Phyllis Coates, ‘Superman’ star, dead at 96
Phyllis Coates, the first actor to portray Lois Lane in the formative Superman television series, has died aged 96 in California.
Coates’ daughter, Laura Press, confirmed the news. Remembering her mother in a statement provided to The New York Times, Press said, “She got a lot of fan mail, most of it for Superman, but also for the westerns she did with Whip Wilson and Johnny Mack Brown.”
Coates was born Gypsie Ann Stell on January 15th, 1927, in Wichita Falls, Texas. After high school, she moved to Los Angeles, where she worked as a chorus girl and acted in sketches for comedian Ken Murray’s vaudeville show.
A significant turning point came in 1948 when Coates signed a contract with Warner Bros. Her most successful TV role was in Adventures of Superman, which first aired in 1952 and starred George Reeves as Clark Kent/Superman.
As well as her most famous role in various Superman productions, Coates worked on Republic Pictures shows, including Jungle Drums of Africa and Panther Girl of the Kingo.
Coates also appeared in smaller guest roles in the popular mid-century TV shows Gunsmoke, Rawhide, Perry Mason and Leave It to Beaver.
The late actor is survived by her daughters, Zoe Christopher and Laura, and granddaughter Olivia. Tragically, her son, David Tokar, passed away in 2011.
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