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)
My Darling Clementine
(1946)
Opera House Patron (uncredited)
The Quiet Man
(1952)
Mother (uncredited)
The Phantom of the Opera
(1925)
Ballerina (uncredited)
Funny Girl
(1968)
Maid (uncredited)
Holiday Inn
(1942)
Guest at Inn (uncredited)
3 Godfathers
(1948)
Woman in Bar (uncredited)
Wagon Master
(1950)
Fleuretty Phyffe
Sergeant Rutledge
(1960)
Officer's Wife (uncredited)
The Last Hurrah
(1958)
Nurse (uncredited)
Leave Her to Heaven
(1945)
Telephone Operator (uncredited)
Ball of Fire
(1941)
Chorus Girl (uncredited)
Drums Along the Mohawk
(1939)
Pioneer Woman (uncredited)
Pluto's Christmas Tree
(1952)
Minnie Mouse (voice) (uncredited)
The Keys of the Kingdom
(1944)
Sister Mercy Mary (uncredited)
Full Filmography
Acting
Behind the Lines
(1916)
Camilla
The Door Between
(1917)
Heloise Crocker
A Kentucky Cinderella
(1917)
Nannie
The Mysterious Mr. Tiller
(1917)
Clara Hawthorne
The Desire of the Moth
(1917)
Stella Vorhis
Polly Put the Kettle On
(1917)
Polly Vance
The Savage
(1917)
Marie Louise
Mother o' Mine
(1917)
Catherine Thurston
Eternal Love
(1917)
Mignon
Hands Down
(1918)
Hilda Stuyvesant
Midnight Madness
(1918)
Gertrude Temple
Fires of Youth
(1918)
Lucille Linforth
The Lure of Luxury
(1918)
Dale Aldis
The Cabaret Girl
(1918)
Ann Reid
Hungry Eyes
(1918)
Mary Jane Appleton
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
Ponjola
(1923)
Gay Lypiatt
Hell's Hole
(1923)
Dorothy Owen
The Dangerous Age
(1923)
Gloria Sanderson
The Face on the Barroom Floor
(1923)
Marion Trevor
April Showers
(1923)
Miriam Welton
Butterfly
(1924)
Hilary Collier
The Whispered Name
(1924)
Anne Gray
The Dramatic Life of Abraham Lincoln
(1924)
Ann Rutledge, first sweetheart
The Phantom of the Opera
(1925)
Ballerina (uncredited)
As Man Desires
(1925)
Gloria Gordon
The Tornado
(1925)
Ruth Travers
Brooding Eyes
(1926)
Joan Ayre
The Thrill Seekers
(1927)
Adrean Wainwright
Don Mike
(1927)
Mary Kelsey
The Devil's Apple Tree
(1929)
The Eternal Woman
(1929)
Doris Forbes
Show of Shows
(1929)
Performer in 'Ladies of the Ensemble' Number (uncredited)
Face in the Sky
(1933)
Hotel Guest with Dog (uncredited)
The Constant Woman
(1933)
Speakeasy Floozie
Only Yesterday
(1933)
Eleanor (Uncredited)
The Hitchhiker
(1933)
Adolph's Wife
Miss Fane's Baby Is Stolen
(1934)
Friend of Miss Fane
Making the Rounds
(1934)
Woman Unafraid
(1934)
Kate
She Married Her Boss
(1935)
Undetermined Supporting Role (uncredited)
Stolen Harmony
(1935)
Nurse (uncredited)
Hollywood Boulevard
(1936)
Nurse (uncredited)
Paddy O'Day
(1936)
Mrs. Right - First Class Passenger
To Mary - with Love
(1936)
Nurse
Charlie Chan in Honolulu
(1938)
Nurse
Four Men and a Prayer
(1938)
Telephone Operator (uncredited)
Safety in Numbers
(1938)
Mrs. Hensley
Wife, Husband and Friend
(1939)
Seamstress
Drums Along the Mohawk
(1939)
Pioneer Woman (uncredited)
Swanee River
(1939)
Bit Role
Free, Blonde and 21
(1940)
Nurse
Lillian Russell
(1940)
Extra
The Man Who Wouldn't Talk
(1940)
Mrs. Finney
Along the Rio Grande
(1941)
Paula
Road to Happiness
(1941)
Ship Passenger (uncredited)
Cadet Girl
(1941)
Undetermined Minor Role (uncredited)
Mr. Celebrity
(1941)
Woman In Convertible
Ball of Fire
(1941)
Chorus Girl (uncredited)
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
The Lodger
(1944)
Hairdresser (uncredited)
The Keys of the Kingdom
(1944)
Sister Mercy Mary (uncredited)
First Aiders
(1944)
Minnie Mouse (voice) (uncredited)
Leave Her to Heaven
(1945)
Telephone Operator (uncredited)
The Spider
(1945)
Mrs. Gillespie - Tenant
Circumstantial Evidence
(1945)
Bridge Player (uncredited)
My Darling Clementine
(1946)
Opera House Patron (uncredited)
Shock
(1946)
Mrs. Margaret Cross
Bath Day
(1946)
Minnie Mouse (voice) (uncredited)
Figaro and Frankie
(1947)
Minnie Mouse (voice) (uncredited)
Mother Wore Tights
(1947)
Resort Guest (uncredited)
Mickey's Delayed Date
(1947)
Minnie Mouse
3 Godfathers
(1948)
Woman in Bar (uncredited)
The Luck of the Irish
(1948)
Secretary
Donald's Dream Voice
(1948)
Daisy Duck (voice) (uncredited)
Cry of the City
(1948)
Nurse
Free For All
(1949)
Miss Berry (uncredited)
Pluto's Sweater
(1949)
Minnie Mouse (voice) (uncredited)
Not Wanted
(1949)
Mrs. Stone
Father Was a Fullback
(1949)
Neighbor
You're My Everything
(1949)
Nurse (uncredited)
Sunset Boulevard
(1950)
Sheldrake's Secretary (uncredited)
Key to the City
(1950)
Mrs. Anderson (uncredited)
Wagon Master
(1950)
Fleuretty Phyffe
Whirlpool
(1950)
Nurse Eliott (uncredited)
Pluto's Christmas Tree
(1952)
Minnie Mouse (voice) (uncredited)
The Quiet Man
(1952)
Mother (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)