Ruth Gordon
Ruth Gordon | |
---|---|
Born | Ruth Gordon Jones October 30, 1896 Quincy, Massachusetts, U.S. |
Died | August 28, 1985 Edgartown, Massachusetts, U.S. | (aged 88)
Occupations |
|
Years active | 1915–1985 |
Spouses | |
Partner(s) | Jed Harris (1929 - c. 1930s) |
Children | 1 |
Ruth Gordon Jones (October 30, 1896 – August 28, 1985) was an American actress, screenwriter, and playwright. She began her career performing on
In addition to her acting career, Gordon wrote numerous plays, film scripts, and books, most notably co-writing the screenplay for the 1949 film
Early life and education
Ruth Gordon Jones was born in Quincy, Massachusetts, at 41 Winthrop Avenue. She later resided at 41 Marion Street (1901–1903) and 14 Elmwood Avenue (1903–1914). All three homes are in the Wollaston section of town.[1]
She was the child of Annie Tapley (née Ziegler) and Clinton Jones. Her only sibling was an older half-sister Claire, from her father's first marriage.[2] She was baptized an Episcopalian.[3][4] Her first appearance in the public eye came as an infant when her photograph was used in advertising for her father's employer, Mellin's Food for Infants and Invalids.[5] Before graduating from Quincy High School, she wrote to several of her favorite actresses requesting autographed pictures. A personal reply from Hazel Dawn (whom she had seen in a stage production of The Pink Lady) inspired her to go into acting.[6] Although her father was skeptical of her chances of success in a difficult profession, he took his daughter to New York in 1914, where he enrolled her in the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.
Career
Silent films
In 1915, Gordon appeared as an extra in silent films that were shot in
In 1918, Gordon played opposite actor Gregory Kelly in the Broadway adaptation of Booth Tarkington's Seventeen. The pair continued to perform together in North American tours of Frank Craven's The First Year and Tarkington's Clarence and Tweedles. Then in 1921, Gordon and Kelly were wed.
In December 1920, Gordon checked into a Chicago hospital to have her legs broken and straightened to treat her lifelong bow-leggedness.[7] After a three-month recovery, Kelly and she moved to Indianapolis, where they started a repertory company.
Kelly died of heart disease in 1927 at the age of 36. Gordon at the time had been enjoying a comeback, appearing on Broadway as Bobby in Maxwell Anderson's Saturday's Children, performing in a serious role after being typecast for years as a "beautiful, but dumb" character.[6]
In 1929, Gordon was starring in the hit play Serena Blandish when she became pregnant by the show's producer, Jed Harris. Their son, Jones Harris, was born in Paris that year and Gordon brought him back to New York. Although they never married, Gordon and Harris provided their son with a normal upbringing, and his parentage became public knowledge as social conventions changed.[8] In 1932, the family was living discreetly in a small, elegant New York City brownstone.[9]
1930s
Gordon continued to act on the stage throughout the 1930s, including notable runs as Mattie in
1940s
Gordon was signed to a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film contract for a brief period in the early 1930s, but did not make a movie for the company until her supporting role in Greta Garbo's final film Two-Faced Woman (1941). Gordon had better luck at other studios in Hollywood, appearing in supporting roles in a string of films, including Abe Lincoln in Illinois (as Mary Todd Lincoln), Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet (as Mrs. Ehrlich) and Action in the North Atlantic, in the early 1940s. Gordon's Broadway acting appearances in the 1940s included Iris in Paul Vincent Carroll's The Strings, My Lord, Are False, Natasha in Katharine Cornell and Guthrie McClintic's revival of Anton Chekhov's Three Sisters, and leading roles in her plays Over Twenty-One and The Leading Lady.
Gordon married her second husband, writer
1950s
The Actress (1953) was Gordon's film adaptation of her autobiographical play Years Ago, filmed by MGM with Jean Simmons portraying the girl from Quincy, Massachusetts, who convinced her sea captain father to let her go to New York to become an actress. Gordon wrote three volumes of memoirs in the 1970s: My Side, Myself Among Others, and An Open Book.[14][15][16]
Gordon continued her stage-acting career in the 1950s, and she was nominated for a 1956
1960s
In 1966, Gordon was nominated for an Academy Award and won a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress for Inside Daisy Clover opposite Natalie Wood. It was her first nomination for acting. In 1968, she won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Rosemary's Baby, a film adaptation of Ira Levin's bestselling horror novel about a satanic cult residing in an Upper West Side apartment building in Manhattan. In accepting the award onstage, Gordon thanked the academy by saying "I can't tell you how encouraging a thing like this is ..." (rousing laughter from the audience). At the time she had been in the business for 50 years and was 72 years old. "And thank all of you who voted for me, and to everyone who didn't: please, excuse me", she added, prompting more laughter and applause.
