CINEFILER

Ruth Hussey

Born
October 30, 1911
Died
April 19, 2005
​From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Ruth Carol Hussey (October 30, 1911 – April 19, 2005) was an American actress best known for her Academy Award-nominated role as photographer Elizabeth Imbrie in The Philadelphia Story. After working as an actress in summer stock, she returned to Providence and worked as a radio fashion commentator on a local station. She wrote the ad copy for a Providence clothing store and read it on the radio each afternoon. She was encouraged by a friend to try out for acting roles at the Providence Playhouse. The theater director there turned her down, saying the roles were cast only out of New York City. Later that week, she journeyed to New York City and on her first day there, she signed with a talent agent who booked her for a role in a play starting the next day back at the Providence Playhouse. In New York City, she also worked for a time as a model. She then landed a number of stage roles with touring companies. Dead End toured the country in 1937 and the last theater on the road trip was at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles, where she was spotted on opening night by MGM talent scout Billy Grady. MGM signed her to a players contract and she made her film debut in 1937. She quickly became a leading lady in MGM's "B" unit, usually playing sophisticated, worldly roles. For a 1940 "A" picture role, she was nominated for an Academy Award for her turn as Elizabeth Imbrie, the cynical magazine photographer and almost-girlfriend of James Stewart's character Macaulay Connor in The Philadelphia Story. In 1941, exhibitors voted her the third-most popular new star in Hollywood. Hussey also worked with Robert Taylor in Flight Command (1940), Robert Young in Northwest Passage (1940) and H.M. Pulham, Esq. (1941), Van Heflin in Tennessee Johnson (1942), Ray Milland in The Uninvited (1944), and Alan Ladd in The Great Gatsby (1949). In 1946, she starred on Broadway in the Pulitzer Prize-winning play State of the Union. Her 1949 role in Goodbye, My Fancy on Broadway caused a Billboard reviewer to write: "Miss Hussey brings a splendid aliveness and warmth to the lovely congresswoman...." She filled in for Jean Arthur in the 1955 Lux Radio Theater presentation of Shane, playing Miriam Start, alongside original film stars Alan Ladd and Van Heflin. In 1960, she co-starred in The Facts of Life with Bob Hope. Hussey was also active in early television drama.
Known For
The Philadelphia Story
(1940)
Elizabeth 'Liz' Imbrie
The Women
(1939)
Miss Wattson
Northwest Passage
(1940)
Elizabeth Browne
The Uninvited
(1944)
Pamela Fitzgerald
Marie Antoinette
(1938)
Duchess de Polignac (uncredited)
Another Thin Man
(1939)
Dorothy Waters
Our Wife
(1941)
Professor Susan Drake
The Great Gatsby
(1949)
Jordan Baker
H.M. Pulham, Esq.
(1941)
Cordelia 'Kay' Motford Pulham
Full Filmography
Acting
Madame X
(1937)
Annette
Big City
(1937)
Mayor's Secretary (uncredited)
Rich Man, Poor Girl
(1938)
Joan Thayer
Hold That Kiss
(1938)
Nadine Piermont
Spring Madness
(1938)
Kate McKim
Judge Hardy's Children
(1938)
Margaret Lee
Time Out for Murder
(1938)
Peggy Norton, victim
Marie Antoinette
(1938)
Duchess de Polignac (uncredited)
Man-Proof
(1938)
Jane (dialogue scenes deleted)
The Women
(1939)
Miss Wattson
Within the Law
(1939)
Mary Turner
Another Thin Man
(1939)
Dorothy Waters
Maisie
(1939)
Sybil Ames
Blackmail
(1939)
Helen Ingram
Fast and Furious
(1939)
Lily Cole
Honolulu
(1939)
Eve
The Philadelphia Story
(1940)
Elizabeth 'Liz' Imbrie
Northwest Passage
(1940)
Elizabeth Browne
Susan and God
(1940)
Charlotte
Flight Command
(1940)
Lorna Gray
A New Romance of Celluloid: The Miracle of Sound
(1940)
Self
Our Wife
(1941)
Professor Susan Drake
H.M. Pulham, Esq.
(1941)
Cordelia 'Kay' Motford Pulham
Married Bachelor
(1941)
Norma Haven
Free and Easy
(1941)
Martha Gray
Tennessee Johnson
(1942)
Eliza McCardle Johnson
Pierre of the Plains
(1942)
Daisy Denton
The Uninvited
(1944)
Pamela Fitzgerald
Tender Comrade
(1944)
Barbara Thomas
Marine Raiders
(1944)
Lt. Ellen Foster
Her Favorite Patient
(1945)
Dr. Hedy Fredericks, MD
I, Jane Doe
(1948)
Eve Meredith Curtis
The Great Gatsby
(1949)
Jordan Baker
Mr. Music
(1950)
Lorna Marvis
Louisa
(1950)
Meg Norton
That's My Boy
(1951)
Ann Jackson
Hill Number One: A Story of Faith and Inspiration
(1951)
Mary
Stars and Stripes Forever
(1952)
Jennie Sousa
Woman of the North Country
(1952)
Christine Powell
The Lady Wants Mink
(1953)
Nora Connors
The Facts of Life
(1960)
Mary Gilbert
The Resurrection of Broncho Billy
(1970)
Voice Over
My Darling Daughters' Anniversary
(1973)
Maggie Cartwright
Data provided by TMDB