# Dorothy Phillips

Dorothy Phillips (born Dorothy Gwendolyn Strible, October 30, 1889 – March 1, 1980) was an American stage and film actress. She is known for her emotional performances in melodramas, having played a number of "brow beaten" women on screen, but had a pleasant demeanor off. She garnered little press for anything outside of her work.

## Career

Born Dorothy Gwendolyn Strible in Baltimore, Phillips was educated at the College of Expression of Maryland. After graduation she acted with the George Fawcett Stock Co. Phillips continued her career as a stage actress with Colonel Savage Productions, acting in New York and Chicago. She made her film debut in 1911 in a two-reeler called The Rosary, and appeared in over 150 films during her career. For a time she was nicknamed Kid Nazimova for her ability to imitate the Russian Hollywood actress Alla Nazimova. Phillips started at Universal Pictures often starring with Lon Chaney. Sometimes she would supplement these features with "shorts" filmed at Fox Studios. By 1917 Phillips had appeared in 22 films over two years and had suffered a breakdown due to exhaustion. It also caused a breach in her working relationship with director Joseph De Grasse and his screenwriter/director wife Ida May Park.
Once she had rested and recovered, 1918 brought a series of successful films, including A Soul for Sale, the first film starring her that was directed by her husband, Allen J. Holubar. Her pictures during this time scored highly with exhibitors and patrons alike. These successes and newfound working relationship between the couple prompted Phillips to leave Universal and in 1920 she and Holubar formed their own company, Allen Holubar Productions. Their pictures were released through First National Pictures to further acclaim throughout the 1920s.
Phillips' career slowed after 1927, and she mainly appeared in uncredited bit roles for the rest of her career. Her last appearance was in the 1962 western The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.

## Marriage and death

Dorothy Phillips was married to actor-director Allen Holubar for 11 years until his death in 1923 from pneumonia, following surgery, at the age of 33. They met when she was starring on stage in the Chicago production of "Every Woman" as the character of Modesty. After his death, she did not return to acting until mid-1925. Phillips also died of pneumonia, in 1980, at the age of 90. She is buried with her husband at the Secret Garden section of Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles.

## Legacy

For her contribution to the motion picture industry, Dorothy Phillips has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, located at 6358 Hollywood Blvd. Phillips and Holubar's 1918 film The Heart of Humanity was shown at MOMA, The Museum of Modern Art in a 2014 exhibition.

