Ruth Hussey

Ruth Carol Hussey (October 30, 1911 – April 19, 2005) was an American actress best known for her Academy Award-nominated role as photographer Elizabeth Imbrie in '' The Philadelphia Story''.

Early life

Hussey was born in Providence, Rhode Island on October 30, 1911. She was later known as Ruth Carol O'Rourke, her stepfather's surname.Katz, Ephraim (1979). ''The Film Encyclopedia: The Most Comprehensive Encyclopedia of World Cinema in a Single Volume''. Perigee Books. , p. 591. Her father, George R. Hussey, died of the Spanish flu in 1918 when she was seven years old. Ten years later, her mother, Julia Corbett Hussey, married a family friend, William O'Rourke, who had worked at the family's mail-order silver enterprise.Rhode Island, State Census, 1925. She had an older brother, Robert, and a younger sister, Betty.

After receiving her early education in Providence public schools, Hussey studied art at Pembroke College and graduated in 1936. She did not win roles for any of the plays for which she had auditioned at Pembroke. She received a degree in theatre from the University of Michigan and worked as an actress with a summer-stock company in Michigan for two seasons. She also attended Boston Business College.

Career

After working as an actress in summer stock, Hussey returned to Providence and was a fashion commentator on a local radio station. She wrote ad copy for a local clothing store and read it on the radio each afternoon. She was encouraged by a friend to audition for acting roles at the Providence Playhouse, but the theater director rejected her, saying that the roles were cast only out of New York City. Later that week, she traveled to New York, and on her first day there, she signed with a talent agent who booked her for a role in a play starting the next day at the Providence Playhouse.

In New York, she worked for a time as a model, then landed a number of stage roles with touring companies. While touring the country in 1937 with '' Dead End'', Hussey was spotted on opening night at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles by MGM talent scout Billy Grady. MGM signed her to a contract and she made her film debut later that year. She quickly became a leading lady in MGM's "B" unit, usually playing sophisticated, worldly roles.

Hussey's breakout role was as Elizabeth Imbrie, the cynical magazine photographer in '' The Philadelphia Story'' (1940), for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. In 1941, theater exhibitors voted her the third-most-popular new star in Hollywood.

Hussey worked with Robert Taylor in '' Flight Command'' (1940), Robert Young in ''Northwest Passage'' (1940) and '' H. M. Pulham, Esq.'' (1941), Van Heflin in '' Tennessee Johnson'' (1942), Ray Milland in '' The Uninvited'' (1944) and Alan Ladd in ''The Great Gatsby'' (1949).

In 1946, Hussey starred on Broadway in the Pulitzer Prize-winning play ''State of the Union''. Her 1949 role in ''Goodbye, My Fancy'' on Broadway caused a ''Billboard'' reviewer to write: "Miss Hussey brings a splendid aliveness and warmth to the lovely congresswoman...."

Hussey played Jean Arthur's role of Miriam Starrett in the 1955 '' Lux Radio Theater'' presentation of '' Shane'', playing alongside the film’s original stars Ladd and Heflin.

In 1960, she co-starred in '' The Facts of Life'' with Bob Hope and Lucille Ball. Hussey was also active in early television drama.

Personal life

On August 9, 1942, Hussey married talent agent and radio producer C. Robert "Bob" Longenecker (1909–2002) at Mission San Antonio de Pala in north San Diego County, California. They raised three children: George Longenecker (b. 1944), John Longenecker (b. 1947) and Mary Elizabeth Longenecker (b. July 17, 1953).

Following the birth of her children, Hussey focused on family activities and in 1964, she designed a family cabin in the mountain community of Lake Arrowhead, California. In 1967, she was inducted into the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame.

In 1977, Hussey and her husband moved from their Brentwood family home to Rancho Carlsbad in Carlsbad, California. Her husband died in 2002 shortly after their 60th wedding anniversary.

Her son John Longenecker worked as a cinematographer and film director. He won an Academy Award for producing the live-action short film '' The Resurrection of Broncho Billy'' (1970).

Hussey was also active in Catholic charities,"Hussey, Ruth"
''American National Biography'', Oxford University Press. Retrieved December 19, 2017. was noted for painting in watercolors and was a lifelong Democrat although she voted for Republican Thomas Dewey in 1944 and for Hollywood friend and former costar Ronald Reagan in the 1980 and 1984 presidential elections.

Death

Hussey died on April 19, 2005 at the age of 93 from complications from an appendectomy. She is interred at Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks Memorial Park in Westlake Village, California.Wilson, Scott (2016)
"6289. Hussey, Ruth"
''Final Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons'', third edition, p. 363. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2016. Retrieved December 20, 2017.

Filmography

Radio appearances

References

External links

Ruth Hussey
– official website
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''NY Times''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hussey, Ruth
1911 births
2005 deaths
20th-century American actresses
American film actresses
American radio actresses
American stage actresses
American television actresses
Articles containing video clips
Pembroke College in Brown University alumni
Brown University alumni
University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance alumni
People from Lake Arrowhead, California
Actresses from Providence, Rhode Island
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract players
People from Carlsbad, California
People from Brentwood, California
California Democrats
California Republicans
Catholics from California
21st-century American women
Burials at Valley Oaks Memorial Park