Biography
Actress Phyllis Coates is best known as plucky reporter Lois Lane on the classic 1950s television program "Adventures of Superman," starring George Reeves as Clark Kent and the Man of Steel. She was the second actress to play the role (after Noel Neill, who appeared in the first two movie serials), first starring as Lane in the movie "Superman and the Mole Men" from 1951. However, she played Lois Lane for only one season before deciding to move on because of family trouble and a feeling that the show was not going in the direction she felt was right. She left in 1953 and Neill resumed playing Lane, although many fans feel that Coates's portrayal of the iconic reporter is closer to the original comic book character. After leaving the show, Coates continued working mostly in B-serials and movies, including "Jungle Drums of Africa," "Girls in Prison," "Invasion United States," and "I Was a Teenage Werewolf." She also starred as the dazzling Panther Girl in the 1955 Republic serial "Panther Girl of the Kongo." Although she rarely worked after 1970, she did appear in a cameo as Lois Lane's mother in an episode of the revamped show "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman." Phyllis Coates died on October 11, 2023 in Woodland Hills, CA at the age of 96.
