Thelma Ritter
Thelma Ritter | |
---|---|
Born | New York City, U.S. | February 14, 1902
Died | February 5, 1969 New York City, U.S. | (aged 66)
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1913–1968 |
Spouse |
Joseph Moran
(m.1927) |
Children | 2 |
Thelma Ritter(February 14, 1902 – February 5, 1969) was an Americancharacter actresswho, known for her strongNew York City accent,diminutive size, and plain look, favored working-class roles. She earned aTony Awardand sixAcademy Awardnominations, more than any other actress in theBest Supporting Actresscategory.
These nominations were for her performances inAll About Eve(1950),The Mating Season(1951),With a Song in My Heart(1952),Pickup on South Street(1953),Pillow Talk(1959), andBirdman of Alcatraz(1962). Her other film roles include those inMiracle on 34th Street(1947),Rear Window(1954),The Misfits(1961), andHow the West Was Won(1962).
Ritter shared the 1958Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musicalfor performance in the musicalNew Girl in Townwith her co-star Gwen Verdon. She received aPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Seriesnomination forGoodyear Television Playhousein 1956.
Early and personal life
[edit]Ritter was born inBrooklyn,New York, on February 14, 1902, the first child of Charles and Lucy Ritter.[1][2]Her father was a bookkeeper,[1]later an office manager.[3]
At age 11, Ritter played Puck in a semi-professional dramatic society's production ofA Midsummer Night's Dream.[3]As a teenager she appeared in high-school plays andstock companies.After initially being rebuffed, she received formal training at theAmerican Academy of Dramatic Arts(ADA)[4]upon her graduation from Manual Training High School in Park Slope, Brooklyn.[3]
Although she subsequently struggled to establish a stage career, Ritter decided to take a hiatus from acting to raise her two children, Monica and Joe.[5]Their father, her husband, Joseph Moran, was also an actor; in the mid-1930s, he changed professions, becoming an actors' agent and then an advertising executive.[4]
Career
[edit]Ritter's first professional experience came with stock theater companies in New York and New England.[3]Her Broadway credits includeUTBU(1965),New Girl in Town(1956),In Times Square(1931), andThe Shelf(1926).[6]
Ritter's first movie role was inMiracle on 34th Street(1947). She made a memorable impression in a brief uncredited part, as a frustrated mother unable to find the toy that Kris Kringle has promised her son. Her third role, in writer-directorJoseph L. Mankiewicz'sA Letter to Three Wives(1949), left a mark, although Ritter was again uncredited. Mankiewicz kept Ritter in mind, and cast her as Birdie Coonan inAll About Eve(1950), which earned her an Oscar nomination. A second nomination followed for her work in theMitch Leisenensemblescrewball comedyThe Mating Season(1951) starringGene TierneyandJohn Lund.She enjoyed steady film work for the next dozen years.
She appeared in many of the episodic drama TV series of the 1950s and 1960s, such asAlfred Hitchcock Presents,General Electric Theater,andThe United States Steel Hour‘’Wagon Train’’. Other film roles were asJames Stewart's nurse inRear Window(1954) and asDoris Day's housekeeper, Alma, inPillow Talk(1959). Although best known for comedy roles, she played the occasional dramatic role, most notably inWith a Song in My Heart(1952),Pickup on South Street(1953),Titanic(1953),The Misfits(1961), andBirdman of Alcatraz(1962), for which she received her final Oscar nomination. Her last work was an appearance onThe Jerry Lewis Showon January 23, 1968.[7]
Death
[edit]On January 27, 1969, Ritter suffered aheart attackat her residence inQueens,New York City.[8]She died from a second heart attack on February 5, in New York City, at age 66.[3][9]
Legacy
[edit]In 2019, Ritter was listed at number 1 onThe Evening Standardlist of ten women who changed the face of film forever.[10]
Work
[edit]Film
[edit]Television
[edit]Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1954 | Lux Video Theatre | Lux Video Theatre Guest | Episode:Christmas in July |
1955 | The Best of Broadway | Mrs. Fisher | Episode:The Show-Off |
The 20th Century Fox Hour | Abby | Episode:Christopher Bean | |
Goodyear Television Playhouse | Aggie Hurley | Episode:The Catered Affair | |
1956 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Lottie Slocum | Season 1 Episode 32:The Baby Sitter |
1957 | Telephone Time | Mary Devlin | Episode:Plot to Save a Boy |
The United States Steel Hour | Ma Garfield | Episode:The Human Pattern | |
1960 | GE True Theatre | Doris Green | Episode:Sarah's Laughter |
Startime | Mrs. Gillis | Episode:The Man | |
1961 | Frontier Circus | Bertha Marie Beecher | Episode:Journey from Hannibal |
1962 | Wagon Train | Madame Sagittarius | Episode:The Madame Sagittarius Story |
Theatre
[edit]Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1926 | The Shelf | Miss Paterson | Morosco Theatre,Broadway |
1931 | In Times Square | Sally Stewart | Longacre Theatre,Broadway |
1957 | New Girl in Town | McCathy | 46th Street Theatre,Broadway |
1961 | UTBU | Performer | Hayes Theatre,Broadway |
Radio
[edit]Year | Program | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
1953 | Theatre Guild on the Air | Episode:A Square Peg | [11] |
Awards and nominations
[edit]Ritter received sixAcademy Awardnominations during her career, without a win. This ties her withDeborah KerrandAmy Adamswith the second most such nominations among actresses, behindGlenn Close’s eight.Peter O'Toolealso has eight without a win among men. Only Kerr and O'Toole have received honorary awards from the Academy.
