Mary Philips

Mary Philips (January 23, 1901 – April 22, 1975) was an American actress whose career spanned stage and film over several decades. Born in New London, Connecticut, she received her education at a convent in New Haven before making her way to the New York stage, where she began as a chorus girl.

Philips established herself as a fixture of Broadway between 1918 and 1944, appearing in productions that included Oh, Promise Me, Spring Thaw, the revue The Show Is On, The Postman Always Rings Twice (1936), and Chicken Every Sunday (1944). Her stage work brought her into close professional contact with figures such as George M. Cohan, as documented in her personal scrapbook. In 1924, she appeared in the Broadway play Nerves alongside Humphrey Bogart and Kenneth MacKenna, both of whom would become central figures in her personal life.

Her work eventually extended to film. She considered her portrayal of Helen Ferguson in A Farewell to Arms (1932) among her most meaningful roles. Additional film credits included Leave Her to Heaven (1945), Dear Ruth (1947), and A Woman's Secret (1949).

On April 3, 1928, Philips married Humphrey Bogart at her mother's apartment at 24 Hopkins Street in Hartford, Connecticut, in a ceremony performed by a Justice of the Peace. It was her first marriage and Bogart's second. At the time, she was the more established of the two in New York theatre, while Bogart was still a relatively unknown stage actor. As Bogart's film career drew him to Hollywood, Philips chose to remain in New York, where her stage career was well rooted. The marriage ended in divorce in 1938 after ten years; the couple had no children but maintained an amicable relationship. Philips and her second husband later traveled to California to attend Bogart's memorial following his death in 1957.

In August 1938, Philips married actor and director Kenneth MacKenna, born Leo Mielziner, Jr. (August 19, 1899 – January 15, 1962) in Canterbury, New Hampshire, and brother of five-time Tony Award winner Jo Mielziner. It was the second and final marriage for both. The couple eventually settled in California, where MacKenna worked for MGM. During MacKenna's later years, both his mother and Philips's mother lived with them at their home in Brentwood. The marriage lasted until MacKenna's death in 1962, after which Philips relocated to an apartment in Santa Monica.

Philips died on April 22, 1975, at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica at the age of 74, following a period of lung cancer. The illness had gone undetected until a minor car accident in Santa Monica led to diagnostic follow-up and subsequent treatment. During her final months, her cousin Lucille Hackett of New Haven arranged for her daughter Deborah Hackett to be present with Philips in Santa Monica. Philips had served as godmother to the Hackett family's children and maintained a close relationship with the family throughout her life. Lucille Hackett was named heir to Philips's estate, as well as to the estate of Kenneth MacKenna following his death. Philips's ashes are interred alongside those of MacKenna at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.