Ruth Taylor (actress)

Ruth Taylor
Ruth Taylor
	Taylor in 1928
Born	January 13, 1905; Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S.
Died	April 12, 1984 (aged 79); Palm Springs, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Spouse	Paul Steinberg Zuckerman (m. 1930; died 1965)
Children	Buck Henry

Ruth Alice Taylor (January 13, 1905 – April 12, 1984) was an American actress in silent films and early talkies. Her son was the writer, comic, and actor Buck Henry.

Early years

Taylor was born to Norman and Ivah (née Bates) Taylor in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She was two years old when her parents moved to Portland, Oregon, where she was raised^[1] and graduated from high school.

Film career

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

After participating in amateur dramatics as a youth, Taylor persuaded her mother to bring her to Hollywood where the teenager spent a year working as an extra. She was discovered by Mack Sennett in February 1925 when he was looking for a blonde to play in a Harry Langdon comedy. She was chosen from around two hundred girls who responded to Sennett's call. She was also selected as one of the WAMPAS Baby Stars in 1928.

In 1927, Taylor's two-year contract with Mack Sennett expired. She was cast as Lorelei Lee in the original version of

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1928). Directed by Malcolm St. Clair, the film co-starred Alice White and Ford Sterling

.

During the search for Lorelei Lee, fans sent 14,000 letters to

B.P. Schulberg

, the movie was directed by Frank R. Strayer.

Taylor's final screen credits are roles in A Hint to Brides (1929), The College Coquette (1929), This Thing Called Love (1929), and Scrappily Married (1930).