Betty Ruth Smith (May 25, 1915 – February 1, 2008) was an American actress best known for her work in

old-time radio The Golden Age of Radio, also known as the old-time radio (OTR) era, was an era of radio in the United States where it was the dominant electronic home entertainment medium. It began with the birth of commercial radio broadcasting in the earl ...

Early years

The daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Sloan H. Smith and a native of

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the List of cities in Kansas, most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397, ...

, Smith began taking drama lessons when she was five years old. By 1922, she was "well known to theater patrons" when she performed a dance number in a musical program at the Wichita Theater. She acted on the campus radio station at the University of Kansas, from which she graduated in 1937. While she was a student at the university, students chose her as Homecoming Queen and Intercollegiate Festival Queen. She also acted in Little Theater productions in Wichita.

Career

After her college graduation, Smith took a job at radio station KFH in Wichita, having leading parts on ''The Phantom Theater'', ''Parlor Playhouse'', and other programs. While there, she also learned to write for radio. After 18 months on that station, she took a vacation in Chicago and auditioned successfully for NBC radio while she was there. In Chicago, she began working on network radio programs. In 1943, she became the star of ''

The Romance of Helen Trent ''The Romance of Helen Trent'' was a radio soap opera which aired on CBS from October 30, 1933 to June 24, 1960 for a total of 7,222 episodes. The show was created by Frank and Anne Hummert, who were among the most prolific producers during the ...

'', a popular CBS soap opera. She had temporarily filled that role in 1942 when the star, Virginia Clark, had a baby. Besides her work on ''Helen Trent'', Smith's other roles on network radio programs included those shown in the table below. She was also heard on ''Backstage Wife,'' ''Stepmother'', and ''Mary Marlin''. In 1942, Smith was designated the "radio actress with the most beautiful eyes."

Personal life and death

In 1943, Smith married U. S. Naval Reserve Lieutenant Junior Grade Robert Francis Zech. In 1951, they relocated to Dallas, where she became active in community affairs, serving as

lay reader In Anglicanism, a licensed lay minister (LLM) or lay reader (in some jurisdictions simply reader) is a person authorised by a bishop to lead certain Church service, services of worship (or parts of the service), to preach and to carry out pastoral ...

at St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church. She also sat on the boards of the local

Junior League The Association of Junior Leagues International, Inc. (Junior League or JL) is a private, nonprofit educational women's volunteer organization aimed at improving communities and the social, cultural, and political fabric of civil society. With ...

, the

Dallas Museum of Art The Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) is an art museum located in the Arts District of downtown Dallas, Texas, along Woodall Rodgers Freeway between St. Paul and Harwood. In the 1970s, the museum moved from its previous location in Fair Park to the A ...

, and of

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

member station

KERA-TV KERA-TV (channel 13) is a PBS member television station licensed to Dallas, Texas, United States, serving the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Owned by North Texas Public Broadcasting, Inc., it is sister to NPR member station KERA (90.1 FM), adul ...

, on whose behalf she was an especially vocal advocate. On February 1, 2008, in

Fort Wayne, Indiana Fort Wayne is a city in Allen County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 at the 2020 census ...

, Betty Ruth Zech died at age 92, preceded in death by her husband and survived by their three children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Betty Ruth 1915 births 2008 deaths 20th-century American actresses American radio actresses American soap opera actresses Actresses from Wichita, Kansas University of Kansas alumni