Ruth Donnelly
Encyclopedia
Ruth Donnelly was an American stage and film actress. Her father was the mayor of Trenton
, New Jersey
.
She began her stage career at the age of 17 in 1913, in The Quaker Girl
. 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). Though she made her first film appearance in 1913, her Hollywood career began in earnest in 1931 and lasted until 1957.
Trenton, New Jersey
Trenton is the capital of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Trenton had a population of 84,913...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
.
She began her stage career at the age of 17 in 1913, in The Quaker Girl
The Quaker Girl
The Quaker Girl is a Edwardian musical comedy in three acts with a book by James T. Tanner, lyrics by Adrian Ross and Percy Greenbank, and music by Lionel Monckton. In its story, The Quaker Girl contrasts dour Quaker morality with Parisienne high fashion. The protagonist, Prudence, is thrown out...
. Her Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
debut brought her to the attention of George M. Cohan
George M. Cohan
George Michael Cohan , known professionally as George M. Cohan, was a major American entertainer, playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, singer, dancer, and producer....
, who proceeded to cast her in numerous comic-relief roles in such musicals as Going Up
Going Up (musical)
Going Up is a musical comedy in three acts with music by Louis Hirsch and book and lyrics by Otto Harbach and James Montgomery. Set in Lenox, Massachusetts, United States at the end of World War I, the musical tells the story of a writer turned aviator who wins the hand of the high society girl...
(1917). Though she made her first film appearance in 1913, her Hollywood career began in earnest in 1931 and lasted until 1957.
Partial filmography
- Blessed EventBlessed EventBlessed Event is a 1932 comedy-drama film starring Lee Tracy as a newspaper gossip columnist who becomes entangled with a gangster.-Cast:*Lee Tracy as Alvin Roberts*Mary Brian as Gladys Price*Allen Jenkins as Frankie Wells...
(1932) - Hard to Handle (1933)
- Ladies They Talk AboutLadies They Talk AboutLadies They Talk About is a 1933 Pre-Code women in prison film about a woman sent to San Quentin. Based on the play Women in Prison by Dorothy Mackaye and Carlton Miles, the film stars Barbara Stanwyck, Preston Foster, and Lillian Roth.-Plot:...
(1933) - Lilly TurnerLilly TurnerLilly Turner is a 1933 melodrama about a woman who marries a bigamist, then a drunk, and falls in love with another man, all while working at a carnival...
(1933) - Bureau of Missing PersonsBureau of Missing PersonsBureau of Missing Persons is a 1933 American drama film with comic overtones directed by Roy Del Ruth. The screenplay by Robert Presnell is based on a story by Carol Bird adapted from the book Missing Men by former New York City police captain John H...
(1933) - Footlight ParadeFootlight Parade-Cast:*James Cagney as Chester Kent, creator of musical prologues*Joan Blondell as Nan Prescott, his secretary*Ruby Keeler as Bea Thorn, dancer turned secretary turned dancer*Dick Powell as Scott 'Scotty' Blair, juvenile lead, former protege of Mrs...
(1933) - Ever in My HeartEver in My HeartEver in My Heart is a 1933 drama film starring Barbara Stanwyck and Otto Kruger. An American girl marries a foreigner, but anti-German sentiment during World War I drives them apart.-Cast:*Barbara Stanwyck as Mary Archer Wilbrandt...
(1933) - FemaleFemale (film)Female is a 1933 Warner Bros. pre-code film directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Ruth Chatterton and George Brent. It is based on the novel of the same name by Donald Henderson Clarke.-Plot:...
(1933) - Wonder BarWonder BarWonder Bar is a 1934 pre-code movie adaptation of a Broadway musical of the same name directed by Lloyd Bacon with musical numbers created by Busby Berkeley...
(1934) - Heat LightningHeat Lightning (film)Heat Lightning is a 1934 drama film starring Aline MacMahon, Ann Dvorak, and Preston Foster. It is based on the play of the same name by Leon Abrams and George Abbott....
(1934) - HousewifeHousewife (film)Housewife is a 1934 American drama film directed by Alfred E. Green. The screenplay by Manuel Seff and Lillie Hayward is based on a story by Hayward and Robert Lord.-Plot:...
(1934) - Hands Across the TableHands Across the TableHands Across the Table is a 1935 American romantic screwball comedy film released by Paramount Pictures. It stars Carole Lombard as a manicurist looking for a rich husband and Fred MacMurray as a poor playboy, with Ralph Bellamy as a wealthy but handicapped ex-pilot...
(1935) - Mr. Deeds Goes to TownMr. Deeds Goes to TownMr. Deeds Goes to Town is a 1936 American screwball comedy film directed by Frank Capra, and starring Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur in her first featured role...
