“If it’s your cup of tea, drink it!”

Most mainstream actors who dip their toe in the horror genre seem to accept the job as a necessary evil, to be filmed quickly and forgotten even more quickly. Not so Phyllis Kirk, perhaps the most reluctant scream queen to ever grace the silver screen. A contract player with Warner Brothers, the outspoken Ms. Kirk was dragged kicking and screaming into the 1953 3-D production of House of Wax where she exceled as the damsel in distress. She never appeared in another horror film again, though she did make an appearance in The Twilight Zone. Ms. Kirk passed away Friday of an aneurysm.

The Astounding B-Monster has what is probably my new favourite interview, where Phyllis Kirk looks back on her fight to stay out of House of Wax, her acceptance of its virtues (if not the fame that came with it), Vincent Price, excessive discussion about her bosom (or lack thereof) and the use of the phrase “Tough titty”. Man, they just don’t make them like that anymore.

Rest in peace, Ms. Kirk.

This entry was posted on Monday, October 23rd, 2006 at 1:12 pm and is filed under Old School, Sequels. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.