Rita Gam (born Rita Eleanore MacKay, April 2, 1927 – March 22, 2016) was an American film and television actress and documentary filmmaker. She won the Silver Bear for Best Actress.

Background

Gam was born in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, the daughter of Belle (née Fately), who was born in Romania, and Milton A. MacKay, who was born in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

to parents from Romania. Her father died in New York in 1931 and her mother remarried. Gam took the surname of her stepfather, Benjamin J. Gam.

Career

Gam was a model before she ventured into acting. Her acting career began on Broadway and in television, after which she moved on to films. Her Broadway credits included ''

There's a Girl in My Soup ''There's a Girl in My Soup'' is a 1970 British romantic comedy film directed by Roy Boulting and starring Peter Sellers and Goldie Hawn. Terence Frisby wrote the screenplay based on his 1966 stage play of the same name. Plot Robert Danve ...

'', ''The Insect Comedy'', '' A Flag is Born'', and ''A Temporary Island''. She appeared first in the 1952

film noir Film noir (; ) is a style of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood Crime film, crime dramas that emphasizes cynicism (contemporary), cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of Ameri ...

'' The Thief'', which starred Ray Milland. In October 1952, she signed a long-term

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

contract. Another notable role was

Herodias Herodias (; , ''Hērōidiás''; c. 15 BC – after AD 39) was a princess of the Herodian dynasty of Judea, Judaea during the time of the Roman Empire. Christian writings connect her with the Beheading of John the Baptist, execution of John the Ba ...

in 1961's ''

King of Kings King of Kings, ''Mepet mepe''; , group="n" was a ruling title employed primarily by monarchs based in the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent. Commonly associated with History of Iran, Iran (historically known as name of Iran, Persia ...

''. Gam was also an occasional panelist on the televised CBS game show ''What's My Line'' during the 1950s and early 1960s. She shared the Silver Bear for Best Actress award with Viveca Lindfors at the 1962 Berlin Film Festival, for their performances in Tad Danielewski's '' No Exit''. In 1963, Gam was a leading member of the Minnesota Theatre Company in the opening season of the Tyrone Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. Gam appeared in a few more American films before working in Europe. She returned to the U.S. to appear in small parts in films, including ''

Klute ''Klute'' is a 1971 American neo-noir psychological thriller film directed and produced by Alan J. Pakula and starring Jane Fonda, Donald Sutherland, Charles Cioffi, Nathan George, Dorothy Tristan, Roy Scheider and Rita Gam. Its plot follows a ...

'' in 1971, before taking up documentary filmmaking. In 2003, she appeared in the rotating cast of the

off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

stage reading of '' Wit & Wisdom''. In 2004, she appeared in one of a series of ads for the

Royal Bank of Scotland The Royal Bank of Scotland Public Limited Company () is a major retail banking, retail and commercial bank in Scotland. It is one of the retail banking subsidiaries of NatWest Group, together with NatWest and Ulster Bank. The Royal Bank of Sco ...

Personal life and death

Gam's first husband was director

Sidney Lumet Sidney Arthur Lumet ( ; June 25, 1924 – April 9, 2011) was an American film director. Lumet started his career in theatre before moving to film, where he gained a reputation for making realistic and gritty New York City, New York dramas w ...

, whom she married in 1949. The marriage ended in divorce in 1955. In 1956, Gam was a bridesmaid at the wedding of Grace Kelly to Prince Rainier in Monaco. Gam's 1956 marriage to publisher Thomas Guinzburg ended in divorce in 1963. Gam died on March 22, 2016, at

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a non-profit, Tertiary referral hospital, tertiary, 915-bed teaching hospital and multi-specialty academic health science centre, academic health science center located in Los Angeles, California. Part of the Cedars ...

in Los Angeles, California, from respiratory failure.

Books

Gam was the author of two books, ''Actress to Actress'' and ''Actors: A Celebration.''

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * *
Rita Gam
at the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

'
Actors Studio audio collection
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gam, Rita 1927 births 2016 deaths Actresses from Pittsburgh American documentary film directors American film actresses American people of French-Jewish descent American people of Romanian-Jewish descent American television actresses American stage actresses Jewish American actresses Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract players Ethical Culture Fieldston School alumni Silver Bear for Best Actress winners 20th-century American actresses Film directors from New York City American women documentary filmmakers Lumet family