Ruth Gordon

Dates Hosted:

1/22/77

Biography:

If you don’t know who Ruth Gordon is, you should, because she’s been an important film actress and writer since before the movies had sound. That’s right. Ruth Gordon’s professional film career began in 1915 when she was 19 years old (she was born in 1896) in the film “The Whirl of Life.” For the curious, “The Whirl of Life” was loosely based on the lives of vaudevillians Vernon and Irene Castle, a popular dance act of the era. They were also the film’s stars.

But we digress.

Ruth remained in the New York area working as a stage actress before heading out to Hollywood in the early ‘40s (in 1915, the film industry was primarily based in New York). Though she landed a number of roles, she became discouraged and turned her focus to writing. With then-husband Garson Kanin, she penned a number of classic Spencer Tracy/Katherine Hepburn movies, basing their on-screen relationship on her own relationship with Garson.

However, it’s for her roles in “Rosemary’s Baby” and “Harold and Maude” that Ruth is best remembered today.