Ruth Nelson(1905-1992)
- Actress
Stage actress Ruth Nelson's biggest claim to fame was as one of the
founding members of the famed New York-based "Group Theatre" back in
the 30s and was well-received playing the cabby's wife in
Clifford Odets' short play "Waiting for
Lefty" in 1935. This role would typify Ruth's career as the non-flashy,
blue-collar or "working class" wife, loyal to the bone. She blended in
so well with her rather submissive delivery that she went by totally
unnoticed when she moved to film parts in the 40s. She gave a
restrained realism in her roles in
L'étoile du Nord (1943),
Le Lys de Brooklyn (1945),
Humoresque (1946),
Le maître de la prairie (1947) and
Maman était new-look (1947),
among others. Her second husband was director
John Cromwell, who became a victim
the "Red
Scare" in the early 50s after being labeled a Communist. Ruth could
have had a major career upswing with her important casting in the play
"Death of a Salesman" but she felt compelled to turn it down when the
role would have taken her to New York and away from her husband in Los
Angeles who needed her support. She herself would be forced out of
films for the next 30 years. Most of her work from the 50s on was on
stage, notably a 1966 production of "The Skin of Our Teeth". It was
director Robert Altman who finally
induced her to return to films in 1977, featuring her in
Trois femmes (1977) and
Un mariage (1978). Her last important
movie role was as Robert De Niro's mom in
L'éveil (1990). Suffering from
cancer, she died in 1992.
