Phyllis Avery, American actress (Meet Mr. McNutley), died from heart failure she was , 88

Phyllis Avery was an American television and film actress died from heart failure she was , 88. (November 14, 1922 — May 19, 2011)

Early life and career

Born in New York City to Marian (née Baldwin) and author Stephen Morehouse Avery, her father hailed from Webster Groves, Missouri, near St. Louis. Her first role was as Marjorie in the 1951 film Queen for a Day. In 1952, she played Tracy McAuliffe, the wife of the Charlton Heston character in the MGM film Ruby Gentry.
From 1953 to 1955, Avery was cast as faculty wife Peggy McNutley in all but five of the seventy-five episodes of the CBS situation comedy, Meet Mr. McNutley, with Ray Milland as college professor Ray McNutley and Minerva Urecal as Miss Bradley, the dean. The name "McNutley" was changed in the second season to McNulty.^[1]
In 1956, she appeared as Maggie Henderson in the film The Best Things in Life Are Free, a biography of three songwriters played by Gordon MacRae, Ernest Borgnine, and Dan Dailey. That same year, she and Lew Ayres portrayed Peg and Clint Howard in "The Unrelenting Sky", the fourth episode of Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater. She also appeared on the ABC series, Man with a Camera, Rawhide, and Richard Diamond, Private Detective.
In 1958, Avery appeared as herself singing on NBC's variety show, The George Gobel Show, and also in several episodes in various comedy sketches as Gobel's wife "Alice" (which happened to also be the first name of the real-life Mrs. Gobel).^[2]
From 1960 to 1962, Avery appeared as Anne Selby on the CBS soap opera The Clear Horizon, a story of American astronauts and their wives. During the 1960s, continued with guest starring roles on various television series including The Deputy, Peter Gunn, Perry Mason, The Red Skelton Show, Have Gun - Will Travel, The Virginian, The Greatest Show on Earth, and Daniel Boone. During the 1970s, Avery guest starred in episodes of All in the Family, Maude, Charlie's Angels and Baretta.
In the 1980s, Avery retired from acting and became a real estate agent in Los Angeles. She returned to acting in the 1990s with an appearances in the feature film, Made in America (1993), and in an episode of the television series Coach.

Personal life

From 1944 to 1955, Avery was married to actor Don Taylor; the couple had two daughters, Anne Taylor Fleming and Avery Taylor Moore.
Phyllis Avery died on May 19, 2011 from heart failure, aged 88.^[3]

 

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