Ruth Gordon
Encyclopedia
Ruth Gordon Jones better known as Ruth Gordon, was an American actress and writer. She was perhaps best known for her film roles such as Minnie Castevet, Rosemary's overly solicitous neighbor in Rosemary's Baby
, as the eccentric Maude in Harold and Maude
and as the mother of Orville Boggs in the Clint Eastwood
film Every Which Way but Loose. In addition to her acting career, Gordon wrote numerous well-known plays, film scripts and books. Gordon won an Academy Award, an Emmy
and two Golden Globe award
s for her acting, as well as three Academy Award nominations for her writing.
. She was the only child of Annie Ziegler Jones and Clinton Jones, a factory foreman who had been a ship's captain. Prior to graduating from Quincy High School, she wrote to several of her favorite actresses for an autographed picture. A personal reply she received from Hazel Dawn
(whom she had seen in a stage production of The Pink Lady) inspired her to go into acting. Although her father was skeptical of her chances of success in a difficult profession, he took his daughter to New York in 1914, where he enrolled her in the American Academy of Dramatic Arts
.
, including as a dancer in The Whirl of Life, a film based on the lives of Vernon and Irene Castle
.
That same year, she made her Broadway
debut in a revival of Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up, in the role of Nibs (one of the Lost Boys), appearing onstage with Maude Adams
and earning a favorable mention from the powerful critic Alexander Woollcott
. Woollcott, who described her favorably as "ever so gay," would become her friend and mentor. In 1918, Gordon played Lola Pratt in the Broadway
adaptation of Booth Tarkington
's Seventeen opposite actor Gregory Kelly, who later acted with her in North America
n tours of Frank Craven
's The First Year and Tarkington's Clarence and Tweedles. Kelly became her first husband in 1921, but died of heart disease in 1927, at the age of 36. Gordon in 1927 and 1928, had been enjoying a comeback, appearing on Broadway as Bobby in Maxwell Anderson
's Saturday's Children
, performing in a serious role after having been typecast for years as a "beautiful, but dumb" character.
In 1929, Gordon was starring in the title role of "Serena Blandish" when her only child, a son, Jones Harris, was born out of wedlock from a relationship with that Broadway
show's producer, Jed Harris
.
Gordon continued to act on the stage throughout the 1930s, including notable runs as Mattie in Ethan Frome
, Margery Pinchwife in William Wycherley
's Restoration comedy
The Country Wife
at London's Old Vic
and on Broadway, and Nora Helmer in Henrik Ibsen
's A Doll's House
at Central City, Colorado
, and on Broadway.
in Two-Faced Woman in 1941. She had better luck at other studios in Hollywood, appearing in supporting roles in a string of films, including Abe Lincoln in Illinois
(as Mary Todd Lincoln
), Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet (as Mrs. Ehrlich) and Action in the North Atlantic, in the early 1940s. Gordon's Broadway acting appearances in the 1940s included Iris in Paul Vincent Carroll's The Strings, My Lord, Are False and Natasha in Katharine Cornell
and Guthrie McClintic
's revival of Anton Chekhov
's Three Sisters
, as well as leading roles in her own plays, Over Twenty-One and The Leading Lady.
Gordon married second husband, writer Garson Kanin
, who was 16 years her junior, in 1942. Gordon and Kanin collaborated on the screenplays for the Katharine Hepburn
– Spencer Tracy
films Adam's Rib
(1949) and Pat and Mike
(1952). Both films were directed by George Cukor
. The couple were close friends of Hepburn and Tracy, and incorporated elements of their real personalities in the films. Gordon and Kanin received Academy Awards
nominations for both of those screenplays, as well as for that of a prior film, A Double Life
(1947), which was also directed by Cukor.
In 1953's The Actress
, Gordon's film adaptation of her own autobiographical play, Years Ago, became a Hollywood production, with Jean Simmons
portraying the girl from Quincy, Massachusetts, who convinced her sea captain father to let her go to New York to become an actress. Gordon would go on to write three volumes of memoirs in the 1970s: My Side, Myself Among Others and An Open Book.
Gordon continued her on-stage acting career in the 1950s, and was nominated for a 1956 Tony
, for Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
, for her portrayal of Dolly Levi in Thornton Wilder
's The Matchmaker
, a role she also played in London, Edinburgh and Berlin.
In 1966, Gordon was nominated for an Oscar and won a Golden Globe award as Best Supporting Actress for Inside Daisy Clover
opposite Natalie Wood
. It was her first nomination for acting. Three years later, in 1969, she won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Rosemary's Baby
, a film adaptation of Ira Levin
's bestselling horror novel about a satanic cult residing in an Upper West Side apartment building in Manhattan
. In accepting the award, Gordon thanked the Academy by saying, "I can't tell you how encouraging a thing like this is...And thank all of you who voted for me, and to everyone who didn't: please, excuse me", which drew laughs because at the time she had been in theater for fifty years and was seventy-two years old.
Gordon won another Golden Globe for Rosemary's Baby, and was nominated again, in 1971, for her role as Maude in the cult classic Harold and Maude
(with Bud Cort
as her love interest).
She went on to appear in twenty-two more films and at least that many television appearances through her seventies and eighties, including such successful sitcoms as Rhoda
(as Carlton the invisible doorman's mother, which earned her another Emmy nomination) and Newhart
. She also guest-starred on the episode Columbo: Try and Catch Me. She made countless talk show appearances, in addition to hosting Saturday Night Live
in 1977.
