Ruth McDevitt
Ruth McDevitt | |
---|---|
McDevitt in 1950 | |
Born | Ruth Thane Shoecraft September 13, 1895 Coldwater, Michigan, U.S. |
Died | May 27, 1976 Hollywood, California, U.S. | (aged 80)
Other names | Ruth Thane McDevitt |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1949–1976 |
Spouse(s) | Patrick McDevitt
(m. 1928; died 1934) |
Ruth Thane McDevitt (née Shoecraft; September 13, 1895 – May 27, 1976)[1] was an American film, stage, radio and television actress.
Career[]
The daughter of John Barnabas Shoecraft and Elizabeth Imber Shoecraft,[2] McDevitt was born in Coldwater, Michigan,[3] but grew up in Ohio.[4] After attending the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, she married Patrick McDevitt on December 10, 1928,[2] and decided to devote her time to her marriage. After her husband's death in 1934, she returned to acting. She made her debut on Broadway in 1940, and succeeded her friend Josephine Hull in Arsenic and Old Lace, Harvey, and The Solid Gold Cadillac.[5]
McDevitt also acted on radio, portraying the title character's mother in Keeping up with Rosemary[6] and Jane in This Life Is Mine.[6]:333
On television, McDevitt portrayed Bessie Thatcher in the DuMont drama A Woman to Remember (1949).[7]:1189 She played Mom Peepers in the 1950s sitcom Mister Peepers[7]:702-703 and Grandma Hanks on CBS's Pistols 'n' Petticoats.[7]:837 She was a regular on The Everly Brothers Show[7] and the NBC soap Bright Promise from September 1969 to June 1970. McDevitt also had a regular role as Emily Cowles on Kolchak: the Night Stalker, starring Darren McGavin.[7]:572
McDevitt guest starred in such series as Suspense, Cosmopolitan Theatre, Decoy, The United States Steel Hour, Westinghouse Studio One, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, The Andy Griffith Show, The Debbie Reynolds Show, The Ghost & Mrs. Muir, Mayberry R.F.D., I Dream of Jeannie, Bewitched, The Courtship of Eddie's Father, Love, American Style, That Girl, Nanny and the Professor, Room 222, Mannix, Here's Lucy, Gunsmoke, Marcus Welby, M.D., Phyllis, Little House on the Prairie, The Streets of San Francisco, Naked City, and All in the Family (on which she had a recurring role during 1974 and 1975).
Her film debut was in The Guy Who Came Back (1951), followed by memorable roles in The Parent Trap (as camp counselor Miss Inch), Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds (as Mrs. MacGruder, the pet store saleslady), Boys' Night Out, Dear Heart, The Shakiest Gun in the West, Angel in My Pocket, The Love God?, Change of Habit, The War Between Men and Women, and Mixed Company.
Death[]
McDevitt died, aged 80, in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California and is interred in Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery.
Filmography[]
Film | |||
---|---|---|---|
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
1951 | The Guy Who Came Back | Grandma | |
1953 | The Long, Long Trailer | Mrs. Vagabond | Uncredited |
1961 | The Parent Trap | Miss Inch | |
1962 | Boys Night Out | Beulah Partridge | |
1963 | The Birds | Mrs. MacGruder, bird shop owner | |
Love Is a Ball | Mathilda, grandmother | ||
1964 | Dear Heart | Miss Tait | |
1968 | The Shakiest Gun in the West | Mrs. Olive Heywood | with film's star Don Knotts |
1969 | Angel in My Pocket | Nadine | with Andy Griffith |
The Love God? | Miss Keezy | with film's star Don Knotts | |
Change of Habit | Lily | ||
1972 | The War Between Men and Women | Old woman | |
1974 | Mame | Cousin Fan | |
Homebodies | Mrs. Loomis | ||
Mixed Company | Miss Bergquist |
Television | |||
---|---|---|---|
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
1949 | A Woman to Remember | Bessie Thatcher | Unknown episodes |
1958 | Harbourmaster | Mrs. Markham | 1 episode |
Omnibus | Ewa | 1 episode | |
1961 | Naked City | Mrs. Abbie Dobbins | 1 episode |
1962 | The Nurses | Miss Dillion | 1 episode |
Dr. Kildare | Adele Fromm, RN | 1 episode | |
1963-1964 | The Alfred Hitchcock Hour | Mrs. Fister / Miss Emmy Right | 2 episodes |
1964 | Route 66 | Mrs. Harris | 1 episode |
The Doctors | Mrs. McMurtrie | Unknown episodes | |
1966–1967 | Pistols 'n' Petticoats | Grandma Effie Hanks | 26 episodes |
1967 | Bewitched | The Queen Ticheba / Mrs Parsons / Aunt Millicent | 3 episodes |
1968 | The Andy Griffith Show | Mrs. Pendleton | 2 episodes |
1969 | The Debbie Reynolds Show | Mrs. Patterson | 1 episode |
Bright Promise | Clara Ryan | September 29, 1969 to June 1970 | |
1970 | The Courtship of Eddie's Father | Miss Bristol | 1 episode |
That Girl | Aunt Belle | 1 episode | |
1971 | The New Andy Griffith Show | Mrs. Gossage | 3 episodes |
Nanny and the Professor | Mrs. Rumble | 1 episode | |
1972 | Room 222 | Miss Brown/Vivian Higgins | 2 episodes |
1973 | The New Dick Van Dyke Show | Mrs. Ferguson | 1 episode |
The Girl Most Likely to... | Housemistress | made-for-TV movie | |
1974 | Kojak | Mrs. Farenkrug | 1 episode |
McCloud | Landlady | 1 episode | |
1973-1975 | All In the Family | Josephine "Jo" Nelson | 3 episodes |
1974–1975 | Kolchak: The Night Stalker | Emily Cowles | 12 episodes |
1975 | Phyllis | Miss McDermott | 1 episode |
1975 | Ellery Queen | Zelda Van Dyke | 1 episode |
Medical Center | Alice | 1 episode |
She also appeared in a Streets of San Francisco episode "Winterkill" from season 2 on December 13, 1973
References[]
- ^ Ellenberger, Allan R. (2001). Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory. McFarland. p. 218. ISBN 978-0-7864-0983-9. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Downs, Winfield Scott (1934). Encyclopedia of American Biography: New Series. American Historical Society. p. 196. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
- ^ "Coldwater, Michigan". City-Data.com. Retrieved June 17, 2014.
- ^ Bennett, Jean (May 27, 1965). "Ruth McDevitt Loves Success". The Record. New Jersey, Hackensack. p. 21. Retrieved July 18, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Cox, Stephen; Marhanka, Kevin (2008). The Incredible Mr. Don Knotts. Cumberland House. p. 107. ISBN 9781581826586.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Terrace, Vincent (1999). Radio Programs, 1924-1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows. McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 189. ISBN 978-0-7864-4513-4.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010 (2nd ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. p. 313. ISBN 978-0-7864-6477-7.
External links[]
- Ruth McDevitt at IMDb
- Ruth McDevitt at the Internet Broadway Database
- Ruth McDevitt at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
- Ruth McDevitt at the University of Wisconsin's Actor Studio audio collection
- Ruth McDevitt at Find a Grave
- Actresses from Michigan
- American Academy of Dramatic Arts alumni
- American film actresses
- American radio actresses
- American soap opera actresses
- American stage actresses
- American television actresses
- 20th-century American actresses
- Burials at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery
- 1895 births
- 1976 deaths
- People from Coldwater, Michigan