Ruth McDevitt
Ruth McDevitt | |
---|---|
Hollywood, California , U.S. | |
Other names | Ruth Thane McDevitt |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1949–1976 |
Spouse |
Patrick McDevitt
(m. 1928; died 1934) |
Ruth Thane McDevitt (née Shoecraft; September 13, 1895 – May 27, 1976)[1] was an American film, stage, radio, and television actress.
Career
The daughter of John Barnabas Shoecraft and Elizabeth Imber Shoecraft,[2] McDevitt was born in Coldwater, Michigan, but grew up in Ohio.[3] After attending the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, she married Patrick McDevitt on December 10, 1928,[2] and decided to devote her time to her marriage. After her husband's death in 1934, she returned to acting. She made her debut on Broadway in 1940, and succeeded her friend Josephine Hull in Arsenic and Old Lace, Harvey, and The Solid Gold Cadillac.[4]
McDevitt also acted on radio, portraying the title character's mother in Keeping up with Rosemary[5] and Jane in This Life Is Mine.[5]: 333
On television, McDevitt portrayed Bessie Thatcher in the
McDevitt guest starred in such series as
Her film debut was in The Guy Who Came Back (1951), followed by memorable roles in The Parent Trap (as camp counselor Miss Inch), Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds (as Mrs. MacGruder, the pet store saleslady), Boys' Night Out, Dear Heart, The Shakiest Gun in the West, Angel in My Pocket, The Love God?, Change of Habit, The War Between Men and Women, and Mixed Company.
Death
McDevitt died, aged 80, in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California and is interred in
Filmography
Film | |||
---|---|---|---|
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
1951 | The Guy Who Came Back | Grandma | |
1953 | The Long, Long Trailer | Mrs. Vagabond | Uncredited |
1961 | The Parent Trap | Miss Inch | |
1962 | Boys Night Out | Beulah Partridge | |
1963 | The Birds | Mrs. MacGruder, bird shop owner | |
Love Is a Ball | Mathilda, grandmother | ||
1964 | Dear Heart | Miss Tait | |
1968 | The Shakiest Gun in the West | Mrs. Olive Heywood | with film's star Don Knotts |
1969 | Angel in My Pocket | Nadine | with Andy Griffith |
The Love God? | Miss Keezy | with film's star Don Knotts | |
Change of Habit | Lily | ||
1972 | The War Between Men and Women | Old woman | |
1974 | Mame | Cousin Fan | |
Homebodies | Mrs. Loomis | ||
Mixed Company | Miss Bergquist |
Television | |||
---|---|---|---|
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
1949 | A Woman to Remember | Bessie Thatcher | Unknown episodes |
1958 | Harbourmaster | Mrs. Markham | 1 episode |
Omnibus
|
Ewa | 1 episode | |
1961 | Naked City | Mrs. Abbie Dobbins | 1 episode |
1962 | The Nurses
|
Miss Dillion | 1 episode |
Dr. Kildare | Adele Fromm, RN | 1 episode | |
1963-1964 | The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
|
Mrs. Fister / Miss Emmy Right | 2 episodes |
1964 | Route 66 | Mrs. Harris | 1 episode |
The Doctors
|
Mrs. McMurtrie | Unknown episodes | |
1966–1967 | Pistols 'n' Petticoats | Grandma Effie Hanks | 26 episodes |
1967 | Bewitched | The Queen Ticheba / Mrs Parsons / Aunt Millicent | 3 episodes |
1968 | The Andy Griffith Show | Mrs. Pendleton | 2 episodes |
1969 | The Debbie Reynolds Show | Mrs. Patterson | 1 episode |
Bright Promise | Clara Ryan | September 29, 1969 to June 1970 | |
1970 | The Courtship of Eddie's Father | Miss Bristol | 1 episode |
That Girl | Aunt Belle | 1 episode | |
1971 | The New Andy Griffith Show | Mrs. Gossage | 3 episodes |
Nanny and the Professor | Mrs. Rumble | 1 episode | |
In Search of America | Grandma Rose | ABC Movie of the Week | |
1972 | Room 222 | Miss Brown/Vivian Higgins | 2 episodes |
1973 | The New Dick Van Dyke Show | Mrs. Ferguson | 1 episode |
The Girl Most Likely to...
|
Housemistress | made-for-TV movie | |
1974 | Kojak | Mrs. Farenkrug | 12 episodes |
Gunsmoke | Grandma Boggs | "The Tainted Badge" (S20E9) | |
McCloud | Landlady | 1 episode | |
1974 | Little House on the prairie: If I Should Wake Before I Die | Maddie Elder | Season 1, Episode 6 |
1973-1975 | All In the Family
|
Josephine "Jo" Nelson | 3 episodes |
1974–1975 | Kolchak: The Night Stalker | Emily Cowles | 12 episodes |
1975 | Phyllis | Miss McDermott | 1 episode |
1975 | Ellery Queen | Zelda Van Dyke | 1 episode |
Medical Center | Alice | 1 episode |
She also appeared in a Streets of San Francisco episode "Winterkill" from season 2 on December 13, 1973
References
- ISBN 978-0-7864-0983-9. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
- ^ a b Downs, Winfield Scott (1934). Encyclopedia of American Biography: New Series. American Historical Society. p. 196. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
- Newspapers.com.
- ISBN 9781581826586.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7864-4513-4.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7864-6477-7.
External links
- Ruth McDevitt at IMDb
- Ruth McDevitt at the Internet Broadway Database
- Ruth McDevitt at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
- Ruth McDevitt at the TCM Movie Database
- Ruth McDevitt at the University of Wisconsin's Actor Studio audio collection