Gordon won an Emmy Award
for a guest appearance on the sitcom Taxi
, for a 1978 episode called "Sugar Mama," in which her character tries to solicit the services of a taxi driver, played by series star Judd Hirsch
, as a male escort.
Her last Broadway appearance was as Mrs. Warren in George Bernard Shaw
's Mrs. Warren's Profession
, produced by Joseph Papp
at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre
in 1976. In the summer of 1976, Gordon starred in the leading role of her own play, Ho! Ho! Ho! at the Cape Playhouse in Dennis, Massachusetts
. She had a minor but memorable role as Ma Boggs the mother of Orville Boggs (Geoffrey Lewis) in the Clint Eastwood
films Every Which Way but Loose and Any Which Way You Can
.
In 1983, Gordon was awarded the Women in Film Crystal Award for outstanding women who, through their endurance and the excellence of their work, have helped to expand the role of women within the entertainment industry.
Harold and Maude and Adam's Rib have both been selected for preservation in the National Film Registry
of the United States Library of Congress
.
Gordon died from a stroke
in Edgartown, Massachusetts
in 1985. A small theater in Westboro, Massachusetts and an outdoor amphitheater in Quincy, Massachusetts
were named in her honor.
Rosemary's Baby (film)
Rosemary's Baby is a 1968 American horror film written and directed by Roman Polanski, based on the bestselling 1967 novel Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin...
, as the eccentric Maude in Harold and Maude
Harold and Maude
Harold and Maude is a 1971 American dark comedy film directed by Hal Ashby and released by Paramount Pictures. It incorporates elements of dark humor and existentialist drama, with a plot that revolves around the exploits of a young man intrigued with death, Harold...
and as the mother of Orville Boggs in the Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood
Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...
film Every Which Way but Loose. In addition to her acting career, Gordon wrote numerous well-known plays, film scripts and books. Gordon won an Academy Award, an Emmy
Primetime Emmy Award
The Primetime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American primetime television programming...
and two Golden Globe award
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
s for her acting, as well as three Academy Award nominations for her writing.
Early life
Gordon was born at 31 Marion St. in Quincy, MassachusettsQuincy, Massachusetts
Quincy is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Its nicknames are "City of Presidents", "City of Legends", and "Birthplace of the American Dream". As a major part of Metropolitan Boston, Quincy is a member of Boston's Inner Core Committee for the Metropolitan Area Planning Council...
. She was the only child of Annie Ziegler Jones and Clinton Jones, a factory foreman who had been a ship's captain. Prior to graduating from Quincy High School, she wrote to several of her favorite actresses for an autographed picture. A personal reply she received from Hazel Dawn
Hazel Dawn
Hazel Dawn was a stage, film and television actress. She was born as Hazel Tout to a Mormon family.-Stage career:...
(whom she had seen in a stage production of The Pink Lady) inspired her to go into acting. Although her father was skeptical of her chances of success in a difficult profession, he took his daughter to New York in 1914, where he enrolled her in the American Academy of Dramatic Arts
American Academy of Dramatic Arts
The American Academy of Dramatic Arts is a fully accredited two-year conservatory with facilities located in Manhattan, New York City – at 120 Madison Avenue, in a landmark building designed by noted architect Stanford White as the original Colony Club – and in Hollywood, California...
.
Early career
Ruth Gordon began her career early, posing as a picture baby for Mellin's food. In 1915, Gordon appeared as an extra in silent films that were shot in Fort Lee, New JerseyFort Lee, New Jersey
Fort Lee is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 35,345. Located atop the Hudson Palisades, the borough is the western terminus of the George Washington Bridge...
, including as a dancer in The Whirl of Life, a film based on the lives of Vernon and Irene Castle
Vernon and Irene Castle
Vernon and Irene Castle were a husband-and-wife team of ballroom dancers of the early 20th century. They are credited with invigorating the popularity of modern dancing. Vernon Castle was born William Vernon Blyth in Norwich, Norfolk, England...
.
That same year, she made 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 in a revival of Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up, in the role of Nibs (one of the Lost Boys), appearing onstage with Maude Adams
Maude Adams
Maude Ewing Kiskadden , known professionally as Maude Adams, was an American stage actress who achieved her greatest success as Peter Pan. Adams's personality appealed to a large audience and helped her become the most successful and highest-paid performer of her day, with a yearly income of more...
and earning a favorable mention from the powerful critic Alexander Woollcott
Alexander Woollcott
Alexander Humphreys Woollcott was an American critic and commentator for The New Yorker magazine and a member of the Algonquin Round Table....
. Woollcott, who described her favorably as "ever so gay," would become her friend and mentor. In 1918, Gordon played Lola Pratt in the 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...
adaptation of Booth Tarkington
Booth Tarkington
Booth Tarkington was an American novelist and dramatist best known for his Pulitzer Prize-winning novels The Magnificent Ambersons and Alice Adams...
's Seventeen opposite actor Gregory Kelly, who later acted with her in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n tours of Frank Craven
Frank Craven
Frank Craven was an American stage and film actor, playwright, and screenwriter, best known for originating the role of the Stage Manager in Thornton Wilder's Our Town....
's The First Year and Tarkington's Clarence and Tweedles. Kelly became her first husband in 1921, but died of heart disease in 1927, at the age of 36. Gordon in 1927 and 1928, had been enjoying a comeback, appearing on Broadway as Bobby in Maxwell Anderson
Maxwell Anderson
James Maxwell Anderson was an American playwright, author, poet, journalist and lyricist.-Early years:Anderson was born in Atlantic, Pennsylvania, the second of eight children to William Lincoln "Link" Anderson, a Baptist minister, and Charlotte Perrimela Stephenson, both of Scots and Irish descent...
