Ruth Donnelly

Ruth Donnelly
Born	May 17, 1896 Trenton, New Jersey, U.S.
Died	November 17, 1982 (aged 86) New York City, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1913–1965
Spouse(s)	Basil de Guichard (1932–1958; his death)[1]

Ruth Donnelly (May 17, 1896 – November 17, 1982) was an American stage and film actress.

According to a 1915 article in The Day Book, the young Donnelly was forced to leave Sacred Heart Convert in New Jersey because she repeatedly broke into laughter at inappropriate times.^[2] She began her stage career at the age of 17 in 1913 in The Quaker Girl. The Day Book article also states that actress Rose Stahl took the teen under her wing and, after giving her training and a year's experience in the chorus, placed the then 18-year-old in the play Maggie Pepper.^[2] Her Broadway debut brought her to the attention of George M. Cohan, who proceeded to cast her in numerous comic-relief roles in such musicals as Going Up (1917).^[3]

Though she made her first film appearance in 1913, her Hollywood career began in earnest in 1931 and lasted until 1957. In her films she often played the wife of Guy Kibbee (Footlight Parade, Wonder Bar, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington). Among her roles was the part of Sister Michael in The Bells of St. Mary's, starring Bing Crosby and Ingrid Bergman.

Her uncle, Frederick W. Donnelly, was the longtime mayor of Trenton, New Jersey.^[1][4]

Partial filmography

• Make Me a Star (1932)
• Blessed Event (1932)
• Employees' Entrance (1933)
• Private Detective 62 (1933)
• Hard to Handle (1933)
• Ladies They Talk About (1933)
• Lilly Turner (1933)
• Bureau of Missing Persons (1933)
• Footlight Parade (1933)
• Ever in My Heart (1933)
• Female (1933)
• Wonder Bar (1934)
• Heat Lightning (1934)
• Housewife (1934)
• The White Cockatoo (1935)
• Hands Across the Table (1935)
• Red Salute (1935)
• Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
• Thirteen Hours by Air (1936)
• Cain and Mabel (1936)
• More Than a Secretary (1936)
• Army Girl (1938)
• A Slight Case of Murder (1938)
• The Affairs of Annabel (1938)
• The Amazing Mr. Williams (1939)
• Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
• My Little Chickadee (1940)
• You Belong to Me (1941)
• Rise and Shine (1941)
• This Is the Army (1943)
• Pillow to Post (1945)
• The Bells of St. Mary's (1945)
• Cross My Heart (1946)
• The Snake Pit (1948)
• Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950)
• The Imogene Coca Show (1954, 2 episodes)
• A Lawless Street (1955)
• Autumn Leaves (1956)

References

1. "Ruth Donnelly, Film Actress, Will Marry". Santa Cruz Evening News. Associated Press. June 24, 1932 – via Newspapers.com.
2. "She Laughed Her Way From Convent to Stage". The Day Book. April 22, 1915 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Ruth Donnelly Other Works". Internet Movie Database. imdb.com. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
4. "F. Donnelly Dead. 21 Years as Mayor. Trenton Leader Resigned in 1932 Because of Health. His Father Mayor 1884-86.". New York Times. September 26, 1935. Retrieved 2011-10-04.

External links

• Ruth Donnelly at the Internet Movie Database
• Ruth Donnelly at the Internet Broadway Database
• Ruth Donnelly at AllMovie
• Ruth Donnelly at Find a Grave