Ruth Chatterton

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Born: 24 December 1892 Died: 24 November 1961

Country of origin: United States

Height: 5' 3"

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My Favourite Old Hollywood Hairstyles (519 items)
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Published 15 years, 9 months ago

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beautiful eyes (378 items)
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Published 15 years, 8 months ago

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Famous People With Dogs (136 items)
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Published 16 years, 1 month ago

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200 Legendary Actresses (200 items)
list by Meganfan

Published 12 years, 7 months ago

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Women of Classic Cinema _1930-1934 (69 items)
list by xolmis

Published 10 years, 9 months ago

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Ruth Chatterton Videos

Movie Legends - Ruth Chatterton (Reprise)

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Ruth Chatterton; a Pre-Code favorite

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Description: Ruth Chatterton was born in New York City on Christmas Eve, 1892. Aspiring to be an actress early during her girlhood, she was active in various school productions. The result of her amateur stage plays left no doubt in her mind that acting was to be a way of life for her. While on a school vacation in Washington, DC, she managed to get involved in a stock company. Despite the fact she was only 14 years old, Ruth left school in order to pursue her dream. She began as a chorus girl and was so impressive, that she quickly graduated into bigger parts. Before long Ruth found herself on Broadway. Not only was she starring with the bi Ruth Chatterton was born in New York City on Christmas Eve, 1892. Aspiring to be an actress early during her girlhood, she was active in various school productions. The result of her amateur stage plays left no doubt in her mind that acting was to be a way of life for her. While on a school vacation in Washington, DC, she managed to get involved in a stock company. Despite the fact she was only 14 years old, Ruth left school in order to pursue her dream. She began as a chorus girl and was so impressive, that she quickly graduated into bigger parts. Before long Ruth found herself on Broadway. Not only was she starring with the biggest stars of the stage, Ruth, herself, was fast becoming one of the leading ladies of the time -- and she was just 18 at the time. She continued to toil, lovingly, on Broadway, but with the booming movie industry, it was only a matter of time before Hollywood came calling. Even during the time the film colony was located in New York City, Ruth resisted the urge to perform before the cameras. During those days, most performers believed it to be a step backward to be in films. She decided to branch out and left for sunny California to appear on the stage there. She, still, harbored no thoughts of the silver screen. Ruth was 35 years old and appearing in a theater in Los Angeles when she was spotted by the great actor, Emil Jannings. Jannings was with Paramount Studios at the time and convinced Ruth to perform with him in his new picture, Sins of the Fathers (1928). It was her first and only silent movie epic. Clearly a vehicle for Jannings, the film was less than well-received at the box-office. But it was the appearance of the great Broadway star, Ruth Chatterton, that saved it. Her next screen appearance was as Kathryn Miles in Charming Sinners (1929) the following year. An early "talkie" that relied more on dialogue than action, the film was loaded with the stars of the time and began to solidify Ruth's role in Hollywood. Later that year she played Marjorie Lee in The Laughing Lady (1929) as a woman who falls in love with her ex-husband's lawyer. In 1930, Ruth starred in the hit Sarah and Son (1930), a tearjerker of a mother looking for her son after her husband sold him to a rich couple. This was one of the best films seen in years with rave reviews for Ruth. She was also nominated for her second Academy Award for Best Actress, (the first one was for her role in Madame X (1929). Ruth lost to Norma Shearer for her role in The Divorcee (1930). The next year Ruth starred as Anna Keremazoff as a woman of questionable character in Once a Lady (1931). Unfortunately, the film was more or less a dud with movie audiences and critics. After the grand success of The Magnificent Lie (1931) and Tomorrow and Tomorrow (1932), Ruth and several other Paramount stars moved over to Warner Brothers Studio when that studio raided their rival's talent coffers. In 1933, Ruth paired off with George Brent to star in the very successful Lilly Turner (1933) with Ruth in the title role. She was, later, married to Brent for two years. Perhaps, Ruth's greatest performance was as Fran Dodsworth in Dodsworth (1936). It was a star-studded film starring some of the great thespians of the day such as John Payne, Mary Astor, Walter Huston, and David Niven. After the film, A Royal Divorce (1938), Ruth left motion pictures for a return to the stage. She was 45 and was being replaced by younger actresses in the plum roles of the day. She also cashed in on the new medium of the late 1940s and early 1950s -- television. Her last appearance was in 1953 when she played in "Hamlet" for TV's Hallmark Hall of Fame (1951) program. Ruth then retired to become a successful writer. On November 24, 1961, Ruth died of a brain hemorrhage in Norwalk, Connecticut. She was 68 years old. ... (more)