's Saturday's Children
Saturday's Children
Saturday's Children is a 1940 American drama film directed by Vincent Sherman and starring John Garfield, Anne Shirley, and Claude Rains. It is a third-time remake of the original Maxwell Anderson play.-Plot:...
, performing in a serious role after having been typecast for years as a "beautiful, but dumb" character.
In 1929, Gordon was starring in the title role of "Serena Blandish" when her only child, a son, Jones Harris, was born out of wedlock from a relationship with that 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...
show's producer, Jed Harris
Jed Harris
Jed Harris was a renowned Austrian-American theater producer and director, and writer of film.-Personal history:...
.
Gordon continued to act on the stage throughout the 1930s, including notable runs as Mattie in Ethan Frome
Ethan Frome
Ethan Frome is a novel published in 1911 by the Pulitzer Prize-winning American author Edith Wharton. It is set in the fictitious town of Starkfield, Massachusetts, New England, United States...
, Margery Pinchwife in William Wycherley
William Wycherley
William Wycherley was an English dramatist of the Restoration period, best known for the plays The Country Wife and The Plain Dealer.-Biography:...
's Restoration comedy
Restoration comedy
Restoration comedy refers to English comedies written and performed in the Restoration period from 1660 to 1710. After public stage performances had been banned for 18 years by the Puritan regime, the re-opening of the theatres in 1660 signalled a renaissance of English drama...
The Country Wife
The Country Wife
The Country Wife is a Restoration comedy written in 1675 by William Wycherley. A product of the tolerant early Restoration period, the play reflects an aristocratic and anti-Puritan ideology, and was controversial for its sexual explicitness even in its own time. The title itself contains a lewd pun...
at London's Old Vic
Old Vic
The Old Vic is a theatre located just south-east of Waterloo Station in London on the corner of The Cut and Waterloo Road. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, it was taken over by Emma Cons in 1880 when it was known formally as the Royal Victoria Hall. In 1898, a niece of Cons, Lilian...
and on Broadway, and Nora Helmer in Henrik Ibsen
Henrik Ibsen
Henrik Ibsen was a major 19th-century Norwegian playwright, theatre director, and poet. He is often referred to as "the father of prose drama" and is one of the founders of Modernism in the theatre...
's A Doll's House
A Doll's House
A Doll's House is a three-act play in prose by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It premièred at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 21 December 1879, having been published earlier that month....
at Central City, Colorado
Central City, Colorado
Central City is a home rule municipality in Clear Creek and Gilpin counties in the U.S. state of Colorado, and the county seat of Gilpin County. The city population was 515 in the 2000 United States Census...
, and on Broadway.
Career
Gordon was signed to an MGM film contract for a brief period in the early 1930s but did not make a movie for the company until she acted opposite Greta GarboGreta Garbo
Greta Garbo , born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson, was a Swedish film actress. Garbo was an international star and icon during Hollywood's silent and classic periods. Many of Garbo's films were sensational hits, and all but three were profitable...
in Two-Faced Woman in 1941. She had better luck at other studios in Hollywood, appearing in supporting roles in a string of films, including Abe Lincoln in Illinois
Abe Lincoln in Illinois (film)
Abe Lincoln in Illinois is a 1940 biographical film which tells the story of the life of Abraham Lincoln from his departure from Kentucky until his election as President of the United States....
(as Mary Todd Lincoln
Mary Todd Lincoln
Mary Ann Lincoln was the wife of the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, and was First Lady of the United States from 1861 to 1865.-Life before the White House:...
), Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet (as Mrs. Ehrlich) and Action in the North Atlantic, in the early 1940s. Gordon's Broadway acting appearances in the 1940s included Iris in Paul Vincent Carroll's The Strings, My Lord, Are False and Natasha in Katharine Cornell
Katharine Cornell
Katharine Cornell was an American stage actress, writer, theater owner and producer. She was born to American parents and raised in Buffalo, New York.Cornell is known as the greatest American stage actress of the 20th century...
and Guthrie McClintic
Guthrie McClintic
Guthrie McClintic was a successful theatre director, film director and producer based in New York. -Life and career:...
's revival of Anton Chekhov
Anton Chekhov
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was a Russian physician, dramatist and author who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short stories in history. His career as a dramatist produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics...
's Three Sisters
Three Sisters (play)
Three Sisters is a play by Russian author and playwright Anton Chekhov, perhaps partially inspired by the situation of the three Brontë sisters, but most probably by the three Zimmermann sisters in Perm...
, as well as leading roles in her own plays, Over Twenty-One and The Leading Lady.
Gordon married second husband, writer Garson Kanin
Garson Kanin
Garson Kanin was a prolific American writer and director of plays and films.-Film and stage career:...
, who was 16 years her junior, in 1942. Gordon and Kanin collaborated on the screenplays for the Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Houghton Hepburn was an American actress of film, stage, and television. In a career that spanned 62 years as a leading lady, she was best known for playing strong-willed, sophisticated women in both dramas and comedies...
