Ruth White

Ruth White (April 24, 1914 – December 3, 1969) was an American Emmy Award-winning and movie actress.

Early career

A lifelong resident of Perth Amboy, New Jersey, White graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Literature from Rutgers University in 1935. While pursuing her acting career in nearby New York City, she taught acting and drama at Seton Hall University. During this period, she also vigorously studied acting with Maria Ouspenskaya.^[1]

As luck would have it, White was the daughter-in-law of Columbia Pictures short subject head Jules White. She made her film debut in the Three Stooges film Rhythm and Weep, directed by father-in-law Jules. As to not give the impression of nepotism, she occasionally went by the name Ruth Godfrey, as to disassociate herself from Jules. White appeared in several more Three Stooges films throughout the 1950s, such as Shot in the Frontier, Musty Musketeers , and Pardon My Backfire. Memorably, White became the only actress in the history of the slapstick comedy trio to deliver a triple slap twice to the Stooges in 1957's A Merry Mix Up.

Career hiatus and resurgence

White's career was put on hold in the late 1950s while she nursed her ailing mother. The effects of her mother's illness took their toll on White, who had gained weight and looked older than her age. Surprisingly, she managed to bounce back with vigor and appeared in off-Broadway plays of Samuel Beckett ("Happy Days") and Edward Albee ("Malcolm" and "Box"). White also earned a Tony Award nomination in 1968 for her role in Harold Pinter's "The Birthday Party."^[1]

White then nominated for (and won) an Emmy Award in the Hallmark Hall of Fame production of Little Moon of Alban. By the end of the 1960s, she had become one of New York's most highly praised and in demand character actresses, and memorably appeared in films as Midnight Cowboy, Hang 'Em High and No Way To Treat A Lady.^[1]

Death

White died suddenly of cancer on December 3, 1969. She is interred with her brothers Charles White and Richard White in the White Family Plot at Saint Mary's Cemetery in Perth Amboy, New Jersey.^[1]

Her final film role was in The Pursuit of Happiness, released two years after her death.

Selected filmography

• The Pursuit of Happiness (1971)
• Midnight Cowboy (1969)
• No Way To Treat A Lady (1968)
• Charly (1968)
• Hang 'Em High (1968)
• Up the Down Staircase (1967)
• Little Moon of Alban (1964)
• To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
• A Merry Mix Up (1957)
• Rumpus in the Harem (1956)
• Shot in the Frontier (1954)
• Pals and Gals (1954)
• Musty Musketeers (1954)
• Pardon My Backfire (1953)
• Rhythm and Weep (1946)

References

External links

• Ruth White at the Internet Movie Database
• Ruth White at the Internet Broadway Database
• Ruth White at Internet Off-Broadway Database

Persondata
NAME	White, Ruth
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Actor
DATE OF BIRTH	1914-4-24
PLACE OF BIRTH	Perth Amboy, New Jersey  United States
DATE OF DEATH	1969-12-3
PLACE OF DEATH	Perth Amboy, New Jersey  United States

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