Peg Phillips (?)
Kent
the TV series "Northern Exposure", died last week. The story is supposed to
be coming out in the Seattle papers tomorrow. I can't personally confirm it
but believe it is a credible report.
Kent
Ed Varner
Sadly, this is true. She was one of my favorite character actresses. She died
on hursday November 6 and her service is scheduled for this Saturday in
Bellevue, WA.
For a nice picture and tribute:
http://home.attbi.com/~mcnotes/phillips.html
And also:
http://www.woodinvillerep.org/
ED
Kent
> She died on [T]hursday November 6 ...
Could you clarify this. November 6th was a Wednesday, unless I'm cross-eyed
or something. You're the second person I've seen (or maybe the same one)
who said Thursday Nov. 6th.
Thanks mucho.
Kent
Ed Varner
Sorry about that. I can't count tonight. It was November 6, so that would
have been Wednesday. She founded the Woodinville Repertory Theater and is still
listed as the artistic director. They are posting her death on their website
http://www.woodinvillerep.org/index.html
but do not have any details as to the cause of death. There was news last
month that she was gravely ill. - Ed V
Terrymelin
this newsgroup" that has been heard here lately.
We often have posts of obits here long before they appear in the mainstream
media. This is just the latest example. I would also cite the deaths of Linda
McCartney and Billy Wilder which were reported here long before the mainstream
media caught on.
That's why this ng is invaluable.
Terry Ellsworth
LandonEx
------------------------
'Northern Exposure' Actress Peg Phillips Dies at 84
By Sherry Grindeland / Seattle Times
WOODINVILLE, Washington -- Peg Phillips, late-blooming character actress and
feisty founder of the Woodinville Repertory Theatre, died Thursday morning from
lung disease. She was 84.
Best remembered for her role as storekeeper Ruth Ann in the popular, quirky
television series "Northern Exposure," Ms. Phillips appeared in at least eight
movies and a number of television commercials. She also had guest roles on
shows such as "Seventh Heaven," "Touched By An Angel" and "E.R."
Ms. Phillips began acting when she retired as a tax accountant and enrolled in
the University of Washington drama school at the age of 66. She began getting
jobs almost immediately.
She made her last stage appearance in the Woodinville group's 1999 production
of "Bell, Book and Candle" under the direction of Hal Ryder, local director and
Cornish College of the Arts teacher.
"Peg had a great belief in human beings and human kindness," Ryder said. "She
accepted people for who they were. She was direct and down to earth but was
also highly cultured."
About a month before Ms. Phillips died, Ryder spent three hours at her bedside
discussing life and death, people, the world, theater and art. After she ate
dinner, she handed Ryder her dentures and asked him to clean them.
"That was Peg; she was unpretentious," Ryder said.
Ms. Phillips' name frequently appeared on favorite local-celebrity polls
conducted by newspapers and television stations. She was always quotable and
groused about Woodinville's growth with the oft-repeated grumble that, "It's
having a grand mall seizure."
Radio personality Dave Wingert of Seattle, who appeared in several Woodinville
plays, described Ms. Phillips as a modern-day pioneer woman whose can-do
attitude inspired everyone she met.
"She was irascible, but dealt from her heart," Wingert said.
Ms. Phillips was born in Everett, Washington, on September 20, 1918, lived in
California for many years and moved to Woodinville in 1977.
She was married and divorced twice -- first to Daniel Greene and then Chester
Phillips.
She was deeply touched by the deaths of a daughter, Katie, in 1997 from
pancreatic cancer and of a son, Arthur, who was killed in an accident at the
age of 20.
"Your children aren't supposed to die before you do," Ms. Phillips said in a
1998 interview.
Friends and relatives remember her as a great cook who also donated her time
and money to help disadvantaged children.
One such project was Theatre Inside, a drama program for youth incarcerated at
Echo Glen Children's Center in Snoqualmie, which she established and where she
regularly volunteered.
She was an avid crossroad-puzzle fan and a voracious reader. The living room
of her 100-year-old Woodinville farmhouse was lined with bookshelves filled
with biographies, dramas, history and literature. Ms. Phillips' bedroom
bookshelves overflowed with mysteries, said her daughter, the Rev. Elizabeth
Greene of Boise, Idaho.
Occasionally she wrote her own lines for "Northern Exposure," which was filmed
locally in Redmond and Roslyn, Kitsap County. She once defended her smoking in
an episode about death with, "I've been smoking since I was 13 years old and
during the Eisenhower administration I peaked at three packs a day. I'm not
about to stop now."
Greene and her husband, Robert Wallace, remember the episode well, because cast
members were concerned about Ms. Phillips' smoking.
Movie and television credits include "Waiting for the Light" (1990) with
Shirley MacLaine, and made-for-television movies "How the West Was Fun" (1994)
and "Chase" (1985).
The most memorable thing about Ms. Phillips was her absolute fire and passion
for making a difference and making the world a better place, said Hjelmer
Anderson, a Woodinville Repertory board member and the drama teacher at
Woodinville high school. Before her death, Anderson and other Repertory backers
promised Ms. Phillips they would keep the theater group going.
"She was one of the most amazing people I've ever known," he said. "Other than
her family, the theater she started was her great legacy. Anyone who worked
with Peg considers themselves vastly enriched by knowing her."
Besides her daughter Elizabeth, Ms. Phillips is survived by daughter Virginia
Phillips of Everett; four grandchildren, Betsy Richens of Australia; Scott
Hover of Grants Pass, Oregon; Christopher Pope of Phoenix, Ariz.; and Barton
Hacker of Novato, Calif.; eight great-grandchildren; and one
great-great-grandchild.
A memorial service will be held at East Shore Unitarian Church, 12700 S.E.
32nd, Bellevue, 1 p.m. Saturday.
At Ms. Phillips' request, memorials may be made to Woodinville Repertory
Theatre, P.O. Box 2003, Woodinville, 98072.
Seattle Times
November 12, 2002 - 12:00 a.m. Pacific Standard Time
=L=
Laurie Mann
> WOODINVILLE, Washington -- Peg Phillips, late-blooming character actress and
> feisty founder of the Woodinville Repertory Theatre, died Thursday morning from
> lung disease. She was 84.
>
> Best remembered for her role as storekeeper Ruth Ann in the popular, quirky
> television series "Northern Exposure," Ms. Phillips appeared in at least eight
> movies and a number of television commercials. She also had guest roles on
> shows such as "Seventh Heaven," "Touched By An Angel" and "E.R."
Thanks for the pointer.
She was one of my favorite actors on Northern Exposure; I particularly
like "non-Hollywood-style" actors and she was certainly not a Hollywood
type.
吵o吩oo
>
> She was one of my favorite actors on Northern Exposure; I
particularly
> like "non-Hollywood-style" actors and she was certainly not a
> Hollywood type.
Here's more from the Seattle P.I. (Post-Intelligencer):
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/95227_phillips12.shtml
Kent
mainstream
> media. This is just the latest example. I would also cite the deaths of
Linda
> McCartney and Billy Wilder which were reported here long before the
mainstream
> media caught on.
The example I would cite would be Gail Fisher. From what I remember it was
on a.o about two months before the mainstream press caught on. I still
don't know what took them so long.
Kent