Cause of death Cancer Role Actress Name Ruth White | Years active 1946–1969 Occupation Actress | |
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Full Name Ruth Patricia White Born April 24, 1914 ( 1914-04-24 ) Perth Amboy, New Jersey, U.S. Died December 3, 1969, Perth Amboy, New Jersey, United States Siblings Charles White, Richard White Awards Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performance in a Supporting Role by an Actress Nominations Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play Movies Midnight Cowboy, To Kill a Mockingbird, Hang 'Em High, The Reivers, The Nun's Story Similar People Estelle Evans, Robert Mulligan, Richard Hale, Brock Peters, Paul Fix | ||
Ruth Patricia White (April 24, 1914 – December 3, 1969) was an American actress who worked in theatre, film, and television. She was an Emmy Award and Obie Award winner and also a Tony Award nominee.
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Early career
A lifelong resident of Perth Amboy, New Jersey, White graduated with a bachelor's degree in Literature from New Jersey College for Women, now Douglass Residential College, Rutgers University in 1935. While pursuing her acting career in nearby New York City, she taught acting and drama at Seton Hall University. During this period, she also studied acting with Maria Ouspenskaya.
Career hiatus and resurgence
White's career was delayed in the late 1950s while she nursed her ailing mother. During her mother's illness White gained weight and looked older than her age. However, she managed to recover and appeared in off-Broadway plays of Samuel Beckett ("Happy Days") and Edward Albee ("Malcolm" and "Box"). White also earned a Tony Award nomination in 1968 for her role in Harold Pinter's "The Birthday Party."
In 1964, she won an Emmy Award for her role in the Hallmark Hall of Fame TV Movie Little Moon of Alban. By the end of the 1960s, she had become one of New York's most highly praised and in demand character actresses, and appeared in Midnight Cowboy, Hang 'Em High and No Way To Treat A Lady.
Death
White, who never married, died of cancer on December 3, 1969. She is interred with her brothers Charles and Richard in their family plot at Saint Mary's Cemetery, Perth Amboy, New Jersey. Her final film role was in The Pursuit of Happiness, released fourteen months after her death.
Selected television credits
Filmography
Actress
1971
The Pursuit of Happiness as
Mrs. Popper
1969
The Reivers as
Miss Reba
1969
Midnight Cowboy as
Sally Buck - Texas
1969
Let Me Hear You Whisper (TV Movie) as
Helen
1969
NET Playhouse (TV Series) as
Helen, Scrubwoman
- Let Me Hear You Whisper (1969) - Helen, Scrubwoman
1968
Premiere (TV Series) as
Ellen St. John
- Higher and Higher, Attorneys at Law (1968) - Ellen St. John
1968
Charly as
Mrs. Apple
1968
A Lovely Way to Die as
Cook
1968
Hang 'Em High as
Madame 'Peaches' Sophie
1968
NBC Experiment in Television (TV Series)
- To Wally Pantoni We Leave a Credenza (1968)
1968
No Way to Treat a Lady as
Mrs. Himmel
1967
Johnny Belinda (TV Movie) as
Aggie MacDonald
1967
The Tiger Makes Out as
Mrs. Kelly
1967
Up the Down Staircase as
Beatrice Schacter
1967
ABC Stage 67 (TV Series) as
Geraldine
- The Trap of Solid Gold (1967) - Geraldine
1965
New York Television Theatre (TV Series) as
Mrs. Fiers
- The Club Bedroom (1966)
- The Drapes Come (1965) - Mrs. Fiers
1966
Cast a Giant Shadow as
Mrs. Chaison
1965
A Rage to Live as
Mrs. Bannon
1964
The Defenders (TV Series) as
Winnie Benedette / Dorothy Martin
- The Merry-Go-Round Mender (1965) - Winnie Benedette
- Who'll Dig His Grave? (1964) - Dorothy Martin
1963
The Fugitive (TV Series) as
Edith Waverly / Grams
- The Survivors (1965) - Edith Waverly
- The Other Side of the Mountain (1963) - Grams
1965
For the People (TV Series) as
Mrs. Krug
- Guilt Shall Not Escape Nor Innocence Suffer (1965) - Mrs. Krug
1962
The Doctors and the Nurses (TV Series) as
Mrs. Sally Carroll / Mrs. Halpern
- A Couple of Dozen Tiny Pills (1965) - Mrs. Sally Carroll
- The Barbara Bowers Story (1962) - Mrs. Halpern
1965
Baby the Rain Must Fall as
Miss Clara
1964
Little Moon of Alban (TV Movie) as
Shelagh Mangan
1964
The DuPont Show of the Week (TV Series) as
Mrs. Turner
- The Gambling Heart (1964) - Mrs. Turner
1963
Ben Casey (TV Series) as
Catherine DiLorenzo
- From Too Much Love of Living (1963) - Catherine DiLorenzo
1963
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre (TV Series) as
Mama
- Something About Lee Wiley (1963) - Mama
1963
Dr. Kildare (TV Series) as
Hester Cullen
- The Good Samaritan (1963) - Hester Cullen
1958
The United States Steel Hour (TV Series) as
Sister St. Anne / Mrs. Botsford / Nettie Bowers / ...
