1. Theatre, Film, and Television Biographies
2. Gabrielle Fitzpatrick to Christopher Fulford

Ruth Ford Biography (1915-)

Full name, Ruth Elizabeth Ford; born July 7, 1915, in Hazelhurst, MS; daughter of Charles Lloyd (in the hotel business) and Gertrude (a painter; maiden name, Cato) Ford; married Peter Van Eyck (an actor), 1941 (divorced); married Zachary Scott (an actor), July 6, 1952 (died, 1965); children: one daughter (first marriage). Addresses: HOME--1 W. 72nd Street, New York, NY, 10023.

Favorite roles: Mrs. Gowan Stevens (Temple Drake) in Requiem for a Nun, Estelle in No Exit, and Lorraine in A Breeze from the Gulf.

Nationality

American

Birth Details

July 7, 1915

Hazelhurst, Mississippi, United States

Famous Works

• Credits
• STAGE DEBUT--Nanny, Ways and Means, Ivoryton Players, Ivoryton Playhouse,Ivoryton, CT, 1937.
• BROADWAY DEBUT--Jane, The Shoemaker's Holiday, Mercury Theatre, 1938.
• LONDON DEBUT--Mrs. Gowan Stevens (Temple Drake), Requiem for a Nun, RoyalCourt Theatre, 1957.
• Credits; PRINCIPAL STAGE APPEARANCES
• Judy, Idiot's Delight, fourth Athenian woman, Lysistrata, first lady, Dead End, Lois Fisher, The Children's Hour, and Mildred, The Jazz Age, all Ivoryton Players, Ivoryton Playhouse, Ivoryton, CT, 1937.
• Rosalie, Danton's Death, Mercury Theatre, New York City, 1938.
• the Bridesmaid, Trial by Jury, the Lady, The Dark Lady of the Sonnets, Desdemona, Othello, Stella Cartwright, Ways and Means, Lady Maureen Gilpin, Hands Across the Sea, Mrs. Omar Dobbs, The Best Dressed Woman in the World, andSuzy Courtois, Topaz, all Green Mansions Theatre, Warrensburg, NY, 1939.
• Polly, Swingin' the Dream, City Center Theatre, New York City, 1939.
• Irma Szabo, The Glass Slipper, Barbizon-Plaza Theatre, New York City, 1940.
• Estelle, No Exit, Biltmore Theatre, New York City, 1946.
• Maggie, The Man Who Came to Dinner, Westport Country Playhouse, Westport,CT, 1947.
• Yolan, This Time Tomorrow, Ethel Barrymore Theatre, New York City, 1947.
• Ophelia, Hamlet, Kronberg Castle, Elsinore, Denmark, 1949.
• Deborah Pomfret, Clutterbuck, Elitch Gardens Theatre, Denver, CO, then Biltmore Theatre, both 1949.
• Estelle, No Exit, and the Stepdaughter, Six Characters in Search of an Author, both Brattle Theatre, Cambridge, MA, 1950.
• Martirio, The House of Bernarda Alba, American National Theatre and Academy Theatre, New York City, 1951.
• Lady Macbeth, Macbeth, and Dynamene, A Phoenix Too Frequent, both BrattleTheatre, 1951.
• Sally Bowles, I Am a Camera, Brattle Theatre, 1953.
• the Patient, Too True to Be Good, Playhouse in the Park, Philadelphia, PA, 1954.
• Sabina, The Skin of Our Teeth, Boston Commons Arts Festival, Boston, MA,1955.
• Pia, Island of Goats, Fulton Theatre, New York City, 1955.
• Mrs. X, The Stronger, and Kristin, Miss Julie, both Phoenix Theatre, NewYork City, 1956.
• Mrs. Gowan Stevens (Temple Drake), Requiem for a Nun, John Golden Theatre, New York City, 1959.
• The Nun, The Umbrella, and Mommy, The American Dream, both Festival of Two Worlds, Spoleto, Italy, 1963.
• Vera Ridgeway Condotti, The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore, BrooksAtkinson Theatre, New York City, 1964.
• Virginia Varnum, Lovey, Cherry Lane Theatre, New York City, 1965.
• Hattie Loomis, Dinner at Eight, Alvin Theatre, New York City, 1966.
• Judith Hastings, The Ninety-Day Mistress, Biltmore Theatre, 1967.
• Aunt Adelaide, Hunger and Thirst, Berkshire Theatre Festival, Stockbridge, MA, 1969.
• Verena Talbo, The Grass Harp, Martin Beck Theatre, New York City, 1971.
