Feisty, ebullient character comedienne who, for three decades,
enlivened Hollywood films with her drollery and quick-fire repartee.
The daughter of a newspaper editor and music critic, Ruth made her
stage debut in the chorus of the touring production 'The Quaker Girl'
in 1913. Four years later, she had made it to Broadway, playing a
telephone operator in
'The Scrap of Paper' at the Criterion Theatre.
She then appeared for ten months in the musical farce 'Going Up'
(1917-18), which starred Frank Craven
and a young Ed Begley. Some of her
biggest comic successes were in plays by
George M. Cohan, notably 'A Prince There
Was' (1918-19) and 'The Meanest Man in the World' (1920-21).
Ruth appeared on screen, first in a small part in
Rubber Heels (1927). Not until the
Wall Street crash of 1929 was she tempted to pursue a career in
Hollywood, rather than on Broadway. For most of her time in the movies,
she played acidulous secretaries, wisecracking friends of the heroine,
or shrewish wives. She gave excellent support as Mary Brian's
domineering mother in
Hard to Handle (1933) and was
excellent as
Edward G. Robinson's wife in
the Runyonesque comedy
Vier Leichen auf Abwegen (1938).
There were many other good roles as comedy relief from
Liebe im Handumdrehen (1935),
with Carole Lombard to
Mr. Deeds geht in die Stadt (1936),with
Gary Cooper); and
Mr. Smith geht nach Washington (1939),with
James Stewart.. She was versatile
enough to handle dramatic roles, playing a worldly nun in
Die Glocken von St. Marien (1945)
and one of the asylum inmates of
Die Schlangengrube (1948).
Except for a handful of TV guest appearances, Ruth essentially retired
after her last film,
Die Spur zum Gold (1957),
and lived for the remainder of her life at the Wellington Hotel in
Manhattan. She was for many years married to Basil de Guichard, an
airline executive.
