Ruby Berkley Goodwin (October 17, 1903 – May 31, 1961) was an American writer and actress.

Early life

Ruby Berkley was born in Du Quoin, Illinois, the daughter of Braxton Berkley and Sophia Jane Holmes Berkley. Her father was a coal miner and union organizer. The family moved to California when Ruby was a teenager. She trained as a teacher at San Diego State Teachers’ College. Later she attended Fullerton Junior College. In 1949, she earned a bachelor's degree studying "world peace and understanding" from San Gabriel College. Her younger brother Thomas Lucius Berkley (1915–2001) became a noted attorney and newspaper publisher in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

Career

Berkley taught in El Centro, California as a young woman. She was personal secretary and publicist to actress Hattie McDaniel from 1936 to 1951. She is said to have helped McDaniel write her 1940 Oscars acceptance speech. She worked for Ethel Waters in a similar capacity. With her syndicated column, "Hollywood in Bronze", she was "the first accredited Black Hollywood correspondent". In the 1940s she began acting on stage, in Los Angeles productions including ''

The Little Foxes ''The Little Foxes'' is a 1939 play by Lillian Hellman, considered a classic of 20th century drama. Its title comes from Chapter 2, Verse 15 of the Song of Solomon in the King James version of the Bible, which reads, "Take us the foxes, the litt ...

'', ''Nine Pine Street'', '' Anna Lucasta'', '' The Member of the Wedding'', ''

Winesburg, Ohio ''Winesburg, Ohio'' (full title: ''Winesburg, Ohio: A Group of Tales of Ohio Small-Town Life'') is a 1919 short story cycle by the American author Sherwood Anderson. The work is structured around the life of protagonist George Willard, from the ...

'', and ''The Male Animal''. On film, she had roles in ''

The View from Pompey's Head ''The View from Pompey's Head'' is a novel by American writer Hamilton Basso, first published by Doubleday in 1954. It spent 40 weeks on ''The New York Times'' bestseller list. The title refers to the book's setting, the fictional small town ...

'' (1955), ''

Strange Intruder ''Strange Intruder'' is a 1956 American film noir crime film directed by Irving Rapper and starring Edmund Purdom, Ida Lupino and Ann Harding. Plot Dying in a Korea prisoner-of-war camp, Adrian Carmichael learns his wife Alice has been unfai ...

'' (1956), ''

The Alligator People ''The Alligator People'' is a 1959 CinemaScope science-fiction horror film directed by Roy Del Ruth.''Midnight Marquee Actors Series: Lon Chaney, Jr.'' by Gary Svehla It stars Beverly Garland, Bruce Bennett, and Lon Chaney Jr. This film was th ...

'' (1959), '' High Time'' (1960), and '' Wild in the Country'' (1961). On television, she appeared in episodes of '' Cavalcade of America'' (1955, 1956), ''

My Little Margie ''My Little Margie'' is an American television situation comedy starring Gale Storm and Charles Farrell that alternated between CBS and NBC from 1952 to 1955. The series was created by Frank Fox and produced in Los Angeles, California, at Hal Ro ...

'' (1955), '' Star Stage'' (1956), ''

Chevron Hall of Stars ''Chevron Hall of Stars'' is an American television anthology series which aired in 1956 in first-run syndication. It was produced by Four Star Productions, and was a half-hour series. Gene Roddenberry’s script ''The Secret Weapon of 117' ...

'' (1956), '' The Fireside Theatre'' (1956), '' General Electric Theater'' (1956), '' The Ford Television Theatre'' (1956, 1957), ''

The Loretta Young Show ''The Loretta Young Show'' (originally known as ''Letter to Loretta'') is an American anthology drama television series broadcast on Sunday nights from September 2, 1953, to June 4, 1961, on NBC for a total of 165 episodes. The series was hosted ...

'' (1957), ''

Wagon Train ''Wagon Train'' is an American Western series that aired 8 seasons: first on the NBC television network (1957–1962), and then on ABC (1962–1965). ''Wagon Train'' debuted on September 18, 1957, and became number one in the Nielsen ratings. It ...

'' (1957), '' The Adventures of Jim Bowie'' (1958), '' The Texan'' (1958), and ''

Alfred Hitchcock Presents ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' is an American television anthology series created, hosted and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, aired on CBS and NBC between 1955 and 1965. It features dramas, thrillers and mysteries. Between 1962 and 1965 it was ren ...

'' (1959). Goodwin won a poetry award in 1935 at the Los Angeles Festival of Arts. She wrote short sketches to accompany

William Grant Still William Grant Still Jr. (May 11, 1895 – December 3, 1978) was an American composer of nearly two hundred works, including five symphonies, four ballets, nine operas, over thirty choral works, plus art songs, chamber music and works fo ...

's ''Twelve Negro Spirituals'' (1937). Her poetry was collected in ''From My Kitchen Window'' (1942) and ''A Gold Star Mother Speaks'' (1944). She wrote a musical, ''American Rhapsody'' (1942), a series of radio scripts, a novel, and a collection of autobiographical essays, ''It's Good to Be Black'' (1953). She was the first Black author to win a gold medal from the

Commonwealth Club of California The Commonwealth Club of California is a non-profit, non-partisan educational organization based in Northern California. Founded in 1903, it is the oldest and largest public affairs forum in the United States. Membership is open to everyone. Act ...

Hugh H. Smythe Hugh Heyne Smythe (August 19, 1913 – June 22, 1977) was an American author, sociologist, diplomat and professor. He was an authority on African anthropology and East Asian studies. He served as the United States Ambassador to Syria from 1965 to ...

reviewed ''It's Good to Be Black'' in ''

The Crisis ''The Crisis'' is the official magazine of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). It was founded in 1910 by W. E. B. Du Bois (editor), Oswald Garrison Villard, J. Max Barber, Charles Edward Russell, Kelly Mi ...

'' harshly, concluding that it "makes no real contribution towards improving relations between the races". More recent assessments find the book to be a valuable record of black life in Southern Illinois mining country.

Personal life

Ruby Berkley married mechanic Lee Goodwin in 1924. They had five children together. She was named California's Mother of the Year in 1955. She died in Los Angeles in 1961, aged 57 years, from

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a re ...

. One of her sons, Robert Lee Goodwin, built a career in Hollywood as a screenwriter.

References

External links

*
A 1955 portrait of Ruby Berkley Goodwin
in the

California State Library The California State Library is the state library of the State of California, founded in 1850 by the California State Legislature. The Library collects, preserves, generates and disseminates a wide array of information. Today, it is the central ...

.
Same image
is in the

Detroit Public Library The Detroit Public Library is the second largest library system in the U.S. state of Michigan by volumes held (after the University of Michigan Library) and the 21st-largest library system (and the fourth-largest public library system) in the Uni ...

's Digital Collections.)
A 1955 photograph taken at the Urban League Awards
featuring Ruby Berkeley Goodwin receiving an award from actress Rosemary DeCamp; at

Getty Images Getty Images Holdings, Inc. is an American visual media company and is a supplier of stock images, editorial photography, video and music for business and consumers, with a library of over 477 million assets. It targets three markets— creative ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Goodwin, Ruby Berkley 1903 births 1961 deaths American women writers African-American writers African-American women writers American columnists African-American actresses Fullerton College alumni People from Du Quoin, Illinois Deaths from breast cancer 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people