In 1955 Ritter co-hosted the Oscar ceremony, notably trading wisecracks withBob Hope.
Year | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
1950 | Best Supporting Actress | All About Eve | Nominated | [12] |
1951 | The Mating Season | Nominated | ||
1952 | With a Song in My Heart | Nominated | ||
1953 | Pickup on South Street | Nominated | ||
1959 | Pillow Talk | Nominated | ||
1962 | Birdman of Alcatraz | Nominated |
Year | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
1956 | Best Actress in a Supporting Role | Goodyear Television Playhouse | Nominated | [13] |
In 1958, Ritter won a Tony Award in a rare tie (with her co-star,Gwen Verdon) for their work inNew Girl.
Year | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
1958 | Best Actress in a Musical | New Girl in Town | Won | [14] |
Year | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
1950 | Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture | All About Eve | Nominated | [15] |
1951 | The Mating Season | Nominated | [15] | |
1965 | Boeing Boeing | Nominated | [15] |
References
[edit]- ^abThe New York State Census of 1905 ",16th Assembly District, Borough of Brooklyn, Kings County, State of New York, June 1, 1905. Digital copy of original 1905 enumeration page available on FamilySearch, an online genealogical database provided as a public service by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah. Retrieved July 21, 2017.
- ^Born in 1902 as perSocial Security Death Index under the name "Thelma Ritter"
- ^abcde"Thelma Ritter, Versatile Actress With the Raspy Voice, Dies at 63".The New York Times.February 5, 1969. p. 45.RetrievedSeptember 26,2021.
- ^abLoBianco, Lorraine."Thelma Ritter Profile",Turner Classic Movies (TCM), a Time Warner Company, New York, N.Y. Retrieved July 21, 2017.
- ^Nissen, Axel (2007).Actresses of a Certain Character: Forty Familiar Hollywood Faces from the Thirties to the Fifties.McFarland. pp. 171–172.ISBN9780786427468.Retrieved26 September2017.
- ^"(" Thelma Ritter "search results)".Playbill Vault.Playbill. Archived fromthe originalon 26 September 2017.Retrieved26 September2017.
- ^"Appearance onJerry Lewis Show".Thewindmillsofyourmind.com.Retrieved2012-12-04.
- ^"Thelma Ritter - Actress Thelma Ritter Dies at 64".Leader-Telegram.1969-02-07. p. 5.Retrieved2024-03-08.
- ^"Thelma Ritter Is Dead at 65".Janesville Daily Gazette.1969-02-05. p. 13.Retrieved2024-03-08.
- ^Fletcher, Harry (2019-03-08)."10 women that changed the face of film".Evening Standard.Retrieved2024-03-08.
- ^Kirby, Walter (March 15, 1953)."Better Radio Programs for the Week".The Decatur Daily Review.The Decatur Daily Review. p. 46.RetrievedJune 25,2015– viaNewspapers.com.
- ^"(" Thelma Ritter "search results)".Academy Awards Database.Retrieved26 September2017.[permanent dead link]
- ^"(" Thelma Ritter "search results)".EMMYS.Television Academy. Archived fromthe originalon 26 September 2017.Retrieved26 September2017.
- ^"(" Thelma Ritter "search results)".Tony Awards.Archived fromthe originalon 31 August 2016.Retrieved26 September2017.
- ^abc"Thelma Ritter".Golden Globe Awards.HFPA. Archived fromthe originalon 26 September 2017.Retrieved26 September2017.
Further reading
[edit]- Alistair, Rupert (2018). "Thelma Ritter".The Name Below the Title: 65 Classic Movie Character Actors from Hollywood's Golden Age(softcover) (First ed.). Great Britain: Independently published. pp. 221–223.ISBN978-1-7200-3837-5.
External links
[edit]- 1902 births
- 1969 deaths
- 20th-century American actresses
- American film actresses
- American musical theatre actresses
- American stage actresses
- American television actresses
- Musicians from Brooklyn
- Actresses from Brooklyn
- Tony Award winners
- American vaudeville performers
- 20th-century American singers
- 20th-century American women singers