 Age 2 |
Childhood Phylis Lee Isley was born March 2, 1919 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Her parents, Phil and Flora Mae (Suber) owned and operated a small acting troop called the Isley Stock Company. They would tour small towns outside of Tulsa and perform plays for ten cents a patron. It was in this environment that young Phylis decided she wanted to be an actress. By the time she was six, she was in her first grade play, playing a candy cane. In her free time and during summer vacations, she worked with her parents selling tickets and refreshments. |
|
The Isleys made good money during this time and in 1929, when the stock market crashed, Phil Isley used the money that he had made to buy several independent movie theaters and equip them with sound. It was a smart investment and Isley's chain of theaters paid off nicely. Phylis spent many hours in the movie theaters and was determined as ever to become an actress. |
 Age 12 |
 Age 17 |
After she graduated from high school, she enrolled in Monte Cassino, a junior college for girls which was run by Benedictine sisters. Phylis was unlike most of the other girls in that she was more interested in a career than dating boys. She appeared in many of the school plays and usually played the leading role. |
|
Phil Isley was impressed with his daughter's enthusiasm and suggested that she go to Hollywood where his connections might land her a movie contract. Phylis was more interested in Broadway (her curiosity had been peaked at the age of nine when her parents took her on a trip to New York). She made plans to attend Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, a college that was well known for its' drama department. She was disappointed, however, with Northwestern. Her courses were not challenging and she felt as though she was wasting her time there. She wrote a letter to one of her idols, stage great Katherine Cornell, and asked her if she should continue with her schooling or get stage experience. Cornell suggested that she needed a "cultural background". Phylis took her advice but instead of returning to Northwestern, she decided that she wanted to attend the American Academy Of Dramatic Arts in New York. Her parents accompanied her to New York and got her a room at the Barbizon Hotel For Women. To be admitted, Phylis had to audition and she chose one scene from Romeo And Juliet and another from Wingless Victory. Her audition went very well and she was admitted as a student in the fall of 1937. Phylis was much happier at the Academy than she had been at Northwestern and her first semester went well. Following the Christmas break and a trip back home to Tulsa, Phylis returned for the Winter semester in January of 1938. She was about to meet someone who would take her mind off of acting... Continue on to Early Career (The Robert Walker Years) |
