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Thelma Ritter

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Thelma Ritter
Ritter inAll About Eve(1950)
Born(1902-02-14)February 14, 1902
New York City, U.S.
DiedFebruary 5, 1969(1969-02-05)(aged 66)
New York City, U.S.
OccupationActress
Years active1913–1968
Spouse
Joseph Moran
​
​
(m.1927)​
Children2

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

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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.[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

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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

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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

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In 2019, Ritter was listed at number 1 onThe Evening Standardlist of ten women who changed the face of film forever.[10]

Work

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Film

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Year Title Role Director Notes
1947 Miracle on 34th Street Peter's Mother George Seaton Uncredited
1948 Call Northside 777 Receptionist Henry Hathaway Uncredited
1949 A Letter to Three Wives Sadie Dugan Joseph L. Mankiewicz Uncredited
City Across the River Mrs. Katie Cusack Maxwell Shane
Father Was a Fullback Geraldine John M. Stahl
1950 Perfect Strangers Lena Fassler Bretaigne Windust
I'll Get By Miss Murphy Richard Sale
All About Eve Birdie Coonan Joseph L. Mankiewicz
1951 The Mating Season Ellen McNulty Mitchell Leisen
As Young as You Feel Della Hodges Harmon Jones
The Model and the Marriage Broker Mae Swasey George Cukor
1952 With a Song in My Heart Clancy Walter Lang
1953 Titanic Maude Young Jean Negulesco
Pickup on South Street Moe Williams Samuel Fuller
The Farmer Takes a Wife Lucy Cashdollar Henry Levin
1954 Rear Window Stella Alfred Hitchcock
1955 Daddy Long Legs Alicia Pritchard Jean Negulesco
Lucy Gallant Molly Basserman Robert Parrish
1956 The Proud and Profane Kate Connors George Seaton
1959 A Hole in the Head Sophie Manetta Frank Capra
Pillow Talk Alma Michael Gordon
1961 The Misfits Isabelle Steers John Huston
The Second Time Around Aggie Gates Vincent Sherman
1962 Birdman of Alcatraz Elizabeth Stroud John Frankenheimer
How the West Was Won Agatha Clegg John Ford
Henry Hathaway
George Marshall
1963 For Love or Money Chloe Brasher Michael Gordon
Move Over, Darling Grace Arden
A New Kind of Love Leena Melville Shavelson
1965 Boeing Boeing Bertha John Rich
1967 The Incident Bertha Beckerman Larry Peerce
1968 What's So Bad About Feeling Good? Mrs. Schwartz George Seaton final film role

Television

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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

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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

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Year Program Notes Ref.
1953 Theatre Guild on the Air Episode:A Square Peg [11]

Awards and nominations

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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.

Academy Awards

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

Primetime Emmy Awards

Year Category Nominated work Result Ref.
1956 Best Actress in a Supporting Role Goodyear Television Playhouse Nominated [13]

Tony Award

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]

Golden Globe Awards

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

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  1. ^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.
  2. ^Born in 1902 as perSocial Security Death Index under the name "Thelma Ritter"
  3. ^abcde"Thelma Ritter, Versatile Actress With the Raspy Voice, Dies at 63".The New York Times.February 5, 1969. p. 45.RetrievedSeptember 26,2021.
  4. ^abLoBianco, Lorraine."Thelma Ritter Profile",Turner Classic Movies (TCM), a Time Warner Company, New York, N.Y. Retrieved July 21, 2017.
  5. ^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.
  6. ^"(" Thelma Ritter "search results)".Playbill Vault.Playbill. Archived fromthe originalon 26 September 2017.Retrieved26 September2017.
  7. ^"Appearance onJerry Lewis Show".Thewindmillsofyourmind.Retrieved2012-12-04.
  8. ^"Thelma Ritter - Actress Thelma Ritter Dies at 64".Leader-Telegram.1969-02-07. p. 5.Retrieved2024-03-08.
  9. ^"Thelma Ritter Is Dead at 65".Janesville Daily Gazette.1969-02-05. p. 13.Retrieved2024-03-08.
  10. ^Fletcher, Harry (2019-03-08)."10 women that changed the face of film".Evening Standard.Retrieved2024-03-08.
  11. ^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.Open access icon
  12. ^"(" Thelma Ritter "search results)".Academy Awards Database.Retrieved26 September2017.[permanent dead link]
  13. ^"(" Thelma Ritter "search results)".EMMYS.Television Academy. Archived fromthe originalon 26 September 2017.Retrieved26 September2017.
  14. ^"(" Thelma Ritter "search results)".Tony Awards.Archived fromthe originalon 31 August 2016.Retrieved26 September2017.
  15. ^abc"Thelma Ritter".Golden Globe Awards.HFPA. Archived fromthe originalon 26 September 2017.Retrieved26 September2017.

Further reading

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  • 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.
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