- Born
- Died
- Birth nameRuth Alice Taylor
- Height1.57 m
- Ruth Alice Taylor was born on January 13, 1905 (some sources say 1908) in Grand Rapids, Michigan. When she was a child her family moved to Oregon. At the age of nineteen Ruth went to Hollywood and started her career as an extra at Universal Studios. In 1925 she signed a two year contract with Mack Sennett and became one of his bathing beauties. With her perky smile and blonde spit curls Ruth quickly became one of Sennett's most popular actresses. She had supporting roles in several comedies including A Yankee Doodle Duke and The Pride Of Pikeville. Ruth was nicknamed "The Little Girl With A Big Personality".
In 1928 she beat out dozens of other actresses for the role of Lorelei Lee in the film version of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. That same year she was named one of the WAMPAS Baby Stars. Ruth was offered a contract at Paramount and starred in the comedy The College Coquette. In 1930 she married stockbroker Paul Steinberg Zuckerman and had a son. She decided to quit making movies and became a housewife. Her final acting role was in the comedy short Scrappily Married. Ruth and Paul lived in Palm Springs and were happily married until his death in 1965. Their son, Buck Henry, became a successful screenwriter. Ruth died on April 12, 1984 at the age of seventy-nine. She is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills, California.- IMDb mini biography by: Elizabeth Ann
- SpousePaul Steinberg Zuckerman(March 17, 1930 - December 3, 1965) (his death, 1 child)
- Children
- ParentsNorman C. TaylorIvah Bates Taylor
- Taylor was the original blue-eyed, gold-digging Lorelei Lee, playing the leading role in the silent movie version of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1928). During the search for Lorelei Lee, fans sent 14,000 letters to Paramount Pictures. Each suggested a choice of an actress for the role. In return, every fan was mailed a photo of Ruth when she was selected for the part. It was the largest shipment of pictures of one person ever shipped from Hollywood. She was selected by its author, Anita Loos. Taylor was later a 1928 Wampas Baby Star.
- First appeared as an extra in films after arriving in Hollywood in 1925. Appeared in a host of Hollywood comedy shorts not only for Mack Sennett but opposite such stars as Ben Turpin.
- Her son, actor and writer Buck Henry, followed Taylor into show business. At age 16, he picked up his Equity card in 1946 for a role in the long-running comedy, "Life With Father".
- "Little Rascals" tyke star Shirley Jean Rickert's blonde spit curls were styled after Ruth.
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