- Don't Shake the Family Tree (1963) - Mrs. Botsford
- One Red Rose for Christmas (1959) - Sister St. Anne
- Apple of His Eye (1959) - Nettie Bowers
- Whisper of Evil (1959) - Mrs. Vining
- One Red Rose for Christmas (1958) - Sister St. Anne
1963
The Twilight Zone (TV Series) as
Mrs. Ford
- The Incredible World of Horace Ford (1963) - Mrs. Ford
1962
To Kill a Mockingbird as
Mrs. Dubose
1962
The Untouchables (TV Series) as
Bertha Levinson
- The Night They Shot Santa Claus (1962) - Bertha Levinson
1962
Car 54, Where Are You? (TV Series) as
Mrs. Parker
- Today I Am a Man (1962) - Mrs. Parker (uncredited)
1961
Naked City (TV Series) as
Mary Nagler / Mama Ganoulian
- The Tragic Success of Alfred Tiloff (1961) - Mary Nagler
- A Very Cautious Boy (1961) - Mama Ganoulian
1955
Armstrong Circle Theatre (TV Series) as
Mrs. Halber / Mrs. Gentile / Portia Howe
- A Chapter on Tyranny: Dateline Berlin (1961) - Mrs. Halber
- John Doe #154 (1957) - Mrs. Gentile
- Devil at the Door (1956) - Portia Howe
- Moment of Truth (1955)
1961
Great Ghost Tales (TV Series) as
Mrs. Piggot
- Who Is the Fairest One of All? (1961) - Mrs. Piggot
1961
'Way Out (TV Series) as
Stephanie
- 20/20 (1961) - Stephanie
1960
Diagnosis: Unknown (TV Series) as
Mrs. Layton
- The Parasite (1960) - Mrs. Layton
1960
Play of the Week (TV Series) as
Ida / Mother
- Morning's at Seven (1960) - Ida
- Lullaby (1960) - Mother
1960
Lullaby (TV Movie) as
Mother
1959
Brenner (TV Series) as
Mrs. Campell
- I, Executioner (1959) - Mrs. Campell
1959
The Nun's Story as
Mother Marcella (School of Medicine)
1957
The DuPont Show of the Month (TV Series) as
Mrs. Chumley / Mrs. Burgess
- Harvey (1958) - Mrs. Chumley
- Beyond This Place (1957) - Mrs. Burgess
1958
General Electric Theater (TV Series)
- The Young and Scared (1958)
1957
Kraft Theatre (TV Series) as
Mother Shipton
- The Outcasts of Poker Flat (1958) - Mother Shipton
- Eddie (1958)
- The Killer Instinct (1957)
1958
The Outcasts of Poker Flat (TV Movie) as
Mother Shipton
1954
Studio One (TV Series) as
Mrs. Cornelius / Mama / Amy / ...
- The Deaf Heart (1957) - Mrs. Cornelius
- Mama's Boy (1955) - Mama
- A Terrible Day (1955) - Amy
- Summer Pavilion (1955) - Belle Travers
- The Remarkable Incident at Carson Corners (1954) - Mrs.McGinnis
1957
Edge of the City as
Katherine Nordmann
1953
Goodyear Playhouse (TV Series) as
Ma / Mrs. Clarke
- Joey (1956) - Ma
- The Terrorists (1956) - Mrs. Clarke
- Madame Aphrodite (1953)
1955
Omnibus (TV Series)(segment "Jack Be Normal")
- The Royal Game (1955) - (segment "Jack Be Normal")
1955
Justice (TV Series)
- The Desperate Man (1955)
1955
The Big Story (TV Series)
- Day Churchman, Oregon City, Oregon Enterprise -Courier (1955)
1955
You Are There (TV Series)
- The Tragic Hour of Dr. Semmelweis (1852) (1955)
1954
Danger (TV Series)
- Obsession (1954)
1954
Suspense (TV Series)
- North Side (1954)
1954
The Magic Cottage (TV Series)
- Episode dated 22 January 1954 (1954)
- Episode dated 21 January 1954 (1954)
- Episode dated 20 January 1954 (1954)
- Episode dated 19 January 1954 (1954)
- Episode dated 18 January 1954 (1954)
1953
High Tension (TV Series)
- One Life to Live (1954)
- The Old Ones (1953)
1953
Mister Peepers (TV Series) as
Mrs. Murchison
- The Leather Chair (1953) - Mrs. Murchison
- The Puppies (1953) - Mrs. Murchison
1953
Dark of Night (TV Series)
- Episode #1.16 (1953)
1952
One Woman's Story (TV Series)
- Time of the Snow Flowers (1952)
- Send My Love (1952)
1952
Captain Video and His Video Rangers (TV Series) as
Mrs. Bullfinch
- Space Race (1952) - Mrs. Bullfinch
1952
Hallmark Hall of Fame (TV Series) as
Madame Beauchet
- Reign of Terror (1952) - Madame Beauchet
1949
Hands of Mystery (TV Series)
- The Fly (1952)
- The Case of the Human Cannonball (1950)
- Death with Father (1950)
- The Flying Saucers (1950)
- The Sleepwalker (1950)
- Stool Pigeon (1950)
- Street Gang (1949)
- Memo to a Killer (1949)
1951
Crime with Father (TV Series)
- Episode dated 23 November 1951 (1951)
1951
Lights Out (TV Series) as
Mrs. Patchin
- Will-o'-the-Wisp (1951) - Mrs. Patchin
1950
Rocky King, Detective (TV Series)
- Gang Fight (1950)
1949
The Clock (TV Series)
- Lease of Death (1949)
Soundtrack
1969
Midnight Cowboy (performer: "Hush, Little Baby" - uncredited)
Self
1960
Art Carney Special (TV Series) as
Self
- Victory (1960) - Self
1958
Look Up and Live (TV Series documentary)
- A Picture of Penance (1958)
1955
Lamp Unto My Feet (TV Series)
- Someone for Tea (1955)
1950
The Magic Cottage (TV Series) as
Self
References
Ruth White (actress) Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA