Phyllis Coates, TV’s First Lois Lane Who Starred in ‘Adventures of Superman,’ Dies at 96
variety.comMichaela Zee Phyllis Coates, the first actor to portray Daily Planet reporter Lois Lane on television, died on Oct. 11 in Woodland Hills, Calif., her daughter Laura Press confirmed to the New York Times.
She was 96. Coates starred as Lois Lane in the “Adventures of Superman” when the series first aired in 1952, only to leave after one season.
She initially played Lois opposite George Reeves as Clark Kent/the Man of Steel in “Superman and the Mole Men.” The 1951 black-and-white superhero film follows Clark and Lois as they arrive in the small town of Silsby, where a race of small, balding humanoids emerge from their underground home deep in an oil well.
The “Adventures of Superman” series debuted the following year, with Reeves and Coates reprising their respective roles as Clark and Lois from “Mole Men.” Noel Neill, who had played Lois in two 15-part film serials starring Kirk Alyn — “Superman” (1948) and “Atom Man vs.
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