• Comtesse de Saint-Fond, Madame de Sade, Theatre De Lys, New York City, 1972.
• Lorraine, A Breeze from the Gulf, Eastside Playhouse, New York City, thenBucks County Playhouse, New Hope, PA, both 1973.
• Clarissa Halley-Yshott, The Charlatan, Mark Taper Forum, Los Angeles, CA,1974.
• third actress, voluptuous mistress, Irina Pavlovna Kurganova, and Countess Byelitskaya, Poor Murderer, Ethel Barrymore Theatre, 1976.
• Madame Arkadina, The Seagull, Goodman Theatre, Chicago, IL, 1977.
• Juliana Bordereau, The Aspern Papers, McCarter Theatre, Princeton, NJ, 1978.
• Mrs. Chasen, Harold and Maude, Martin Beck Theatre, 1980.
• Kathy, Confluence, Circle Repertory Company, New York City, 1981.
• Claire Zachanassian, The Visit, Alley Theatre, Houston, TX, 1982.
• Also appeared as Mrs. Billings, Too Much Johnson, Stoney Creek, CT, 1939;in Interesting Experiment, Green Mansions Theatre, 1939; as Matilda Rockley,You Touched Me, Mt. Kisco, NY, 1946; as Laetitia, Children of Darkness, summer theatre production, 1948; in The Heiress, The Winslow Boy, Twentieth Century, and The Traitor, all Elitch Gardens Theatre, 1949; in The Failures, Brattle Theatre, 1951; in The Shewing Up of Blanco Posnet and The Apollo of Bellac, both Westport Country Playhouse, 1954; as Dorothy Cleves, Any Wednesday, Coconut Grove, FL, and Miami, FL, both 1965; and in Outward Bound, Apple CorpsTheatre, New York City, 1984.
• Credits; MAJOR TOURS
• Roxanne, Cyrano de Bergerac, U.S. cities, 1946.
• Also in The Button, U.S. cities, 1970.
• FILM DEBUT--Roaring Frontiers, Columbia, 1941.
• Credits; PRINCIPAL FILM APPEARANCES
• Helene de Leon, Secrets of the Lone Wolf (also known as Secrets), Columbia, 1941.
• secretary, Across the Pacific, First National, 1942.
• Myrt, Escape from Crime, Warner Brothers, 1942.
• Janet Devon, Gorilla Man, Warner Brothers, 1942.
• Estelle, The Hidden Hand, Warner Brothers, 1942.
• young mother, In This Our Life, Warner Brothers, 1942.
• Myrtle, The Lady Is Willing, Columbia, 1942.
• Lucy Fenton, Lady Gangster, Warner Brothers, 1942.
• Beth Beebe, The Man Who Returned to Life, Columbia, 1942.
• Mrs. Gordon, Murder in the Big House (also known as Human Sabotage and Born for Trouble), Warner Brothers, 1942.
• Miss Charlton, Secret Enemies, Warner Brothers, 1942.
• Tess Torrence, Adventures in Iraq, Warner Brothers, 1943.
• nurse, Air Force, Warner Brothers, 1943.
• Lana Shane, Murder on the Waterfront, Warner Brothers, 1943.
• Claire Stillwell, Princess O'Rourke, Warner Brothers, 1943.
• Pearl, Truck Busters, Warner Brothers, 1943.
• Sister Clotilde, The Keys of the Kingdom, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1944.
• Mrs. Simms, Circumstantial Evidence, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1945.
• Ruth Gibson, The Woman Who Came Back, Republic, 1945.
• Cornelia Van Borden, Dragonwyck, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1946.
• Jane Karaski, Strange Impersonation, Republic, 1946.
• Beatrice Kaufman, Act One, Warner Brothers, 1964.
• Mrs. Gagnon, The Tree, Robert Guenette, 1969.
• Carlotta, Play It As It Lays, Universal, 1972.
• Irma, Too Scared to Scream, Movie Store, 1985.
• Also appeared in The Devil's Trail, Columbia, 1942; Wilson, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1944; A Separate Peace, Paramount, 1972; and The Eyes of the Amaryllis, 1982.
• Credits; PRINCIPAL TELEVISION APPEARANCES; EPISODIC
• Cameo Theatre, NBC.
• Writings;STAGE
• (Adaptor) Requiem for a Nun, Royal Court Theatre, London, 1957.