Ruth Godfrey (February 24, 1922January 7, 1985) was an American film actress, best known for her work in several

Three Stooges The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short-subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical, farce, and slapstick comedy. Six total ...

shorts. She also worked under the name of Ruth Godfrey White.

Career

Stage

Godfrey danced in a production of ''

Meet the People ''Meet the People'' (1944) is a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musical comedy film made, and set, during World War II, and starring Lucille Ball and Dick Powell and featuring Virginia O'Brien, Bert Lahr, Rags Ragland and June Allyson. The film takes its ...

'' at

La Conga LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music *La (musical note), or A, the sixth note *"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smit ...

, a New York night club, in 1942. She danced in ''

Something for the Boys ''Something for the Boys'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter and a book by Herbert Fields and Dorothy Fields. Produced by Mike Todd, the show opened on Broadway in 1943 and starred Ethel Merman in her fifth Cole Porter musical. ...

'' on Broadway in 1943 and joined other cast members in entertaining soldiers at a hospital. She and other performers, including

Allen Jenkins Allen Curtis Jenkins (born Alfred McGonegal; April 9, 1900 – July 20, 1974) was an American character actor, voice actor and singer who worked on stage, film, and television. He may be best known to some audiences as the voice of Officer Charl ...

, did a four-month tour of the Hawaiian islands with USO-Camp Shows.

Film

Godfrey was assistant dance director at

Warner Brothers 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 ...

for ten years. She was under contract to

Columbia Studios Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film production and distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Entertainment's Sony Pictures ...

for two years, starting in 1946 She was the choreographer for ''

The Ten Commandments The Ten Commandments (), or the Decalogue (from Latin , from Ancient Greek , ), are religious and ethical directives, structured as a covenant document, that, according to the Hebrew Bible, were given by YHWH to Moses. The text of the Ten C ...

'' at

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

. Godfrey taught such stars as Jimmy Cagney, Gene Nelson, Jane Powell, Ann Sothern and Lucille Ball. Godfrey first joined

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 ...

as a member of The Jack Cole Dancers, along with supporting actresses

Nita Bieber Nita Gale Bieber (July 18, 1926 – February 4, 2019) was an American actress and dancer. Early years Bieber was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Callie Mae (Robbins) and William Carl Bieber. She was one of five siblings who st ...

and Gloria Patrice. All three would appear in her 1946 debut film with the Stooges, ''

Rhythm and Weep ''Rhythm and Weep'' is a 1946 short subject directed by Jules White starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly Howard). It is the 95th entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring th ...

''. She was the featured dancer in the

Soundie A soundie is a three-minute American film displaying both the audio and video of a musical performance. Over 1,850 soundies were produced between 1940 and 1946, regarded today as "precursors to music videos". Soundies exhibited a variety of mu ...

''Hats Off'' (1943), performing to the song " Where Did You Get That Hat?" with the Winnie Hoveler Dancers. Godfrey appeared in several more Three Stooges films throughout the 1950s, such as '' Shot in the Frontier'', '' Musty Musketeers'' and ''

Pardon My Backfire ''Pardon My Backfire'' is a 1953 short subject directed by Jules White starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges ( Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Shemp Howard). It is the 149th entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starri ...

''. Memorably, Godfrey became the only actress in the history of the slapstick comedy trio to deliver a triple slap—twice—to the Stooges in 1957's ''

A Merry Mix Up ''A Merry Mix-Up'' is a 1957 short subject directed by Jules White starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Joe Besser). It is the 177th entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the ...

''. Though she made less than 10 films with the comedy team, Godfrey is one of the few actresses to have worked with five of the six Stooges (

Shemp Howard Shemp Howard (born Samuel Horwitz; March 11, 1895 – November 22, 1955) was an American comedian and actor. He is best known as the third Stooge in The Three Stooges, a role he played when the act began in the early 1920s (1923–1932), while i ...

Moe Howard Moses Harry Horwitz (June 19, 1897 – May 4, 1975), better known by his stage name Moe Howard, was an American comedian and actor. He is best known as the leader and straight man of the Three Stooges, the farce comedy team who starred in motion ...

Larry Fine Louis Feinberg (October 4, 1902 – January 24, 1975), better known by his stage name Larry Fine, was an American actor, comedian and musician. He is best known as a member of the comedy act the Three Stooges and was often called "The Middle St ...

Curly Howard Jerome Lester Horwitz (October 22, 1903 – January 18, 1952), better known by his stage name Curly Howard, was an American comedian and actor. He was a member of The Three Stooges comedy team, which also featured his elder brothers Moe and ...

and

Joe Besser Joe Besser (born Jessel Besser, August 12, 1907 – March 1, 1988) was an American actor and comedian known for his impish humor and wimpy characters. He is best known for his brief stint as a member of The Three Stooges in movie short subject ...

) on film in the various incarnations of the group. Godfrey retired from film shortly after production of Stooge shorts films ceased in December 1957.

Personal life and death

Godfrey's

father-in-law A parent-in-law is a person who has a legal affinity (law), affinity with another by being the parent of the other's spouse. Many cultures and legal systems impose duties and responsibilities on persons connected by this relationship. A person i ...

was

short subject A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film or ...

head

Jules White Jules White (born Julius Weiss; 17 September 1900 – 30 April 1985) was an American film director and producer best known for his short-subject comedies starring The Three Stooges. Early years White began working in motion pictures in the ...

. Godfrey died of

chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a type of progressive lung disease characterized by chronic respiratory symptoms and airflow limitation. GOLD defines COPD as a heterogeneous lung condition characterized by chronic respiratory s ...

in the Northridge section of

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

on January 7, 1985.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Godfrey, Ruth 1922 births 1985 deaths American film actresses 20th-century American actresses