Ruth Hussey

This article is about the American actress. For the British doctor, see Ruth Hussey (doctor).

Ruth Hussey
Hussey in 1945
Born	Ruth Carol Hussey (1911-10-30)October 30, 1911 Providence, Rhode Island, U.S.
Died	Newbury Park, California, U.S.
Cause of death	complications of an appendectomy
Alma mater	Brown University University of Michigan
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1937–1973
Spouse(s)	Charles Robert Longenecker (1942–2002) (his death) (3 children)
Children	John Longenecker Rob Longenecker Mary Hendrix

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.

Early life

Hussey was born in Providence, Rhode Island, October 30, 1911. She was also known as Ruth Carol O'Rourke Her father, George R. Hussey, died of the Spanish flu in 1918 when she was seven years old. Ten years later, her mother married a family friend, William O'Rourke, who had worked at the family's mail-order silver enterprise, the renowned Baird-North Company in Providence.

Following graduation from the Providence public schools, she went on to study art at Pembroke College, graduating in 1936. She never landed a role in any of the plays for which she tried out at Pembroke. She then received a degree in theatre from the University of Michigan School of Drama, and worked as an actress with a summer stock company in Michigan for two seasons. She also attended Boston Business College and Michigan School of Drama.

Career

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 The Philadelphia Story (1940)

In New York City, she also worked for a time as a model with the world-famous Powers agency. 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 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.

Personal life

File:RH-Pop3A.jpg

Ruth Hussey and her husband Bob Longenecker

On August 9, 1942, Hussey married talent agent and radio producer C. Robert "Bob" Longenecker (1909–2002) at Mission San Antonio de Pala in north San Diego County, California. Longenecker was born and raised in Lititz, Pennsylvania. They raised three children: George Robert Longenecker, John William Longenecker, and Mary Elizabeth Hendrix.

Following the birth of her children, Hussey focused much of her attention on family activities, and in 1964, designed a family cabin in the mountain community of Lake Arrowhead, California. In 1967, she was inducted into the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame

In 1977, her husband and she moved from their Brentwood family home to Rancho Carlsbad in Carlsbad, California. Her husband died in 2002 shortly after celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary.

Her son John Longenecker works as a cinematographer and film director. He won an Academy Award for producing a live-action short film The Resurrection of Broncho Billy (1970).

Death

Hussey died April 19, 2005, at the age of 93, from complications from an appendectomy.

Partial filmography

• Madame X (1937)
• Man-Proof (1938)
• Rich Man, Poor Girl (1938)
• Spring Madness (1938)
• Another Thin Man (1939)
• Maisie (1939)
• Fast and Furious (1939)
• Blackmail (1939)
• The Philadelphia Story (1940)
• Susan and God (1940)
• Flight Command (1940)
• Free and Easy (1941)
• Pierre of the Plains (1942)
• Tender Comrade (1943)
• The Uninvited (1944)
• Bedside Manner (1945)
• That's My Boy (1951)
• Stars and Stripes Forever (1952)

Radio appearances

Year	Program	Episode/source
1949	Hallmark Playhouse	Parnassus on Wheels
1952	Family Theater	Vacation for Mom
1952	Hollywood Star Playhouse	All Brides Are Beautiful
1953	Family Theater	Namgay Doola (hostess)

External links

• Ruth Hussey – official website
• Ruth Hussey at the Internet Movie Database
• Ruth Hussey at the Internet Broadway Database
• Ruth Carol Hussey at Find a Grave
• NY Times – Ruth Hussey, a brief biography