Ruth Hussey
| Ruth Hussey | |
|---|---|
Hussey in 1945
|
|
| Born |
Ruth Carol Hussey October 30, 1911 Providence, Rhode Island, U.S. |
| Died | April 19, 2005 (aged 93) Newbury Park, California, U.S. |
| Cause of death | complications of an appendectomy |
| Alma mater |
Brown University University of Michigan |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1937–1973 |
| Spouse(s) | Charles Robert Longenecker (1942–2002) (his death) (3 children) |
| Children |
John Longenecker Rob Longenecker Mary Hendrix |
Ruth Carol Hussey (October 30, 1911 – April 19, 2005) was an American actress best known for her Academy Award-nominated role as photographer Elizabeth Imbrie in The Philadelphia Story.
Hussey was born in Providence, Rhode Island, October 30, 1911. She was also known as Ruth Carol O'Rourke. Her father, George R. Hussey, died of the Spanish flu in 1918 when she was seven years old. Ten years later, her mother married a family friend, William O'Rourke, who had worked at the family's mail-order silver enterprise.
Following graduation from the Providence public schools, she went on to study art at Pembroke College, graduating in 1936. She never landed a role in any of the plays for which she tried out at Pembroke. She then received a degree in theatre from the University of Michigan School of Drama, and worked as an actress with a company in Michigan for two seasons. She also attended Boston Business College and Michigan School of Drama.
After working as an actress in summer stock, she returned to Providence and worked as a radio fashion commentator on a local station. She wrote the ad copy for a Providence clothing store and read it on the radio each afternoon. She was encouraged by a friend to try out for acting roles at the Providence Playhouse. The theater director there turned her down, saying the roles were cast only out of New York City. Later that week, she journeyed to New York City and on her first day there, she signed with a talent agent who booked her for a role in a play starting the next day back at the Providence Playhouse.
In New York City, she also worked for a time as a model. She then landed a number of stage roles with touring companies. Dead End toured the country in 1937 and the last theater on the road trip was at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles, where she was spotted on opening night by MGM talent scout Billy Grady. MGM signed her to a players contract and she made her film debut in 1937. She quickly became a leading lady in MGM's "B" unit, usually playing sophisticated, worldly roles. For a 1940 "A" picture role, she was nominated for an Academy Award for her turn as Elizabeth Imbrie, the cynical magazine photographer and almost-girlfriend of James Stewart's character Macaulay Connor in The Philadelphia Story. In 1941, exhibitors voted her the third-most popular new star in Hollywood.
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