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Phyllis Brooks
Actor
Born July 18, 1915Died August 1, 1995 (80 years)
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.
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.
Filmography
| 1949 | Suspense (TV Series) · as Marjorie Standish |
| 1945 | The Unseen · as Maxine |
| 1945 | High Powered · as Marian Blair |
| 1944 | Dangerous Passage · as Nita |
| 1944 | Wilson · as Granddaughter |
| 1944 | Lady in the Dark · as Allison Dubois |
| 1943 | Silver Spurs · as Mary Johnson |
| 1943 | No Place for a Lady · as Dolly Adair |
| 1941 | The Shanghai Gesture · as Dixie Pomeroy |
| 1940 | The Flying Squad · as Ann Perryman |
| 1939 | Slightly Honorable · as Sarilla Cushing |
| 1939 | Charlie Chan in Reno · as Vivian Wells |
| 1938 | Charlie Chan in Honolulu · as Judy Hayes |
| 1938 | Straight Place and Show · as Barbara 'babs' Drake |
| 1938 | Little Miss Broadway · as Barbara Shea |
| 1938 | In Old Chicago · as Ann Colby |
| 1938 | Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm · as Lola Lee |
| 1938 | Walking Down Broadway · as Vicki Stone |
| 1937 | Dangerously Yours · as Valerie Barton |
| 1937 | You Can't Have Everything · as Evelyn Moore |
| 1936 | Follow the Fleet · as Minor Role |
| 1936 | Two in the Dark · as Undetermined Role |
| 1935 | Another Face · as Sheila Barry |
| 1935 | To Beat the Band · as Rowena |
| 1935 | McFadden's Flats · as Mary Ellis Hall |
| 1934 | The Man Who Reclaimed His Head · as Secretary |