Ruth Ford (July 7, 1911 – August 12, 2009) was an American actress and model. Her brother was the

bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, originally practised by 19th–20th century European and American artists and writers. * Bohemian style, a ...

surrealist Surrealism is an art movement, art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike s ...

Charles Henri Ford. Their parents owned or managed hotels in the American South, and the family regularly moved.

Life and career

Born in Brookhaven, Mississippi, Ford was the daughter of Charles and Gertrude Cato Ford, who owned hotels in four towns in the South. She was a graduate of the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (Epithet, byname Ole Miss) is a Public university, public research university in University, near Oxford, Mississippi, United States, with a University of Mississippi Medical Center, medical center in Jackson, Miss ...

. Writer and artist Charles Henri Ford was her brother. As a model, Ford posed for photographers

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Man Ray Man Ray (born Emmanuel Radnitzky; August 27, 1890 – November 18, 1976) was an American naturalized French visual artist who spent most of his career in Paris. He was a significant contributor to the Dada and Surrealism, Surrealist movements, ...

, and

Carl Van Vechten Carl Van Vechten (; June 17, 1880December 21, 1964) was an American writer and Fine-art photography, artistic photographer who was a patron of the Harlem Renaissance and the literary estate, literary executor of Gertrude Stein. He gained fame ...

, among others. She married actor Peter Van Eyck in 1940, but the marriage was unsuccessful. Van Eyck was the father of her daughter, Shelley, who was born in 1941. Before Ford's trip to Hollywood, she was a member of

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American director, actor, writer, producer, and magician who is remembered for his innovative work in film, radio, and theatre. He is among the greatest and most influential film ...

Mercury Theatre The Mercury Theatre was an independent repertory theatre company founded in New York City in 1937 by Orson Welles and producer John Houseman. The company produced theatrical presentations, radio programs and motion pictures. The Mercury also r ...

, and appeared in his film '' Too Much Johnson'' (1938), which was considered lost until the rediscovery of footage in 2013. Welles's assistance helped her to land contracts with

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...

and

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

studios. Ford's Broadway debut was in ''The Shoemaker's Holiday'' (1938). Among her other Broadway performances, she starred in '' Poor Murderer'' (1976). Ford married film star Zachary Scott, and they remained together until Scott's death in 1965. Scott adopted Shelley, who took the name Shelley Scott. Zachary Scott reportedly died penniless except for a $100,000 insurance policy he left for his widow. Later, in the 1970s, she was involved in a relationship with a much younger man, writer Dotson Rader. Ford, writing out

Christmas card A Christmas card is a greeting card sent as part of the traditional celebration of Christmas in order to convey between people a range of sentiments related to Christmastide and the holiday season. Christmas cards are usually exchanged during ...

s by her courtyard window, was the first person to call 911 to report shots fired at

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apartments after what turned out to be the murder of

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

. Ford died in New York City.

Posthumous

In May 2010 it was reported, originally in ''The Wall Street Journal'', that Ford's estate had been worth $8.4 million, almost all of it in the value of two apartments she owned in the apartment building

in Manhattan, where she died at the age of 98 in 2009. One of the apartments had belonged to her brother Charles, who predeceased her. She bequeathed the apartments to her cook/butler, Indra Tamang, a Nepalese-American whom Charles Henri Ford had brought to New York. Ford's daughter and grandchildren reportedly were disinherited. Tamang sold the larger of Ford's Dakota apartments in 2011 for less than $4.5 million.

Partial filmography

* '' Chloe, Love Is Calling You'' (1934) – Minor Role (uncredited) * '' Too Much Johnson'' (1938) – Mrs. Billings * '' Roaring Frontiers'' (1941) – Reba Bailey * '' Secrets of the Lone Wolf'' (1941) – Helene de Leon * '' The Man Who Returned to Life'' (1942) – Beth Beebe * '' The Lady Is Willing'' (1942) – Myrtle Glossamer * '' Lady Gangster'' (1942) – Lucy Fenton * '' Murder in the Big House'' (1942) – Mrs. Irene Gordon * '' In This Our Life'' (1942) – Mother of Accident Victim (uncredited) * ''

Escape from Crime ''Escape from Crime'' is a 1942 American crime film directed by D. Ross Lederman. It has essentially the same plot as the earlier '' Picture Snatcher'' (1933)., December 19, 2010, accessed March 14, 2015. Plot Cast * Richard Travis as Red O ...

'' (1942) – Myrt * ''

Secret Enemies ''Secret Enemies'' is a 1942 American drama film directed by Benjamin Stoloff and written by Raymond L. Schrock. The film stars Craig Stevens (actor), Craig Stevens, Faye Emerson, John Ridgely, Charles Lang (actor), Charles Lang, Robert Warwick, ...

'' (1942) – Miss Page (uncredited) * '' Across the Pacific'' (1942) – Secretary (uncredited) * '' The Hidden Hand'' (1942) – Estelle Channing * '' The Gorilla Man'' (1943) – Janet Devon * '' Truck Busters'' (1943) – Pearl * ''

Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...

'' (1943) – Nurse (uncredited) * '' Murder on the Waterfront'' (1943) – Lana Shane * '' Adventure in Iraq'' (1943) – Tess Torrence * '' Princess O'Rourke'' (1943) – Clare Stillwell (uncredited) * '' Wilson'' (1944) – Margaret Wilson * ''

The Keys of the Kingdom ''The Keys of the Kingdom'' is a 1941 in literature, 1941 novel by A. J. Cronin. Spanning six decades, it tells the story of Father Francis Chisholm, an unconventional Scottish Catholic priest who struggles to establish a mission (Christian), ...

'' (1944) – Sister Clotilde * ''

Circumstantial Evidence Circumstantial evidence is evidence that relies on an inference to connect it to a conclusion of fact, such as a fingerprint at the scene of a crime. By contrast, direct evidence supports the truth of an assertion directly, i.e., without need ...

'' (1945) – Mrs. Simms * '' The Woman Who Came Back'' (1945) – Ruth Gibson * '' Strange Impersonation'' (1946) – Jane Karaski #1 * '' Dragonwyck'' (1946) – Cornelia Van Borden (uncredited) * '' Act One'' (1963) – Beatrice Kaufman * '' The Tree'' (1969) – Mrs. Gagnon * '' Play It As It Lays'' (1972) – Carlotta * '' Too Scared to Scream'' (1985) – Irma (final film role)

References

External links

*
Ruth Ford
at

Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie channel, movie-oriented pay television, pay-TV television network, network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcas ...

* *
Ruth Ford's obituary in ''The Daily Telegraph''

Ruth Ford's obituary in ''The Times''

* Ruth Ford Papers. Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ford, Ruth Actresses from Mississippi Female models from Mississippi American film actresses American stage actresses People from Brookhaven, Mississippi People from Clarksville, Tennessee 1911 births 2009 deaths 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American women