## Filmography

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1911 | His Friend's Wife | | Short, Uncredited Lost film |
| 1911 | The Rosary | Ruth Martin | Short Lost film |
| 1911 | Her Dad the Constable | Mary Perkins | Short Lost film |
| 1911 | The Gordian Knot | Marion Walters | Short Lost film |
| 1911 | Saved from the Torrents | Katie Carrington | Short Lost film |
| 1911 | Fate's Funny Frolic | Alice Trevor | Short Lost film |
| 1911 | A False Suspicion | Marion Walters | Short Lost film |
| 1913 | The Unburied Past | Margaret Phillips | Short Lost film |
| 1913 | The Power of Conscience | Dora Gordon | Short Lost film |
| 1914 | In All Things Moderation | Mary Graham - the Oldest Daughter | Short Lost film |
| 1914 | Three Men Who Knew | Mrs. Watson | Short Lost film |
| 1915 | The Affair of the Terrace | Jasmine Roberts | Short Lost film |
| 1915 | The Trail of the Upper Yukon | Marcia | Short Lost film |
| 1916 | Ambition | | Lost film |
| 1916 | The Mark of Cain | Doris | Alternative title: By Fate's Degree Lost film |
| 1916 | If My Country Should Call | Margaret Ardrath | Incomplete film |
| 1916 | The Place Beyond the Winds | Priscilla Glenn | Incomplete film |
| 1916 | The Price of Silence | Helen Urmy | |
| 1917 | The Piper's Price | Amy Hadley | Lost film |
| 1917 | Hell Morgan's Girl | Lola | Lost film |
| 1917 | The Girl in the Checkered Coat | Mary Graham "Flash" Fan | Lost film |
| 1917 | The Flashlight | Delice Brixton | Alternative title: The Flashlight Girl Lost film |
| 1917 | A Doll's House | Nora Helmer | Lost film |
| 1917 | Fires of Rebellion | Madge Garvey | Lost film |
| 1917 | The Rescue | Anne Wetherall | Lost film |
| 1917 | Pay Me! | Marta | Alternative titles: Pay Day The Vengeance of the West Incomplete film |
| 1917 | Triumph | Nell Baxter | Incomplete film |
| 1917 | Bondage | Elinor Crawford | Lost film |
| 1918 | The Grand Passion | Viola Argos | Lost film |
| 1918 | Broadway Love | Midge O'Hara | |
| 1918 | The Risky Road | Marjorie Helmer | |
| 1918 | A Soul for Sale | Neila Pendleton | |
| 1918 | The Mortgaged Wife | Gloria Carter | |
| 1918 | The Talk of the Town | Genevra French | Directed by Allen Holubar, her husband Lost film |
| 1918 | The Heart of Humanity | Nanette | Directed by Allen Holubar |
| 1919 | Destiny | Mary Burton | Lost film |
| 1919 | The Right to Happiness | Sonia & Vivian - Twin Sisters | |
| 1919 | Paid in Advance | Joan Gray | |
| 1920 | Once to Every Woman | Aurora Meredith | Lost film |
| 1921 | Man, Woman & Marriage | Victoria | |
| 1922 | Hurricane's Gal | Lola | |
| 1922 | The World's a Stage | Jo Bishop | Lost film |
| 1923 | Slander the Woman | Yvonne Desmarest | Lost film |
| 1923 | The Unknown Purple | | Uncredited Lost film |
| 1925 | Every Man's Wife | Mrs. Bradin | Lost film |
| 1925 | The Sporting Chance | Patricia Winthrop | Lost film |
| 1925 | Without Mercy | Mrs. Enid Grant | |
| 1926 | The Bar-C Mystery | Jane Cortelyou | Lost film |
| 1926 | The Gay Deceiver | Claire | Lost film |
| 1926 | Upstage | Miss Weaver | |
| 1926 | Remember | Ruth Pomeroy | Incomplete film |
| 1927 | Women Love Diamonds | Mrs. Flaherty | |
| 1927 | The Broken Gate | Aurora Lane | Lost film |
| 1927 | Cradle Snatchers | Kitty Ladd | Directed by Howard Hawks Incomplete film |
| 1930 | The Jazz Cinderella | Mrs. Consuelo Carter | Alternative title: Love Is Like That |
| 1934 | Now I'll Tell | Mrs. Farth | (scenes deleted) |
| 1936 | Thank You, Jeeves! | Boy's mother | Uncredited |
| 1937 | Hot Water | Nurse | Uncredited |
| 1940 | And One Was Beautiful | Gertrude's maid | Uncredited |
| 1942 | My Favorite Spy | Woman at wedding | Uncredited |
| 1942 | Boston Blackie Goes Hollywood | Old Lady at Radio | Uncredited |
| 1943 | The Cross of Lorraine | Village woman | Uncredited |
| 1944 | Mrs. Parkington | Leaping Rock Pedestrian | Uncredited |
| 1946 | The Postman Always Rings Twice | Nurse | Uncredited |
| 1949 | The Reckless Moment | Woman | Uncredited |
| 1950 | Father of the Bride | Woman in Nightmare Sequence | Uncredited |
| 1951 | Man in the Saddle | Townswoman | Uncredited |
| 1955 | Violent Saturday | Bank customer | Uncredited |
| 1955 | How to Be Very, Very Popular | | Uncredited |
| 1956 | The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit | Mr. Hopkins' maid | Uncredited |
| 1962 | The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance | Townswoman | Uncredited |