# Phyllis Davis > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Phyllis_Davis > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Phyllis_Davis.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phyllis_Davis > Source revision: 1272739188 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{short description|American actress (1940–2013)}} {{Infobox person | name = Phyllis Davis | image = File:Love American Style cast 1973.middle.jpg | image_size = | caption = Phyllis Davis on set of ''[Love, American Style](/source/Love%2C_American_Style)'', 1973 | birth_name = Phyllis Ann Davis | other_names = | birth_date = {{Birth date|1940|7|17}} | birth_place = | death_date = {{death date and age|2013|9|27|1940|7|17}} | death_place = [Henderson, Nevada](/source/Henderson%2C_Nevada), U.S. | resting_place = | occupation = Actress | years_active = 1966–1995 }} '''Phyllis Ann Davis''' (July 17, 1940 – September 27, 2013) was an American actress who appeared primarily on television. She co-starred on the 1978–1981 dramatic detective series ''[Vega$](/source/Vegas_(1978_TV_series)) as'' Beatrice Travis''',''' office manager and [girl Friday](/source/Friday_(Robinson_Crusoe)) for the show's main character, Las Vegas private detective Dan Tanna, played by [Robert Urich](/source/Robert_Urich). ==Early life== Phyllis Davis considered [Port Arthur, Texas](/source/Port_Arthur%2C_Texas), her hometown.{{cite news |last=Dunn |first=Bill |title=Debutante Ball Helps Phyllis's Career |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/35656730/phyllis_davis/ |accessdate=January 29, 2025 |newspaper=[Hamilton JournalNews](/source/Hamilton_JournalNews) |date=June 10, 1971 |page=23}} Growing up, Davis and her family lived in her parents’ mortuary business, in their home on the second floor. Davis recalled that when a funeral service was being held, the Davis children had to be very quiet on the second floor. After graduating in 1958 from Nederland High School, Davis attended [Lamar University](/source/Lamar_University). After working as a secretary and as a flight attendant for Continental Airlines, she moved to Los Angeles in 1965. While in Los Angeles, Davis attended acting classes at the [Pasadena Playhouse](/source/Pasadena_Playhouse).{{cite news |title=Passed Away Phyllis Davis Cause of Death: Remembering the Vega$ Star |url=https://doms2cents.com/passed-away-phyllis-davis-cause-of-death-remembering-the-vega-star/ |date=October 26, 2023 |website=Doms2cents |access-date=January 29, 2025}} ==Career== Davis's feature films include ''[The Big Bounce](/source/The_Big_Bounce_(1969_film))'' (1969), [Russ Meyer](/source/Russ_Meyer)'s ''[Beyond the Valley of the Dolls](/source/Beyond_the_Valley_of_the_Dolls)'' (1970), ''[Sweet Sugar](/source/Sweet_Sugar_(film))'' (1972), ''[Terminal Island](/source/Terminal_Island_(film))'' (1973), ''[The Day of the Dolphin](/source/The_Day_of_the_Dolphin)'' (1973), ''[The Choirboys](/source/The_Choirboys_(film))'' (1977), ''[The Wild Women of Chastity Gulch](/source/The_Wild_Women_of_Chastity_Gulch)'' (1982), and ''[Guns](/source/Guns_(film))'' (1990). And, in 1975, she played Scarlett O'Hara, the character originally played by [Vivien Leigh](/source/Vivien_Leigh) in the 1939 movie ''[Gone With the Wind](/source/Gone_With_the_Wind_(film))'', in ''[Train Ride to Hollywood](/source/Train_Ride_to_Hollywood)'', a pop musical starring the R&B band [Bloodstone](/source/Bloodstone_(band)). Davis explained that the movie was "all a dream sequence," as the storyline involves Bloodstone singer Harry Williams losing consciousness from a head injury and dreaming that he and his bandmates are on a train bound for Los Angeles with famous actors and characters from Old Hollywood's Golden Age. "I played Scarlett O'Hara and had a ball," Davis remembered.{{cite news |last1=Szebin |first1=Frederick C. |title=Roberta Collins:'Caged Heat'! Diary of a Drive-In Diva: Partyin' and Bustin'-Out with Pam Grier |url=https://archive.org/details/Femme_Fatales_v07n05/page/n45/mode/1up?q=phyllis+davis |access-date=August 26, 2023 |magazine=Femme Fatales |date=October 1998 |page=46}} Davis appeared in guest roles on the prime-time series ''[Love, American Style](/source/Love%2C_American_Style)'' (1969) for five seasons.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1665&dat=19790901&id=8aRPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=oSQEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3520,159514&hl=en |title=Phyllis Davis Bucks A Family Tradition |newspaper=[Times-News](/source/Times-News_(Hendersonville%2C_North_Carolina)) |location=Hendersonville, NC |page=13 |date=1 September 1979}} She also appeared in television series such as ''[Knight Rider](/source/Knight_Rider_(1982_TV_series))'', in which she played the villainous Tanya Walker in the pilot, "[Knight of the Phoenix](/source/Knight_of_the_Phoenix)". Davis also had guest roles in ''[Magnum, P.I.](/source/Magnum%2C_P.I.)'', ''[The Love Boat](/source/The_Love_Boat)'', ''[Fantasy Island](/source/Fantasy_Island)'', and ''[The Wild Wild West](/source/The_Wild_Wild_West)''. She was in an episode of ''[Adam-12](/source/Adam-12)'' titled "You Blew It" in 1969. She was also a ''[Match Game](/source/Match_Game)'' panelist on occasion and, during her tenure on ABC's ''Vega$'', appeared on a ''[Battle of the Network Stars](/source/Battle_of_the_Network_Stars)'' special. Davis was probably best known as a co-star on the ABC prime-time series ''[Vega$](/source/Vegas_(1978_TV_series))'' from 1978 to 1981, alongside series star [Robert Urich](/source/Robert_Urich). Davis appeared in all 69 episodes. Davis's character, Beatrice Travis, worked for Dan Tanna, the Las Vegas-based private investigator played by Urich. Her role was working as Tanna's very smart secretary and girl Friday in the Las Vegas crime drama.{{cite book |last1=Terrace |first1=Vincent |title=Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010 |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopedia-of-television-shows-1925-through-2010-terrace-vincent-z-library/page/1137/mode/2up?q=vegas |date=November 24, 2010 |publisher=McFarland & Company, Inc. |location=Jefferson, N.C. |isbn=978-0-7864-6477-7 |page=1138 |volume=1 |edition=2nd}} ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== *{{IMDb name|id=0205295}} *[http://hillplace.blogspot.com/2015/12/belated-obituary-tribute-phyllis-davis-1940-2013.html Phyllis Davis] obituary and tribute *[https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/159485069/phyllis-davis Photos of Phyllis Davis' grave] at [Findagrave](/source/Findagrave) {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Phyllis}} Category:1940 births Category:2013 deaths Category:American film actresses Category:Lamar University alumni Category:American television actresses Category:Actresses from Texas Category:People from Port Arthur, Texas Category:20th-century American actresses --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Phyllis Davis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phyllis_Davis) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phyllis_Davis?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.