Gordon won another Golden Globe for Rosemary's Baby, and she was nominated again in 1971 for her role as Maude in Harold and Maude (with Bud Cort as her love interest).[17]
Later career
She appeared in 22 more films and many television appearances through her 70s and 80s, including successful sitcoms such as
Gordon won an Emmy Award for a guest appearance on the sitcom Taxi, for a 1979 episode titled "Sugar Mama", in which her character tries to solicit the services of a taxi driver, played by series star Judd Hirsch, as a male escort.[19]
Her last Broadway appearance was as Mrs. Warren in
In 1983, Gordon was awarded the
Harold and Maude, Adam's Rib, and Rosemary's Baby have been selected for preservation in the National Film Registry of the United States Library of Congress.
Death and legacy
On August 28, 1985, Gordon died at her summer home in Edgartown, Massachusetts, following a stroke at age 88.[19] Her husband for 43 years, Garson Kanin, was at her side and said that even her last day of life was typically full, with walks, talks, errands, and a morning of work on a new play. She had made her last public appearance two weeks before at a benefit showing of the film Harold and Maude, and had recently finished acting in four films.
In August 1979, a small movie theater in
Acting credits
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1915 | The Whirl of Life | Extra | Uncredited |
Madame Butterfly | Minor Role | Uncredited | |
Camille | Party Guest | Uncredited | |
1940 | Abe Lincoln in Illinois | Mary Todd Lincoln | |
Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet | Hedwig Ehrlich | ||
1941 | Two-Faced Woman | Miss Ruth Ellis, Larry's Secretary | |
1943 | Edge of Darkness | Anna Stensgard | |
Action in the North Atlantic | Mrs. Sarah Jarvis | ||
1965 | Inside Daisy Clover | Lucile Clover | |
1966 | Lord Love a Duck | Stella Bernard | |
1968 | Rosemary's Baby | Minnie Castevet | |
1969 | What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice? | Alice Dimmock | |
1970 | Where's Poppa? | Mrs. Hocheiser | |
1971 | Harold and Maude | Maude | |
1976 | The Big Bus | Old Woman | |
1978 | Every Which Way But Loose
|
Senovia "Ma" Boggs | |
1979 | Boardwalk | Becky Rosen | |
Scavenger Hunt | Arvilla Droll | ||
1980 | My Bodyguard | Gramma Peache | |
Any Which Way You Can | Senovia "Ma" Boggs | ||
1982 | Jimmy the Kid | Bernice | |
1985 | Delta Pi | Mugsy | |
Voyage of the Rock Aliens | Sheriff | Filmed in 1983 | |
Maxie | Mrs. Lavin | ||
1987 | The Trouble with Spies | Mrs. Arkwright | Filmed in 1984; Final film role |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1950 | Prudential Family Playhouse | Paula Wharton | Episode: "Over 21" |
1966 | Blithe Spirit | Madame Arcati | Television movie |
1973 | Isn't It Shocking? | Marge Savage | Television movie |
1975 | Kojak | Miss Eudora Temple | Episode: "I Want to Report a Dream" |
Rhoda | Carlton's Mother | Episode: "Kiss Your Epaulets Goodbye" | |
Medical Story | Emily Dobson | Episode: "The Right to Die" | |
1976 | The Great Houdini | Cecilia Weiss | Television movie |
Look What's Happened to Rosemary's Baby | Minnie Castevet | Television movie | |
Emergency! | Lenore | Episode: "The Nuisance" | |
1977 | Columbo | Abigail Mitchell | Episode: "Try and Catch Me" |
Saturday Night Live | Host | Episode: " Ruth Gordon/Chuck Berry "
| |
The Love Boat | Mrs. Warner | Episode: "Joker Is Mild, The/First Time Out/Take My Granddaughter, Please" | |
The Prince of Central Park | Mrs. Miller | Television movie | |
1978 | Perfect Gentlemen | Mrs. Cavagnaro | Television movie |
1979 | Taxi | Dee Wilcox | Episode: "Sugar Mama" |
1980 | Hardhat and Legs | Grandmother | Uncredited; also writer |
1982 | Don't Go to Sleep | Bernice | Television movie |
1983 | Newhart | Blanche Devane | Episode: "Grandma, What a Big Mouth You Have" |
1984 | Newhart | Blanche Devane | Episode: "Go, Grandma, Go" |
Theatre
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1916 | Peter Pan | Nibs | Revival |
1918 | Seventeen | Lola Pratt | |
1923 | Tweedles | Winsora | |
1925 | Mrs. Partridge Presents | Katherine Everitt | |
1925 | The Fall of Eve | Eva Hutton | |
1928 | Saturday's Children | Bobby | |
1929 | Serena Blandish | Serena Blandish | |
1929 | Lady Fingers | Ruth | Also in ensemble |
1930 | Hotel Universe | Lily Malone | |
1930 | The Violet and One, Two, Three | Ilona Stobri | The Violet |
1931 | The Wiser They Are | Trixie Ingram | |
1932 | A Church Mouse | Susie Sachs | |
1932 | Here Today | Mary Hilliard | |
1933 | Three-Cornered Moon | Elizabeth Rimplegar | |
