Ruth Gillette (August 16, 1906 – May 13, 1994) was an American actress. She appeared in numerous films, TV series and theatrical productions from the 1920s to the 1980s.

Early life

Gillette was born in Chicago in 1906, the daughter of Millard and Goldena Gillette.

Career

Gillette started her career in 1925, acting mainly in musical comedy, debuting in the Broadway musical Gay Paree. During the 1930s she appeared in films like '' Stage Mother'', ''

Frontier Marshal (1939 film) ''Frontier Marshal'' is a 1939 American Western film directed by Allan Dwan and starring Randolph Scott as Wyatt Earp. The film is the second produced by Sol M. Wurtzel based on Stuart N. Lake's biography of Earp '' Wyatt Earp: Frontier Marsh ...

'', '' David Harum'', '' Three on a Honeymoon'', ''

Wild Gold Wild, wild, wilds or wild may refer to: Common meanings * Wild animal * Wilderness, a wild natural environment * Wildness, the quality of being wild or untamed Art, media and entertainment Film and television * ''Wild'' (2014 film), a 2014 A ...

'', '' Convention Girl'', '' Off to the Races'', ''

This Is My Affair ''This Is My Affair'' is a 1937 American crime film directed by William A. Seiter and starring Robert Taylor, Barbara Stanwyck, Victor McLaglen and Brian Donlevy. It was released by 20th Century Fox. Plot In 1901, US President William McKinle ...

'', '' Saratoga'' and during the 1940s and 1950s she also appeared in films like ''

The Postman Didn't Ring ''The Postman Didn't Ring'' is a 1942 American comedy film directed by Harold D. Schuster and written by Mortimer Braus. The film stars Richard Travis, Brenda Joyce, Spencer Charters, Stanley Andrews, William Bakewell and Emma Dunn. The film ...

'', ''

Coney Island Coney Island is a peninsular neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach to its east, Lower New York Bay to th ...

'', ''

Nob Hill Nob Hill is a neighborhood of San Francisco, California, United States that is known for its numerous luxury hotels and historic mansions. Nob Hill has historically served as a center of San Francisco's upper class. Nob Hill is among the highes ...

'' and ''

In a Lonely Place ''In a Lonely Place'' is a 1950 American film noir directed by Nicholas Ray and starring Humphrey Bogart and Gloria Grahame, produced for Bogart's Santana Productions. The script was written by Andrew P. Solt from Edmund H. North's adaptation o ...

''. She also appeared in the Broadway productions '' Babes in Toyland'', ''

The Pajama Game ''The Pajama Game'' is a musical based on the 1953 novel ''7½ Cents'' by Richard Bissell. The book is by George Abbott and Richard Bissell; the music and lyrics are by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. and dances were staged by Bob Fosse in his ch ...

'', ''

The Gazebo ''The Gazebo'' is a 1959 American black comedy CinemaScope film about a married couple who are being blackmailed. It was based on the 1958 play of the same name by Alec Coppel and directed by George Marshall. Helen Rose was nominated for the ...

'', and '' 70, Girls, 70''. She subsequently appeared in TV series like ''

The Partridge Family ''The Partridge Family'' is an American musical sitcom starring Shirley Jones and featuring David Cassidy. Jones plays a widowed mother, and Cassidy plays the oldest of her five children, in a family who embarks on a music career. It ran from ...

'', ''

Madame's Place ''Madame's Place'' is an American sitcom based on the ribald, acerbic, aging-celebrity diva Madame, a puppet character portrayed by Wayland Flowers. ''Madame's Place'' was produced for one season with 51 (numbered but untitled) episodes, original ...

'', ''

Too Close for Comfort ''Too Close for Comfort'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on ABC from November 11, 1980, to May 5, 1983, and in first-run syndication from April 7, 1984, to February 7, 1987. Its name was changed to ''The Ted Knight Show'' w ...

'' and '' The Facts of Life'' during the 1970s and 1980s.