– Spencer Tracy
Spencer Tracy
Spencer Bonaventure Tracy was an American theatrical and film actor, who appeared in 75 films from 1930 to 1967. Tracy was one of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, ranking among the top ten box office draws for almost every year from 1938 to 1951...
films Adam's Rib
Adam's Rib
Adam's Rib is a 1949 American film written by Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin and directed by George Cukor. It stars Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn as married lawyers who come to oppose each other in court. Judy Holliday co-stars in her first substantial film role...
(1949) and Pat and Mike
Pat and Mike
Pat and Mike is a 1952 comedy starring Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy. The movie was directed by George Cukor, who also directed The Philadelphia Story and Adam's Rib.- Plot :...
(1952). Both films were directed by George Cukor
George Cukor
George Dewey Cukor was an American film director. He mainly concentrated on comedies and literary adaptations. His career flourished at RKO and later MGM, where he directed What Price Hollywood? , A Bill of Divorcement , Dinner at Eight , Little Women , David Copperfield , Romeo and Juliet and...
. The couple were close friends of Hepburn and Tracy, and incorporated elements of their real personalities in the films. Gordon and Kanin received Academy Awards
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
nominations for both of those screenplays, as well as for that of a prior film, A Double Life
A Double Life
A Double Life is a 1947 film noir which tells the story of an actor whose mind becomes affected by the character he portrays. The movie starred Ronald Colman and Signe Hasso...
(1947), which was also directed by Cukor.
In 1953's The Actress
The Actress
The Actress is an 1953 American comedy-drama film based on Ruth Gordon's autobiographical play Years Ago. Gordon herself wrote the screenplay. The film was directed by George Cukor and stars Jean Simmons, Spencer Tracy, Teresa Wright, and Anthony Perkins in his film debut.The film was nominated for...
, Gordon's film adaptation of her own autobiographical play, Years Ago, became a Hollywood production, with Jean Simmons
Jean Simmons
Jean Merilyn Simmons, OBE was an English actress. She appeared predominantly in motion pictures, beginning with films made in Great Britain during and after World War II – she was one of J...
portraying the girl from Quincy, Massachusetts, who convinced her sea captain father to let her go to New York to become an actress. Gordon would go on to write three volumes of memoirs in the 1970s: My Side, Myself Among Others and An Open Book.
Gordon continued her on-stage acting career in the 1950s, and was nominated for a 1956 Tony
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
, for Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
This is a list of the winners and nominations of Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. The award has been presented since 1947, and is for performance in new productions or revivals.-1940s:...
, for her portrayal of Dolly Levi in Thornton Wilder
Thornton Wilder
Thornton Niven Wilder was an American playwright and novelist. He received three Pulitzer Prizes, one for his novel The Bridge of San Luis Rey and two for his plays Our Town and The Skin of Our Teeth, and a National Book Award for his novel The Eighth Day.-Early years:Wilder was born in Madison,...
's The Matchmaker
The Matchmaker
The Matchmaker is a play by Thornton Wilder.The play has a long and colorful history. John Oxenford's 1835 one-act farce A Day Well Spent had been extended into a full-length play entitled Einen Jux will er sich machen by Austrian playwright Johann Nestroy in 1842...
, a role she also played in London, Edinburgh and Berlin.
In 1966, Gordon was nominated for an Oscar and won a Golden Globe award as Best Supporting Actress for Inside Daisy Clover
Inside Daisy Clover
Inside Daisy Clover is a 1965 American drama film based on the 1963 novel by Gavin Lambert. It stars Natalie Wood, Christopher Plummer, Robert Redford, Roddy McDowall and Ruth Gordon in her Academy Award nominated role.- Plot :...
opposite Natalie Wood
Natalie Wood
Natalie Wood, born Natalia Nikolaevna Zacharenko was an American film and television actress. After first working in films as a child, Wood became a successful Hollywood star as a young adult, receiving three Academy Award nominations before she was 25 years old.Wood began acting in movies at the...
. It was her first nomination for acting. Three years later, in 1969, she won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Rosemary's Baby
Rosemary's Baby (film)
Rosemary's Baby is a 1968 American horror film written and directed by Roman Polanski, based on the bestselling 1967 novel Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin...
, a film adaptation of Ira Levin
Ira Levin
Ira Levin was an American author, dramatist and songwriter.-Professional life:Levin attended Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa...
's bestselling horror novel about a satanic cult residing in an Upper West Side apartment building in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
. In accepting the award, Gordon thanked the Academy by saying, "I can't tell you how encouraging a thing like this is...And thank all of you who voted for me, and to everyone who didn't: please, excuse me", which drew laughs because at the time she had been in theater for fifty years and was seventy-two years old.
Gordon won another Golden Globe for Rosemary's Baby, and was nominated again, in 1971, for her role as Maude in the cult classic Harold and Maude
Harold and Maude
Harold and Maude is a 1971 American dark comedy film directed by Hal Ashby and released by Paramount Pictures. It incorporates elements of dark humor and existentialist drama, with a plot that revolves around the exploits of a young man intrigued with death, Harold...
(with Bud Cort
Bud Cort
Bud Cort is an American film and stage actor, writer, and director. He is best known for his portrayals of Harold in Hal Ashby's 1971 film Harold and Maude and the titular hero in Robert Altman's 1970 film Brewster McCloud...
as her love interest).
She went on to appear in twenty-two more films and at least that many television appearances through her seventies and eighties, including such successful sitcoms as Rhoda
Rhoda
Rhoda is an American television sitcom, starring Valerie Harper, which ran for five seasons, from 1974 to 1978 airing in 109 episodes. The show was a spin-off from The Mary Tyler Moore Show, in which Harper between the years 1970 and 1974 had played the role of Rhoda Morgenstern, a spunky,...