(1936) - Thirteen Hours by AirThirteen Hours by AirThirteen Hours by Air is a 1936 mystery film made by Paramount Pictures. It was directed by Mitchell Leisen, and starred Fred MacMurray and Joan Bennett...
(1936) - Cain and MabelCain and MabelCain and Mabel is a 1936 romantic comedy film designed as a vehicle for Marion Davies in which she co-stars with Clark Gable and Robert Paige ....
(1936) - More Than a SecretaryMore Than a SecretaryMore Than a Secretary is a 1936 romantic comedy film made by Columbia Pictures, directed by Alfred E. Green, and written by Dale Van Every and Lynn Starling. The story was adapted by Ethel Hill and Aben Kandel, based on magazine story "Safari in Manhattan" by Matt Taylor.It tells the story of a...
(1936) - Army GirlArmy GirlArmy Girl is a 1938 American comedy film directed by George Nichols Jr.-Cast:* Madge Evans as Julie Armstrong* Preston Foster as Capt. Dike Conger* James Gleason as Sgt. 'Three Star' Hennessy...
(1938) - A Slight Case of MurderA Slight Case of MurderA Slight Case of Murder is a 1938 comedy film directed by Lloyd Bacon. The film is based on a play by Damon Runyon and Howard Lindsay. The offbeat comedy stars Edward G...
(1938) - The Affairs of AnnabelThe Affairs of AnnabelThe Affairs of Annabel is a 1938 comedy starring Lucille Ball and Jack Oakie. Oakie plays Lannie Morgan, Wonder Pictures publicity man working with film star Annabel Allison , her first starring comedy role.-Plot:...
(1938) - My Little ChickadeeMy Little ChickadeeMy Little Chickadee is a Universal comedy/western motion picture starring Mae West and W. C. Fields, with Joseph Calleia, Ruth Donnelly, Margaret Hamilton, Donald Meek, Willard Robertson, Dick Foran, George Moran, William B. Davidson, and Addison Richards. It was directed by Edward F. Cline...
(1940) - You Belong to MeYou Belong to Me (1941 film)You Belong to Me is a 1941 American romantic comedy directed by Wesley Ruggles, and starring Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda. The film was released in the United Kingdom as Good Morning, Doctor.-Plot:...
(1941) - This Is the ArmyThis Is the ArmyThis Is the Army is a 1943 American wartime motion picture produced by Hal B. Wallis and Jack L. Warner, and directed by Michael Curtiz, and a wartime musical designed to boost morale in the U.S. during World War II, directed by Sgt. Ezra Stone...
(1943) - The Bells of St. Mary'sThe Bells of St. Mary'sThe Bells of St. Mary's is a 1945 American film which tells the story of a priest and a nun at a school who set out, despite their good-natured rivalry, to save the school from being shut down. It stars Bing Crosby and Ingrid Bergman...
(1945) - The Snake PitThe Snake PitThe Snake Pit is a 1948 American drama film directed by Anatole Litvak. The film tells the story of a woman who finds herself in an insane asylum and cannot remember how she got there, and stars Olivia de Havilland, Mark Stevens, Leo Genn, Celeste Holm, Beulah Bondi, and Lee Patrick.The film was...
(1948) - Where the Sidewalk EndsWhere the Sidewalk EndsWhere the Sidewalk Ends is a 1950 American film noir directed and produced by Otto Preminger. The screenplay for the film was written by Ben Hecht, and adapted by Robert E. Kent, Frank P. Rosenberg, and Victor Trivas. The screenplay and adaptations were based on the novel Night Cry by William L....
(1950) - The Imogene Coca ShowThe Imogene Coca ShowThe Imogene Coca Show is a half-hour NBC television series starring Imogene Coca in both situation comedy and variety show formats. The program debuted on October 2, 1954, after the ending of Sid Caesar's Your Show of Shows, on which Coca had been a popular regular performer.The first two episodes...
(1954, 2 episodes) - A Lawless StreetA Lawless StreetA Lawless Street is a 1955 western film directed by Joseph H. Lewis and starring Randolph Scott and Angela Lansbury. The film is also known as The Marshal of Medicine Bend in the US.-Plot:...
(1955) - Autumn LeavesAutumn Leaves (film)Autumn Leaves is a 1956 Columbia Pictures drama film starring Joan Crawford and Cliff Robertson in an older woman/younger man tale of mental illness. The screenplay was written by Jean Rouverol and Hugo Butler, though it was credited to Jack Jevne, Rouverol and Butler being blacklisted at the time...
(1956)