- Phyllis Coates is an American actress
- She was mostly known as the first "Lois Lane" on TV
- She has died at 96
The actress died from natural causes on Wednesday while residing at the Motion Picture Home, her daughter Laura Press confirmed to 'People' magazine. Her death was "very peaceful," she added. Remembering her mother's career, Press said, "She gave a lot to the industry and her career passed through so many genres," recounting her time as "Lois Lane", in Westerns and even starring in 'Panther Girl of the Kongo'.
Coates was best known for her one-season role as "Lois Lane" in 'Adventures of Superman' which made her the first actress to play the legendary character on television. The TV role came after Coates stepped into the shoes of the character for film 'Superman and the Mole Men' in 1951. The success of that film led to the quick decision to start production on a syndicated show for television. Coates segued to the series and got into jams as "Lois" in all 26 episodes of the first season.
Phyllis broke the mold
And at the time she was doing very well for herself, or so she was told. She got paid about $350 for each episode and said four or five were often shot at one time, so she always wore the same hat, suit and earrings. "We were nearly blown up, beaten up, exploded, exploited, I guess it was because we were young and dumb, but we put up with a lot of stuff," Coates said in Tom Weaver’s 2006 book, 'Science Fiction Stars and Horror Heroes'. "Not too long ago I saw an episode where I got knocked out!"
The show was a sudden and unexpected hit, and Coates was asked to return for season two. However, she had signed to do a pilot for a series that was to star Jack Carson and Allen Jenkins (that show never happened) and took a pass. "Whitney Ellsworth offered me about four or five times what I was getting if I’d come back. But I really wanted to get out of 'Superman'," she said in the Weaver book.
Coates turned down an offer to return even for "four or fives times" what she was getting paid, so she could sign on to a different show that ended up not going forward. She was replaced by Noel Neill, who had played the famous role in various 'Superman' movie serials made by Columbia around the same time.
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After 'Superman', Coates appeared wearing a very short skirt in the show 'Jungle Drums of Africa', and also in the title role of 'Panther Girl of the Kongo', where life was a bit more exciting. "I had to ride an elephant all day," she said in Science Fiction Stars and Horror Heroes. "And my legs were raw from the hair on the elephant — I never knew until then that an elephant even had hair!"
Coates was once portrayed by Lorry Ayers in 'Hollywoodland', about an investigator who looks into the mysterious 1959 death of a "Superman" actor that was ruled a suicide.
Beyond her career, Coates was married four times, the first to Richard L. Bare, then Robert Nelms, Norman Tokar, and Howard Press. All four marriages ended in divorce. Her life and times are now fondly remembered.