(as Carlton the invisible doorman's mother, which earned her another Emmy nomination) and Newhart
Newhart
Newhart is a television situation comedy starring comedian Bob Newhart and actress Mary Frann as an author and wife who owned and operated an inn located in a small, rural Vermont town that was home to many eccentric characters. The show aired on the CBS network from October 25, 1982 to May 21, 1990...
. She also guest-starred on the episode Columbo: Try and Catch Me. She made countless talk show appearances, in addition to hosting Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
in 1977.
Gordon won an Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
for a guest appearance on the sitcom Taxi
Taxi (TV series)
Taxi was an American sitcom that originally aired from 1978 to 1982 on ABC and from 1982 to 1983 on NBC. The series, which won 18 Emmy Awards, including three for "Outstanding Comedy Series", focuses on the everyday lives of a handful of New York City taxi drivers and their abusive dispatcher...
, for a 1978 episode called "Sugar Mama," in which her character tries to solicit the services of a taxi driver, played by series star Judd Hirsch
Judd Hirsch
Judd Hirsch is an American actor most known for playing Alex Rieger on the television comedy series Taxi, John Lacey on the NBC series Dear John, and Alan Eppes on the CBS series Numb3rs.-Early life and education:...
, as a male escort.
Her last Broadway appearance was as Mrs. Warren in George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
's Mrs. Warren's Profession
Mrs. Warren's Profession
Mrs Warren's Profession is a play written by George Bernard Shaw in 1893. The story centers on the relationship between Mrs Kitty Warren, a brothel owner, described by the author as "on the whole, a genial and fairly presentable old blackguard of a woman" and her daughter, Vivie...
, produced by Joseph Papp
Joseph Papp
Joseph Papp was an American theatrical producer and director. Papp established The Public Theater in what had been the Astor Library Building in downtown New York . "The Public," as it is known, has many small theatres within it...
at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre
Vivian Beaumont Theatre
The Vivian Beaumont Theater is a theatre located in the Lincoln Center complex at 150 West 65th Street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The structure was designed by Finnish American architect Eero Saarinen, and Jo Mielziner was responsible for the design of the stage and interior.The Vivian...
in 1976. In the summer of 1976, Gordon starred in the leading role of her own play, Ho! Ho! Ho! at the Cape Playhouse in Dennis, Massachusetts
Dennis, Massachusetts
Dennis is a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States; located near the center of Cape Cod. The population was 14,207 at the 2010 census.The town encompasses five distinct villages, each of which has its own post office...
. She had a minor but memorable role as Ma Boggs the mother of Orville Boggs (Geoffrey Lewis) in the Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood
Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...
films Every Which Way but Loose and Any Which Way You Can
Any Which Way You Can
* Beers To You** Written by Steve Dorff , John Durrill , Sandy Pinkard and Snuff Garrett ** Sung by Ray Charles and Clint Eastwood* Any Which Way You Can...
.
In 1983, Gordon was awarded the Women in Film Crystal Award for outstanding women who, through their endurance and the excellence of their work, have helped to expand the role of women within the entertainment industry.
Harold and Maude and Adam's Rib have both been selected for preservation in the National Film Registry
National Film Registry
The National Film Registry is the United States National Film Preservation Board's selection of films for preservation in the Library of Congress. The Board, established by the National Film Preservation Act of 1988, was reauthorized by acts of Congress in 1992, 1996, 2005, and again in October 2008...
of the United States Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
.
Gordon died from a stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
in Edgartown, Massachusetts
Edgartown, Massachusetts
Edgartown is a town located on Martha's Vineyard in Dukes County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 3,779 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Dukes County. Edgartown has the largest population and area in the entire Dukes County and Martha's Vineyard.- History :In 1642....
in 1985. A small theater in Westboro, Massachusetts and an outdoor amphitheater in Quincy, Massachusetts
Quincy, Massachusetts
Quincy is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Its nicknames are "City of Presidents", "City of Legends", and "Birthplace of the American Dream". As a major part of Metropolitan Boston, Quincy is a member of Boston's Inner Core Committee for the Metropolitan Area Planning Council...
were named in her honor.
