Phyllis Konstam

Phyllis Esther Kohnstamm (14 April 1907 – 20 August 1976), known as Phyllis Konstam, was an English film actress born in London. She appeared in 11 films between 1928 and 1964, including four films directed by Alfred Hitchcock.

Phyllis Konstam
Phyllis Konstam in 1936
Born(1907-04-14)14 April 1907
London, England
Died20 August 1976(1976-08-20) (aged 69)
Somerset, England
OccupationActress
Years active1928–1964
Spouse(s)Bunny Austin
RelativesAnna Konstam (sister)

Life

Phyllis Esther Kohnstamm[1] was born in London in 1907, the daughter of Jewish parents[2] Alfred and Esther Kohnstamm, of Middleheath, Hampstead. Her father, with his brother, cultivated a successful leather business.[3][4][5] She had her drama training in Paris before her first appearance which was at the Haymarket in "The Jew of Malta" in 1925.[6] The following year she "a wife" was in "Escape" by John Galsworthy in London's West End. In 1930 she appeared in the first film version directed with the same name by Basil Dean.[6]

She married the tennis star Bunny Austin in 1931, whom she met on a cruise liner while travelling to the US to appear in a stage production of Frank Vosper's Murder on the Second Floor, opposite her close friend Laurence Olivier.[7] Together, Austin and Konstam were one of the celebrity couples of the age. Austin played tennis with Charlie Chaplin, was a friend of Daphne du Maurier and met both Queen Mary and President Franklin D. Roosevelt. They had two children.

In her later years, she joined her husband with involvement in the Oxford Group,[6] performing in several films and theatrical productions around the world to benefit the cause. She died in Somerset from a heart attack on 20 August 1976.

Filmography

References
  1. Silent Film Necrology, Eugene M. Vazzana, McFarland, 2001, p. 291
  2. A Mixed Double, H. W. "Bunny" Austin and Phyllis Konstam, Chatto and Windus, 1969, p. 34
  3. American Lawn Tennis, collected vol. 25, issue dated 31 December 1931, Rea Publications, 1931, p. 9
  4. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/36481/page/1869/data.pdf
  5. A Mixed Double, H. W. "Bunny" Austin and Phyllis Konstam, Chatto and Windus, 1969, pp. 34-45, int. al.
  6. "Phyllis Konstam". Initiatives of Change UK. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
  7. Austin, H.W.; Konstam, Phyllis (1969) A Mixed Double. London: Chatto and Windus.
  8. "Tilly of Bloomsbury (1931)". BFI. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
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