Phyllis Konstam (Austin), the actress, who died aged 69, was the wife of H W ‘Bunny’ Austin, the British lawn tennis player of the late 1920s and 1930s.
She shared her husband’s involvement with Frank Buchman and the work of Moral Re-Armament. They lived in the United States for many years, later returning to London where she was closely involved with the plays and wider work of MRA's Westminster Theatre Arts Centre.
She received her stage training in Paris and made her debut in 1925 at the Haymarket (London) in ‘The Jew of Malta’. In 1926 she appeared in Galsworthy’s ‘Escape’ and also in the film version of 1930 and the revival in 1933.
She first went to America in 1929 and later played on Broadway opposite Lawrence Olivier. She also had a part in Alfred Hitchcock’s first sound film, ‘Blackmail’. Other films included ‘Murder’ and ‘The Skin Game’.
She married Bunny Austin in 1931. Shortly thereafter he was a member of the Davis Cup winning team of 1933-36. In 1939 she went with him to America to work for Moral Re-Armament.