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1915 | The Whirl of Life | Extra | uncredited |
| 1940 | Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet | Hedwig Ehrlich | |
| Abe Lincoln in Illinois Abe Lincoln in Illinois (film) Abe Lincoln in Illinois is a 1940 biographical film which tells the story of the life of Abraham Lincoln from his departure from Kentucky until his election as President of the United States.... |
Mary Todd Lincoln | ||
| 1941 | Two-Faced Woman Two-Faced Woman Two-Faced Woman is a romantic comedy made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The film stars Greta Garbo, in her final film role, and Melvyn Douglas, with Constance Bennett, Roland Young and Ruth Gordon... |
Miss Ruth Ellis, Larry's Secretary | |
| 1943 | Action in the North Atlantic Action in the North Atlantic Action in the North Atlantic is a 1943 war film directed by Lloyd Bacon, featuring Humphrey Bogart and Raymond Massey as sailors in the U.S. Merchant Marine in World War II.-Plot:... |
Mrs. Jarvis | |
| Edge of Darkness | Anna Stensgard | ||
| 1965 | Inside Daisy Clover Inside Daisy Clover Inside Daisy Clover is a 1965 American drama film based on the 1963 novel by Gavin Lambert. It stars Natalie Wood, Christopher Plummer, Robert Redford, Roddy McDowall and Ruth Gordon in her Academy Award nominated role.- Plot :... |
The Dealer - Mrs. Clover | Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture The Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association in 1944 for a performance in a motion picture released in the previous year.... Nominated - Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the... |
| 1966 | Lord Love a Duck Lord Love a Duck Lord Love a Duck is a 1966 black comedy starring Roddy McDowall and Tuesday Weld. The film was a satire of popular culture at the time, its targets ranging from progressive education to Beach Party films... |
Stella Bernard | |
| 1968 | Rosemary's Baby Rosemary's Baby (film) Rosemary's Baby is a 1968 American horror film written and directed by Roman Polanski, based on the bestselling 1967 novel Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin... |
Minnie Castevet | Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the... Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture The Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association in 1944 for a performance in a motion picture released in the previous year.... |
| 1969 | What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice? What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice? What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice? is a 1969 thriller film directed by Lee H. Katzin with Bernard Girard , and starring Geraldine Page, Ruth Gordon, Rosemary Forsyth, Robert Fuller and Mildred Dunnock... |
Alice Dimmock | |
| 1970 | Where's Poppa? Where's Poppa? Where's Poppa? is a 1970 black comedy film based on the novel by Robert Klane starring George Segal, Ron Leibman and Ruth Gordon. The plot revolves around the troubled relationship between a lawyer son played by Segal and his senile mother played by Gordon... |
Mrs. Hocheiser | |
| 1971 | Harold and Maude Harold and Maude Harold and Maude is a 1971 American dark comedy film directed by Hal Ashby and released by Paramount Pictures. It incorporates elements of dark humor and existentialist drama, with a plot that revolves around the exploits of a young man intrigued with death, Harold... |
Maude | Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy The Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association as a separate category in 1950... |
| 1976 | The Big Bus The Big Bus The Big Bus is a 1976 American James Frawley spoof comedy starring Stockard Channing and Joe Bologna. A spoof of most disaster movies popular at the time, it follows the maiden cross-country trip—New York to Denver, non-stop—of an enormous nuclear powered bus named Cyclops equipped with a bowling... |
Old Woman | |
| 1978 | Every Which Way but Loose | Ma Boggs | |
| 1979 | Scavenger Hunt Scavenger Hunt Scavenger Hunt is a 1979 comedy film with a large ensemble cast, in the mold of the 1963 comedy It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.-Plot summary:... |
Arvilla Droll | |
| Boardwalk Boardwalk (film) Boardwalk is a 1979 American drama film written by Stephen Verona and Leigh Chapman and directed by Verona. It stars Ruth Gordon, Lee Strasberg and Janet Leigh.... |
Becky Rosen | ||
| 1980 | Any Which Way You Can Any Which Way You Can * Beers To You** Written by Steve Dorff , John Durrill , Sandy Pinkard and Snuff Garrett ** Sung by Ray Charles and Clint Eastwood* Any Which Way You Can... |
Senovia 'Ma' Boggs | |
| My Bodyguard My Bodyguard My Bodyguard is a 1980 comedy-drama film released by 20th Century Fox, directed by Tony Bill , and written by Alan Ormsby... |
Gramma | ||
| 1982 | Jimmy the Kid | Bernice | |
| 1985 | Maxie | Mrs. Lavin | |
| Delta Pi Mugsy's Girls Mugsy's Girls is a 1985 film starring pop singer Laura Branigan and Ruth Gordon about a sorority that travels to Las Vegas to enter a mud wrestling competition in order to raise the money to save their house... |
Mugsy | ||
| Voyage of the Rock Aliens Voyage of the Rock Aliens Voyage of the Rock Aliens is a 1984 film directed by James Fargo. It stars Pia Zadora and Craig Sheffer.-Plot:A guitar-shaped spaceship streaks through the skies. Aboard is robot 1359 searching the universe via a Rhemascan monitor for the source of rock and roll music that the ship's crew had heard... |
Sheriff | Filmed in 1983 | |
| 1987 | The Trouble with Spies | Mrs. Arkwright | Filmed in 1984 and released after Gordon's death |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | The Prudential Family Playhouse | "Over 21" | |
| 1966 | Hallmark Hall of Fame Hallmark Hall of Fame Hallmark Hall of Fame is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark Cards, a Kansas City based greeting card company. The second longest-running television program in the history of television, it has a historically long run, beginning in 1951 and continuing into 2011... |
