

Dangerously Yours Poster

Dangerously Yours Feature Film1937Valerie Barton

Sunday Night at the Trocadero Poster

Sunday Night at the Trocadero Short Film1937Phyllis Brooks

You Can't Have Everything Poster

You Can't Have Everything Feature Film1937Evelyn Moore

Follow the Fleet Poster

Follow the Fleet Feature Film1936Minor Role

Another Face Poster

Another Face Feature Film1935Sheila Barry

Foolish Hearts Short Film1935Gloria Seabury

I've Been Around Poster

I've Been Around Feature Film1935Gay Blackstone

Lady Tubbs Poster

Lady Tubbs Feature Film1935Debutante

McFadden's Flats Poster

McFadden's Flats Feature Film1935Mary Ellis Hall

To Beat the Band Poster

To Beat the Band Feature Film1935Rowena

One Exciting Adventure Poster

One Exciting Adventure Feature Film1934Minor Role

Strange Wives Poster

Strange Wives Feature Film1934The Actress

The Man Who Reclaimed His Head Poster

The Man Who Reclaimed His Head Feature Film1934Secretary

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