From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ruth Clifford (February 17, 1900 – November 30, 1998) was an American actress of leading roles in silent films, whose career lasted from silent days into the television era. Clifford got work as an extra and began her career at 15 at Universal, in fairly substantial roles. She received her first film credit for her work in Behind the Lines (1916).
By her mid-twenties, she was playing leads and second leads, including the role of Abraham Lincoln's lost love, Ann Rutledge, in The Dramatic Life of Abraham Lincoln (1924). But sound pictures found her roles diminishing, and throughout the next three decades she played smaller and smaller parts.
She was a favorite of director John Ford (they played bridge together), who used her in eight films, but rarely in substantial roles. She was also, for a time, the voice of Walt Disney's Minnie Mouse and Daisy Duck.
Clifford's obituary in the Los Angeles Times noted that she "became a prime source for historians of the silent screen era".
Known For
Sunset Boulevard
(1950)
Sheldrake's Secretary (uncredited)
The Searchers
(1956)
Deranged Woman at Fort (uncredited)
Holiday Inn
(1942)
Guest at Inn (uncredited)
My Darling Clementine
(1946)
Opera House Patron (uncredited)
The Quiet Man
(1952)
Mother (uncredited)
Funny Girl
(1968)
Maid (uncredited)
The Phantom of the Opera
(1925)
Ballerina (uncredited)
3 Godfathers
(1948)
Woman in Bar (uncredited)
Ball of Fire
(1941)
Chorus Girl (uncredited)
Leave Her to Heaven
(1945)
Telephone Operator (uncredited)
The Cobweb
(1955)
Mrs. Jenkins
The Last Hurrah
(1958)
Nurse (uncredited)
Wagon Master
(1950)
Fleuretty Phyffe
Sergeant Rutledge
(1960)
Officer's Wife (uncredited)
Drums Along the Mohawk
(1939)
Pioneer Woman (uncredited)
Pluto's Christmas Tree
(1952)
Minnie Mouse (voice) (uncredited)
Full Filmography
Acting
Behind the Lines
(1916)
Camilla
The Door Between
(1917)
Heloise Crocker
The Desire of the Moth
(1917)
Stella Vorhis
A Kentucky Cinderella
(1917)
Nannie
The Savage
(1917)
Marie Louise
The Mysterious Mr. Tiller
(1917)
Clara Hawthorne
Mother o' Mine
(1917)
Catherine Thurston
Eternal Love
(1917)
Mignon
Polly Put the Kettle On
(1917)
Polly Vance
The Cabaret Girl
(1918)
Ann Reid
Fires of Youth
(1918)
Lucille Linforth
Hands Down
(1918)
Hilda Stuyvesant
The Lure of Luxury
(1918)
Dale Aldis
Hungry Eyes
(1918)
Mary Jane Appleton
Midnight Madness
(1918)
Gertrude Temple
The Game's Up
(1919)
Ruth Elliott
The Millionaire Pirate
(1919)
The Girl
The Invisible Ray
(1920)
Mystery
Tropical Love
(1921)
Rosario
My Dad
(1922)
Dawn
The Dangerous Age
(1923)
Gloria Sanderson
April Showers
(1923)
Miriam Welton
Ponjola
(1923)
Gay Lypiatt
Hell's Hole
(1923)
Dorothy Owen
The Face on the Barroom Floor
(1923)
Marion Trevor
The Whispered Name
(1924)
Anne Gray
The Dramatic Life of Abraham Lincoln
(1924)
Ann Rutledge, first sweetheart
Butterfly
(1924)
Hilary Collier
The Tornado
(1925)
Ruth Travers
The Phantom of the Opera
(1925)
Ballerina (uncredited)
As Man Desires
(1925)
Gloria Gordon
Brooding Eyes
(1926)
Joan Ayre
The Thrill Seekers
(1927)
Adrean Wainwright
Don Mike
(1927)
Mary Kelsey
Show of Shows
(1929)