Madame Arcati | "Blithe Spirit" |
| 1973 | Isn't It Shocking? | Marge Savage | |
| 1975 | Kojak Kojak Kojak is an American television series starring Telly Savalas as the title character, bald New York City Police Department Detective Lieutenant Theo Kojak. It aired from October 24, 1973, to March 18, 1978, on CBS. It took the time slot of the popular Cannon series, which was moved one hour earlier... |
Miss Eudora Temple | "I Want to Report a Dream" |
| Rhoda Rhoda Rhoda is an American television sitcom, starring Valerie Harper, which ran for five seasons, from 1974 to 1978 airing in 109 episodes. The show was a spin-off from The Mary Tyler Moore Show, in which Harper between the years 1970 and 1974 had played the role of Rhoda Morgenstern, a spunky,... |
Carlton's Mother | "Kiss Your Epaulets Goodbye" Nominated - Emmy Award Emmy Award An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various... |
|
| Medical Story | Emily Dobson | "The Right to Die" | |
| 1976 | The Great Houdini The Great Houdini The Great Houdini: Magician Extraordinary, written by Beryl Williams and Samuel Epstein, is a biography on Harry Houdini, the great handcuff king and magician.This book tells about Houdini's life and reveals some of the secrets to his greatest tricks.... |
Cecilia Weiss | Nominated - Emmy Award Emmy Award An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various... |
| Look What's Happened to Rosemary's Baby Look What's Happened to Rosemary's Baby Look What's Happened to Rosemary's Baby is a 1976 TV movie, and a sequel to the 1968 film Rosemary's Baby. It has little connection to the novel by Ira Levin on which the first film was based.-The Book of Rosemary:... |
Minnie Castevet | aka Rosemary's Baby II | |
| 1977 | Saturday Night Live Saturday Night Live Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture... |
Guest Host | January 1977, Season Two, Episode 12 |
| Columbo | Abigail Mitchell | "Try and Catch Me" | |
| The Love Boat The Love Boat The Love Boat is an American television series set on a cruise ship, which aired on the ABC Television Network from September 24,1977, until May 24,1986.The show starred Gavin MacLeod as the ship's captain... |
Mrs. Warner | "Joker Is Mild, The/First Time Out/Take My Granddaughter, Please" | |
| The Prince of Central Park The Prince of Central Park Prince of Central Park is a 2000 family movie. The cast included Kathleen Turner, Danny Aiello, Harvey Keitel, and Cathy Moriarty. It was written and directed by John Leekley, and produced by Julius R. Nasso, Steven Seagal, and John P. Gulino. The film is a remake of the 1977 TV movie The Prince of... |
Mrs. Miller | ||
| 1978 | Perfect Gentlemen Perfect Gentlemen Perfect Gentlemen were an American trio of teen R&B vocalists formed under the direction of Maurice Starr, who discovered New Edition and New Kids on the Block.Starr put the group together in Boston in 1988, and had them tour the U.S opening for the New Kids... |
Mrs. Cavagnaro | |
| 1979 | Taxi Taxi (TV series) Taxi was an American sitcom that originally aired from 1978 to 1982 on ABC and from 1982 to 1983 on NBC. The series, which won 18 Emmy Awards, including three for "Outstanding Comedy Series", focuses on the everyday lives of a handful of New York City taxi drivers and their abusive dispatcher... |
Dee Wilcox | "Sugar Mama" Won - Emmy Award Emmy Award An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various... |
| 1980 | Hardhat and Legs | Grandmother | uncredited also writer |
| 1982 | Don't Go to Sleep Don't Go to Sleep Don't Go To Sleep is a 1982 made-for-TV movie that was produced by Aaron Spelling and Douglas S. Cramer. The movie featured Dennis Weaver, Valerie Harper, Ruth Gordon, Robert Webber, and youngsters Kristin Cumming, Robin Ignico and Oliver Robins of Poltergeist fame... |
Bernice | |
| 1983–1984 | Newhart Newhart Newhart is a television situation comedy starring comedian Bob Newhart and actress Mary Frann as an author and wife who owned and operated an inn located in a small, rural Vermont town that was home to many eccentric characters. The show aired on the CBS network from October 25, 1982 to May 21, 1990... |
Blanche Devane, Kirk's grandmother | "Grandma, What a Big Mouth You Have (1983) "Go, Grandma, Go" (1984) |
Writer
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1945 | Over 21 Over 21 Over 21 is a 1945 comedy film about a wife who supports her husband's decision to enlist in the army for World War II over the objections of his boss... |
play |
| 1947 | A Double Life A Double Life A Double Life is a 1947 film noir which tells the story of an actor whose mind becomes affected by the character he portrays. The movie starred Ronald Colman and Signe Hasso... |
Screenplay with Garson Kanin Nominated - Academy Award for screenplay |
| 1948 | Years Ago | Play for The Ford Theatre Hour |
| 1949 | Adam's Rib Adam's Rib Adam's Rib is a 1949 American film written by Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin and directed by George Cukor. It stars Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn as married lawyers who come to oppose each other in court. Judy Holliday co-stars in her first substantial film role... |
Screenplay with Garson Kanin Nominated - Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay Nominated - Writers Guild of America Award Writers Guild of America Award The Writers Guild of America Award for outstanding achievements in film, television, and radio has been presented annually by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America, West since 1949... Best Written American Comedy |
| 1952 | Pat and Mike Pat and Mike Pat and Mike is a 1952 comedy starring Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy. The movie was directed by George Cukor, who also directed The Philadelphia Story and Adam's Rib.- Plot :... |
Screenplay with Garson Kanin Nominated - Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay Nominated - Writers Guild of America Award Writers Guild of America Award The Writers Guild of America Award for outstanding achievements in film, television, and radio has been presented annually by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America, West since 1949... Best Written American Comedy |
