Phyllis Coates, the first actress to play Lois Lane on TV, dies at 96

(NEXSTAR) – Actress Phyllis Coates, who first played Lois Lane opposite George Reeves’ Superman in the original TV series “The Adventures of Superman,” died Wednesday at age 96, her daughter tells The Hollywood Reporter and People. Admitted.

Coates starred in the show’s first season, but was replaced by Noel Neal for the remainder of the series.

Coates, born Gypsy Ann Everts Stell, was active in show business for years before landing a role in The Adventures of Superman. In 1951, the year before her show debuted, she also played Lois Lane in the Lippert Pictures film Superman and the Moleman. The film was later aired in two parts during the first season of the television show.

Director Coates did not return for the second season of the series due to prior commitments to the pilot, which was never produced, The Hollywood Reporter reported.

However, according to an interview transcribed by Tom Weaver for The Return of B-Science Sci-Fi and Horror Heroes, Coates said he had no desire to continue on the show anyway for fear of being typecast. .

“The moment we stopped filming, I bleached my hair and did other things, but it was for George.” [Reeves] That was it – he was typecast and he was very unhappy about that,” she said.

Coates’ subsequent credits include film and television appearances on “This Is Alice,” “Perry Mason,” “The Patty Duke Show,” and “Gunsmoke.” In 1994, she also played Lois Lane’s mother, Ellen Lane, in an episode of “Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman”.

Coates died peacefully Wednesday at his home in the Woodland Hills Film & Television Country House and Hospital, his daughter Laura Press said.

The press also told People that fans who wish to honor her memory can donate to the Humane Society of the United States.