1934 | They Shall Not Die | Lucy Wells | |
1934 | A Sleeping Clergyman | Harriet Marshall Hope Cameron Wilhelmina Cameron |
|
1936 | Ethan Frome | Mattie Silver | |
1937 | The Country Wife | Mrs. Margery Pinchwife | |
1938 | A Doll's House | Nora Helmer | |
1942 | The Strings, My Lord, Are False | Iris Ryan | |
1943 | The Three Sisters
|
Natalya Ivanovna | |
1944 | Over 21 | Paula Wharton | Also writer |
1947 | Years Ago | Also writer | |
1947 | How I Wonder | Also producer | |
1948 | The Leading Lady | Also writer | |
1949 | The Smile of the World | Sara Boulting | |
1957 | The Matchmaker | Mrs. Dolly Gallagher Levi | |
1960 | The Good Soup | Marie-Paule I | |
1963 | My Mother, My Father and Me | Rona Halpern | |
1965 | A Very Rich Woman | Mrs. Lord | Also writer |
1966 | The Loves of Cass McGuire | Cass | |
1974 | Dreyfus in Rehearsal | Zina | |
1976 | Mrs. Warren's Profession | Mrs. Kitty Warren |
Writing credits
Year | Title | Notes |
---|---|---|
1944 | Over 21 | |
1946 | Years Ago | |
1947 | A Double Life | |
1948 | The Leading Lady | |
1948 | The Ford Theatre Hour
|
Episode: Years Ago |
1949 | Adam's Rib | |
1950 | Prudential Family Playhouse | Episode: Over 21 |
1952 | Pat and Mike | |
The Marrying Kind | ||
1953 | The Actress | |
1957 | The Alcoa Hour | Episode: "A Double Life" |
1960 | DuPont Show of the Month | Episode: "Years Ago" |
1967 | Rosie! | |
1973 | Adam's Rib | Episode: "The Unwritten Law" |
1976 | Ho! Ho! Ho! | |
1980 | Hardhat and Legs |
Awards and nominations
See also
References
- ^ Scheible, Sue. "Following actress Ruth Gordon's footsteps through Quincy". PatriotLedger.com. Archived from the original on 2020-08-06. Retrieved 2020-05-28.
- ^ US Census 1900 and 1910, Massachusetts Marriage Records
- ISBN 9780917657818. Retrieved 2015-08-25.
- ^ Gordon, Ruth (1947). Years Ago: A Play. Viking Press. Retrieved 2015-08-25.
- ISSN 0024-3019. Retrieved 2015-08-25.
- ^ a b c Current Biography 1943. pp.238–41.
- ^ The Pittsburgh Press, December 24, 1920: "Actress, to continue her career, has bowed legs broken and straightened"
- ^ Wada, Karen (August 29, 1985). "Ruth Gordon Dies; Stage, Film Career Spanned 7 Decades". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2015-12-29.
- ISBN 0-312-24376-6.
- ISBN 978-1-55936-850-6.
- ^ "AFI|Catalog A Double Life (1948) History". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved 2020-02-02.
- ^ "AFI|Catalog Adam's Rib (1949) History". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved 2020-02-02.
- ^ "AFI|Catalog Pat and Mike (1952) History". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved 2020-02-02.
- OCLC 2437769.
- OCLC 6014288.
- OCLC 138331.
- ^ "Ruth Gordon". Retrieved 1 November 2016.
- ^ "Saturday Night Live - TV Series - Seasons and Episodes - NYTimes.com". nytimes.com. Retrieved 2015-08-25.
- ^ a b Freedman, Samuel G. (29 August 1985). "Ruth Gordon, The Actress, Dies at 88". The New York Times. Retrieved 2017-01-09.
- ^ "Past Recipients". Jun 30, 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-06-30. Retrieved Nov 29, 2019.
- ^ Blau, Eleanor (Aug 27, 1979). "Ruth Gordon Nowa Theater and Glad of It". The New York Times. Retrieved Nov 29, 2019.
- ^ "Flick 1 & 2 in Westborough, MA - Cinema Treasures". cinematreasures.org. Retrieved 2020-02-02.
- ^ "Merrymount Park | Discover Quincy". www.discoverquincy.com. Retrieved 2020-02-02.
- ^ "Ruth Gordon Amphitheater | Discover Quincy". www.discoverquincy.com. Retrieved 2020-02-02.
- ^ ParkWard5 Archived November 2, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "20th Academy Awards". Oscars.org. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
- ^ "23rd Academy Awards". Oscars.org. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
- ^ "25th Academy Awards". Oscars.org. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
- ^ "38th Academy Awards". Oscars.org. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
- ^ "41st Academy Awards". Oscars.org. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
- ^ "Ruth Gordon - Golden Globes Awards". goldenglobes.com. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
- ^ "Ruth Gordon". Emmys.com. Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
- ^ "1956 Tony Awards". Tony Awards. Retrieved February 20, 2022.
External links
- Ruth Gordon at IMDb
- Ruth Gordon at the Internet Broadway Database
- Ruth Gordon on Encyclopedia Britannica
- Ruth Gordon, on Open Library, Internet Archive
- Ruth Gordon, on MusicBrainz, MetaBrainz Foundation
- Ruth Gordon, on AllMovie, All Media Network.
- Ruth Gordon, on Rotten Tomatoes, Flixster Inc