| The Marrying Kind The Marrying Kind The Marrying Kind is a film directed by George Cukor, starring Aldo Ray and Judy Holliday. Other cast members include John Alexander, Charles Bronson, Peggy Cass, Barry Curtis, Tom Farrell, Frank Ferguson, Ruth Gordon , Gordon Jones, Madge Kennedy, Nancy Kulp, Mickey Shaughnessy, and Joan... |
Screenplay with Garson Kanin Nominated - Writers Guild of America Award Writers Guild of America Award The Writers Guild of America Award for outstanding achievements in film, television, and radio has been presented annually by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America, West since 1949... Best Written American Comedy |
|
| 1953 | The Actress The Actress The Actress is an 1953 American comedy-drama film based on Ruth Gordon's autobiographical play Years Ago. Gordon herself wrote the screenplay. The film was directed by George Cukor and stars Jean Simmons, Spencer Tracy, Teresa Wright, and Anthony Perkins in his film debut.The film was nominated for... |
Screenplay based on her play Years Ago Nominated - Writers Guild of America Award Writers Guild of America Award The Writers Guild of America Award for outstanding achievements in film, television, and radio has been presented annually by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America, West since 1949... Best Written American Comedy |
| 1967 | Rosie! | Based on her play A Very Rich Woman |
| 1973 | Adam's Rib | TV series based on film, wrote unknown episodes |
| 1980 | Hardhat and Legs | TV film written with Garson Kanin |
Broadway appearances
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| December 21, 1915 - January 1916 | Peter Pan Peter and Wendy Peter and Wendy, published in 1911, is the novelisation by J. M. Barrie of his most famous play Peter Pan; or, the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up... |
Nibs | Revival |
| January 22, 1918 - August 1918 | Seventeen | Lola Pratt | |
| August 13, 1923 - November 1923 | Tweedles | Winsora | |
| January 5, 1925 - March 1925 | Mrs. Partridge Presents | Katherine Everitt | |
| August 31, 1925 - October 1925 | The Fall of Eve | Eva Hutton | |
| January 26, 1927 - April 1928 | Saturday's Children | Bobby | |
| January 23, 1929 - April 1929 | Serena Blandish | Serena Blandish | |
| January 31, 1929 - May 25, 1929 | Lady Fingers | Ruth | also in ensemble |
| April 14, 1930 - June 1930 | Hotel Universe | Lily Malone | |
| September 29, 1930 - November 1930 | The Violet and One, Two, Three | Ilona Stobri | The Violet |
| April 6, 1931 - May 1931 | The Wiser They Are | Trixie Ingram | |
| October 12, 1931 - March 1932 | A Church Mouse | Susie Sachs | |
| September 6, 1932 - October 1932 | Here Today | Mary Hilliard | |
| March 16, 1933 - May 1933 | Three-Cornered Moon | Elizabeth Rimplegar | |
| February 21, 1934 - April 1934 | They Shall Not Die | Lucy Wells | |
| October 8, 1934 - November 1934 | A Sleeping Clergyman | Harriet Marshall, Hope Cameron, Wilhelmina Cameron | |
| January 21, 1936 - May 5, 1936 | Ethan Frome Ethan Frome Ethan Frome is a novel published in 1911 by the Pulitzer Prize-winning American author Edith Wharton. It is set in the fictitious town of Starkfield, Massachusetts, New England, United States... |
Mattie Silver | |
| December 1, 1936 - February 1937 | The Country Wife The Country Wife The Country Wife is a Restoration comedy written in 1675 by William Wycherley. A product of the tolerant early Restoration period, the play reflects an aristocratic and anti-Puritan ideology, and was controversial for its sexual explicitness even in its own time. The title itself contains a lewd pun... |
Mrs. Margery Pinchwife | |
| December 27, 1937 - May 1938 | A Doll's House A Doll's House A Doll's House is a three-act play in prose by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It premièred at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 21 December 1879, having been published earlier that month.... |
Nora Helmer | |
| May 19, 1942 - May 30, 1942 | The Strings, My Lord, Are False | Iris Ryan | |
| December 21, 1942 - April 3, 1943 | The Three Sisters | Natalya Ivanovna | |
| January 3, 1944 - July 8, 1944 | Over 21 | Paula Wharton | Written by Ruth Gordon |
| December 3, 1946 - May 31, 1947 | Years Ago | Written by Ruth Gordon | |
| September 30, 1947 - November 22, 1947 | How I Wonder | Produced by Ruth Gordon | |
| October 18, 1948 - October 23, 1948 | The Leading Lady | Gay | Written by Ruth Gordon |
| January 12, 1949 - January 15, 1949 | The Smile of the World | Sara Boulting | |
| December 5, 1955 - February 2, 1957 | The Matchmaker The Matchmaker The Matchmaker is a play by Thornton Wilder.The play has a long and colorful history. John Oxenford's 1835 one-act farce A Day Well Spent had been extended into a full-length play entitled Einen Jux will er sich machen by Austrian playwright Johann Nestroy in 1842... |
Mrs. Dolly Gallagher Levi | Nominated - 1956 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play This is a list of the winners and nominations of Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. The award has been presented since 1947, and is for performance in new productions or revivals.-1940s:... |
| March 2, 1960 - March 19, 1960 | The Good Soup | Marie-Paule I | |
| March 21, 1963 - April 6, 1963 | My Mother, My Father and Me | ||
| September 30, 1965 - October 23, 1965 | A Very Rich Woman | Written by Ruth Gordon | |
| October 6, 1966 - October 22, 1966 | The Loves of Cass McGuire | Cass | |
| October 17, 1974 - October 26, 1974 | Dreyfus in Rehearsal | Zina | |
| February 18, 1976 - April 4, 1976 | Mrs. Warren's Profession Mrs. Warren's Profession Mrs Warren's Profession is a play written by George Bernard Shaw in 1893. The story centers on the relationship between Mrs Kitty Warren, a brothel owner, described by the author as "on the whole, a genial and fairly presentable old blackguard of a woman" and her daughter, Vivie... |
Mrs. Kitty Warren |