Personal life

Gillette was married to composer Harry Archer, they had one son, Robert Gillette Robbins. Archer died in 1960. On May 13, 1994, Gillette died of lung cancer in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

, California. Gillette was 87 years old. Gillette was cremated.

Filmography

Film

* '' Stage Mother'' (1933) - Blonde (uncredited) * '' Frontier Marshal'' (1934) - Queenie LaVerne * '' David Harum'' (1934) - Lillian Russell (uncredited) * '' Three on a Honeymoon'' (1934) - Mrs. Foster (uncredited) * '' I Believed in You'' (1934) - Woman in Cafe (uncredited) * ''

'' (1934) - Dixie Belle * '' Woman in the Dark'' (1934) - Lil Logan * '' Life Begins at 40'' (1935) - Mrs. Cotton * '' Convention Girl'' (1935) - Helen Shalton * ''

Silk Hat Kid ''Silk Hat Kid'' is a 1935 American crime film directed by H. Bruce Humberstone and written by Edward Eliscu, Lou Breslow and Dore Schary. The film, starring Lew Ayres, Mae Clarke, Paul Kelly, Ralf Harolde, William Harrigan and Billy Lee, was ...

'' (1935) - First Tart (uncredited) * '' Navy Wife'' (1935) - Jenny (uncredited) * '' The Spanish Cape Mystery'' (1935) - Laura Constable * ''

The Great Ziegfeld ''The Great Ziegfeld'' is a 1936 American musical drama film directed by Robert Z. Leonard and produced by Hunt Stromberg. It stars William Powell as the theatrical impresario Florenz "Flo" Ziegfeld Jr., Luise Rainer as Anna Held, and Myrn ...

'' (1936) - Lillian Russell (uncredited) * ''

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

'' (1936) - Earthquake Survivor (uncredited) * '' The Gentleman from Louisiana'' (1936) - Lillian Russell * '' Bulldog Edition'' (1936) - Jailhouse Gertie (uncredited) * '' Off to the Races'' (1937) - Rosabelle * ''

'' (1937) - Blonde * '' Saratoga'' (1937) - Mrs. Pearl Hurley (uncredited) * ''

Wife, Doctor and Nurse ''Wife, Doctor and Nurse'' is a 1937 American comedy film directed by Walter Lang and starring Loretta Young. Plot Cast * Loretta Young as Ina Heath Lewis * Warner Baxter as Dr. Judd Lewis * Virginia Bruce as Miss Stephens aka Steve * Jane Da ...

'' (1937) - Ex-Follies Girl (uncredited) * ''

In Old Chicago ''In Old Chicago'' is a 1938 American disaster musical drama film directed by Henry King. The screenplay by Sonya Levien and Lamar Trotti was based on the Niven Busch story, "We the O'Learys". The film is a fictionalized account about the Gre ...

'' (1938) - Miss Lou * ''

Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm ''Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm'' is a classic American 1903 children's novel by Kate Douglas Wiggin that tells the story of Rebecca Rowena Randall and her aunts, one stern and one kind, in the fictional village of Riverboro, Maine. Rebecca's ...

'' (1938) - Melba * '' Josette'' (1938) - Belle * ''

The Chaser The Chaser are an Australian satirical comedy group, best known for their television programmes and satirical news masthead. The group take their name from their satirical newspaper, a publication known to challenge conventions of taste. Th ...

'' (1938) - Mrs. Olaf Olson * '' The Man from Music Mountain'' (1938) - Madam Fatima (uncredited) * ''

Slander House ''Slander House'' is a 1938 American film directed by Charles Lamont. The film's producer was Ben Judell of Progressive Pictures, known for low-budget exploitation films with provocative titles; other films released by Progressive the same year ...

'' (1938) - Mme. Renault * ''

Pride of the Navy ''Pride of the Navy'' is a 1939 American action film directed by Charles Lamont and written by Ben Markson and Saul Elkins. The film stars James Dunn, Rochelle Hudson, Gordon Oliver, Horace McMahon, Gordon Jones and Charlotte Wynters. The fil ...

