Ruth Attaway (June 28, 1910 – September 21, 1987) was an American film and stage actress. Among the films she appeared in are '' Raintree County'' (1957), ''

Porgy and Bess ''Porgy and Bess'' ( ) is an English-language opera by American composer George Gershwin, with a libretto written by author DuBose Heyward and lyricist Ira Gershwin. It was adapted from Dorothy Heyward and DuBose Heyward's play ''Porgy (play), ...

'' (1959) and ''

Being There ''Being There'' is a 1979 American satirical comedy-drama film starring Peter Sellers, Shirley MacLaine, and Melvyn Douglas. Directed by Hal Ashby, it is based on the 1971 novel '' Being There'' by Jerzy Kosiński, and adapted for the scr ...

'' (1979).

Early life

Attaway was born on June 28, 1910, in

Greenville, Mississippi Greenville is the List of municipalities in Mississippi, ninth-most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, and the largest city by population in the Mississippi Delta region. It is the county seat of Washington County, Mississippi, Was ...

.Ruth Attaway biography at ''The New York Times''
/ref> She was the daughter of physician W.A. Attaway, PhD. Her siblings included a sister, Florence, and a brother, novelist and writer

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

. She graduated from the

University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United States. Established in 1867, it is the f ...

, where she majored in sociology.

Career

Theatre work

Attaway made her Broadway debut in 1936 in the

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

winning play, '' You Can't Take It with You''. Attaway was the first director of the New York Players Guild, a black repertory theater company formed in New York in 1945. From 1954 to 1955, Attaway portrayed Anna Hicks in the play ''Mrs. Patterson'' at the National Theater. From 1964 to 1967, Attaway was with the Repertory Society of Lincoln Center.

Film work

Attaway made her film debut by portraying Moll in '' The President's Lady'' (1953), opposite

Susan Hayward Susan Hayward (born Edythe Marrener; June 30, 1917 – March 14, 1975) was an American actress best known for her film portrayals of women that were based on true stories. After working as a fashion model for the Walter Clarence Thornton, Walt ...

and

Charlton Heston Charlton Heston (born John Charles Carter; October 4, 1923 – April 5, 2008) was an American actor. He gained stardom for his leading man roles in numerous Cinema of the United States, Hollywood films including biblical epics, science-fiction f ...

. She went on to play a variety of characters in film such as Philomena in '' The Young Don't Cry'' (1957), Serena in ''

'' (1959), Edna in '' Conrack'' (1974) and Louise in ''

'' (1979).

Television work

In 1954, Attaway was within the cast of an unaired pilot titled ''Three's Company''. She also played Delia in the 1978 television movie, '' The Bermuda Depths''.

Other ventures

In addition to acting, Attaway was also trained as a

social worker Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...

and, between acting jobs, worked with the

American Red Cross The American National Red Cross is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Humanitarianism, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. Clara Barton founded ...

, the New York State Department of Social Welfare and New York's Metropolitan Hospital.

Honors

On November 10, 1953, Attaway was one of three people cited by the Coordinating Council For Negro Performers at a special benefit in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...

Personal life and death

Attaway was married to Allan Morrison, an editor of ''

Ebony Ebony is a dense black/brown hardwood, coming from several species in the genus '' Diospyros'', which also includes the persimmon tree. A few ''Diospyros'' species, such as macassar and mun ebony, are dense enough to sink in water. Ebony is fin ...

''. He died on May 29, 1968, at the age of 51. Attaway died on September 21, 1987, in New York Hospital of injuries resulting from a

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

apartment fire.Ruth Attaway at Turner Classic Movies
/ref> She was 77 years old.

Partial filmography

*'' The President's Lady'' (1953) - Moll *'' The Young Don't Cry'' (1957) - Philomena *'' Raintree County'' (1957) - Parthenia (uncredited) *''

'' (1959) - Serena Robbins *'' Terror in the City'' (1964) - Farmer's Wife *'' Conrack'' (1974) - Edna *'' The Taking of Pelham One Two Three'' (1974) - Mayor's Nurse *'' The Bermuda Depths'' (1978) - Delia *''

'' (1979) - Louise (final film role)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Attaway, Ruth 1910 births 1987 deaths 20th-century African-American actresses 20th-century American actresses Accidental deaths in New York (state) Actresses from Mississippi Actresses from New York City American film actresses American social workers American stage actresses Deaths from fire in the United States People from Greenville, Mississippi University of Illinois College of Liberal Arts and Sciences alumni