Performer in 'Ladies of the Ensemble' Number (uncredited)
The Eternal Woman
(1929)
Doris Forbes
The Devil's Apple Tree
(1929)
The Constant Woman
(1933)
Speakeasy Floozie
Face in the Sky
(1933)
Hotel Guest with Dog (uncredited)
Only Yesterday
(1933)
Eleanor (Uncredited)
The Hitchhiker
(1933)
Adolph's Wife
Woman Unafraid
(1934)
Kate
Miss Fane's Baby Is Stolen
(1934)
Friend of Miss Fane
Making the Rounds
(1934)
Stolen Harmony
(1935)
Nurse (uncredited)
She Married Her Boss
(1935)
Undetermined Supporting Role (uncredited)
To Mary - with Love
(1936)
Nurse
Paddy O'Day
(1936)
Mrs. Right - First Class Passenger
Hollywood Boulevard
(1936)
Nurse (uncredited)
Four Men and a Prayer
(1938)
Telephone Operator (uncredited)
Safety in Numbers
(1938)
Mrs. Hensley
Charlie Chan in Honolulu
(1938)
Nurse
Wife, Husband and Friend
(1939)
Seamstress
Swanee River
(1939)
Bit Role
Drums Along the Mohawk
(1939)
Pioneer Woman (uncredited)
The Man Who Wouldn't Talk
(1940)
Mrs. Finney
Lillian Russell
(1940)
Extra
Free, Blonde and 21
(1940)
Nurse
Along the Rio Grande
(1941)
Paula
Road to Happiness
(1941)
Ship Passenger (uncredited)
Ball of Fire
(1941)
Chorus Girl (uncredited)
Cadet Girl
(1941)
Undetermined Minor Role (uncredited)
Mr. Celebrity
(1941)
Woman In Convertible
It Happened in Flatbush
(1942)
Ruth (uncredited)
Blue, White, and Perfect
(1942)
Ship's Passenger (uncredited)
Ten Gentlemen from West Point
(1942)
Graduation Spectator (uncredited)
Holiday Inn
(1942)
Guest at Inn (uncredited)
Coney Island
(1943)
Saloon Patron
First Aiders
(1944)
Minnie Mouse (voice) (uncredited)
The Lodger
(1944)
Hairdresser (uncredited)
The Keys of the Kingdom
(1944)
Sister Mercy Mary (uncredited)
Leave Her to Heaven
(1945)
Telephone Operator (uncredited)
The Spider
(1945)
Mrs. Gillespie - Tenant
Circumstantial Evidence
(1945)
Bridge Player (uncredited)
Bath Day
(1946)
Minnie Mouse (voice) (uncredited)
My Darling Clementine
(1946)
Opera House Patron (uncredited)
Shock
(1946)
Mrs. Margaret Cross
Mickey's Delayed Date
(1947)
Minnie Mouse
Mother Wore Tights
(1947)
Resort Guest (uncredited)
Figaro and Frankie
(1947)
Minnie Mouse (voice) (uncredited)
Cry of the City
(1948)
Nurse
Donald's Dream Voice
(1948)
Daisy Duck (voice) (uncredited)
The Luck of the Irish
(1948)
Secretary
3 Godfathers
(1948)
Woman in Bar (uncredited)
Father Was a Fullback
(1949)
Neighbor
Not Wanted
(1949)
Mrs. Stone
Pluto's Sweater
(1949)
Minnie Mouse (voice) (uncredited)
Free For All
(1949)
Miss Berry (uncredited)
You're My Everything
(1949)
Nurse (uncredited)
Wagon Master
(1950)
Fleuretty Phyffe
Key to the City
(1950)
Mrs. Anderson (uncredited)
Sunset Boulevard
(1950)
Sheldrake's Secretary (uncredited)
Whirlpool
(1950)
Nurse Eliott (uncredited)
The Quiet Man
(1952)
Mother (uncredited)
Pluto's Christmas Tree
(1952)
Minnie Mouse (voice) (uncredited)
The Cobweb
(1955)
Mrs. Jenkins
The Searchers
(1956)
Deranged Woman at Fort (uncredited)
Designing Woman
(1957)
Vanessa Cole
The Last Hurrah
(1958)
Nurse (uncredited)
Sergeant Rutledge
(1960)
Officer's Wife (uncredited)
Funny Girl
(1968)
Maid (uncredited)
The Silent Feminists: America's First Women Directors
(1993)
Herself
Mickey's Family Album
(1998)
Minnie Mouse (Mickey's Delayed Date) (voice)