'' (1939) - Undetermined Role (uncredited) * '' Made for Each Other'' (1939) - Tipsy Blonde at New Year's Eve Party (uncredited) * '' The Return of the Cisco Kid'' (1939) - Flora * ''

Little Accident ''Little Accident'' was a 1928 Broadway three-act comedy written by Floyd Dell and Thomas Mitchell (who also played Norman Overbeck in the play). It was based on Dell's 1927 novel ''An Unmarried Father''. It was produced by Crosby Gaige and direc ...

'' (1939) - Woman (uncredited) * ''

The Monster and the Girl ''The Monster and the Girl'' is a 1941 American black-and-white horror film directed by Stuart Heisler and released by Paramount Pictures. Plot The film revolves around a small-town church organist named Scot Webster (Philip Terry) attempting ...

'' (1941) - Wedding Witness (uncredited) * ''

For Beauty's Sake ''For Beauty's Sake'' is a 1941 American comedy film directed by Shepard Traube and written by Walter Bullock, Ethel Hill and Wanda Tuchock. The film stars Ned Sparks, Marjorie Weaver, Ted North, Joan Davis, Pierre Watkin and Lenita Lane. The f ...

'' (1941) - Fat Woman (uncredited) * '' Small Town Deb'' (1942) - Clerk * ''

'' (1942) - Secretary (uncredited) * '' Street of Chance'' (1942) - Blonde (uncredited) * ''

Hello, Frisco, Hello ''Hello, Frisco, Hello'' is a 1943 American musical film directed by H. Bruce Humberstone and starring Alice Faye, John Payne, Lynn Bari, and Jack Oakie. The film was made in Technicolor and released by 20th Century-Fox. This was one of the las ...

'' (1943) - Singer (uncredited) * ''

'' (1943) - Saloon Patron (uncredited) * ''

'' (1945) - uncredited * ''

Everybody Does It ''Everybody Does It'' is a 1949 comedy film starring Paul Douglas, Linda Darnell and Celeste Holm. In the film, a businessman's wife tries to become an opera star, failing miserably due to her lack of talent. When it turns out that her totally u ...

'' (1949) - Mrs. Craig (uncredited) * ''

'' (1950) - Martha (uncredited) * ''

The Shaggy D.A. ''The Shaggy D.A.'' is a 1976 American comedy film and a sequel to '' The Shaggy Dog'' (1959) produced by Walt Disney Productions. It was directed by Robert Stevenson and written by Don Tait. As with the first film in the series, it takes som ...

'' (1976) - Song Chairman * ''

Going Ape! ''Going Ape!'' is a 1981 American comedy film directed by Jeremy Joe Kronsberg and produced by Paramount Pictures. The original music score was composed by Elmer Bernstein (who would later compose music for a later similarly ape-themed comedy '' ...

'' (1981) - Marianne

Television

* '' Dennis the Menace'' - The Lost Dog (1963) TV Episode .... Mrs. Morton * ''

'' - The Last of Howard (1973) TV Episode .... Mrs. Milstead * ''

'' - Episode 1.21 (1982) TV Episode .... Mrs. Stewart, III * ''

'' - Don't Rock The Boat (1983) TV Episode .... Mrs. Wrigley * '' The Facts of Life'' - Two Guys from Appleton (1985) TV Episode .... Ruth - Grand Opening (1985) TV Episode .... Ruth - Out of Peekskill: Part 1 (1986) TV Episode .... Ruth - Out of Peekskill: Part 2 (1986) TV Episode .... Ruth

Stage

* ''Gay Paree'' (1925) * '' Babes in Toyland'' (1930) * ''

'' (1954) * ''

'' (1958) * '' 70, Girls, 70'' (1971)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gillette, Ruth 1906 births 1994 deaths American film actresses American television actresses American stage actresses Actresses from Chicago 20th-century American actresses Deaths from lung cancer in California