Thelma Ritter

Thelma Ritter (February 14, 1902 – February 5, 1969) was an American character actress who, known for her strong New York City accent, diminutive size, and plain look, favored working-class roles. She earned a Tony Award and six Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actress, more than any other actress in the category.

These nominations were for her performances in All About Eve (1950), The Mating Season (1951), With a Song in My Heart (1952), Pickup on South Street (1953), Pillow Talk (1959), and Birdman of Alcatraz (1962). Her other film roles include those in Miracle on 34th Street (1947), Rear Window (1954), The Misfits (1961), and How the West Was Won (1962).

Ritter shared the 1958 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for performance in the musical New Girl in Town with her co-star Gwen Verdon. She received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series nomination for Goodyear Television Playhouse in 1956.

Early and personal life

Ritter was born in Brooklyn, New York, on February 14, 1902, the first child of Charles and Lucy Ritter.<ref name="1905 NY Census">The New York State Census of 1905", 16th Assembly District, Borough of Brooklyn, Kings County, State of New York, June 1, 1905. Digital copy of original 1905 enumeration page available on FamilySearch, an online genealogical database provided as a public service by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah. Retrieved July 21, 2017.</ref><ref>Born in 1902 as per Social Security Death Index under the name "Thelma Ritter"</ref> Her father was a bookkeeper,<ref name="1905 NY Census"/> later an office manager.<ref name="nytobit" />

At age 11, Ritter played Puck in a semi-professional dramatic society's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream.<ref name="nytobit" /> As a teenager she appeared in high-school plays and stock companies. After initially being rebuffed, she received formal training at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts (ADA)<ref name="TCM">LoBianco, Lorraine."Thelma Ritter Profile", Turner Classic Movies (TCM), a Time Warner Company, New York, N.Y. Retrieved July 21, 2017.</ref> upon her graduation from Manual Training High School in Park Slope, Brooklyn.<ref name="nytobit" />

Although she subsequently struggled to establish a stage career, Ritter decided to take a hiatus from acting to raise her two children, Monica and Joe.<ref name="acc">Template:Cite book</ref> Their father, her husband, Joseph Moran, was also an actor. In the mid-1930s, he changed professions, becoming an actors' agent and then an advertising executive.<ref name="TCM" />

Career

Ritter's first professional experience came with stock theater companies in New York and New England.<ref name="nytobit" /> Her Broadway credits include UTBU (1965), New Girl in Town (1956), In Times Square (1931), and The Shelf (1926).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Ritter's first movie role was in Miracle on 34th Street (1947). She made a memorable impression in a brief uncredited part, as a frustrated mother unable to find the toy that Kris Kringle has promised her son. Her third role, in writer-director Joseph L. Mankiewicz's A Letter to Three Wives (1949), left a mark, although Ritter was again uncredited. Mankiewicz kept Ritter in mind, and cast her as Birdie Coonan in All About Eve (1950), which earned her an Oscar nomination. A second nomination followed for her work in the Mitch Leisen ensemble screwball comedy The Mating Season (1951) starring Gene Tierney and John Lund. She enjoyed steady film work for the next dozen years.

She appeared in many of the episodic drama TV series of the 1950s and 1960s, such as Alfred Hitchcock Presents, General Electric Theater, and The United States Steel Hour ‘’Wagon Train’’. Other film roles were as James Stewart's nurse in Rear Window (1954) and as Doris Day's housekeeper, Alma, in Pillow Talk (1959). Although best known for comedy roles, she played the occasional dramatic role, most notably in With a Song in My Heart (1952), Pickup on South Street (1953), Titanic (1953), The Misfits (1961), and Birdman of Alcatraz (1962), for which she received her final Oscar nomination. Her last work was an appearance on The Jerry Lewis Show on January 23, 1968.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Death

On January 27, 1969, Ritter suffered a heart attack at her residence in Queens, New York City.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> She died from a second heart attack on February 5, in New York City, at age 66.<ref name="nytobit">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Legacy

In 2019, Ritter was listed at number 1 on The Evening Standard list of ten women who changed the face of film forever.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Work

Film

Year	Title	Role	Director	Notes
1947	Miracle on 34th Street	Peter's Mother	George Seaton	Uncredited
1948	Call Northside 777	Receptionist	Henry Hathaway	Uncredited
1949	A Letter to Three Wives	Sadie Dugan	Joseph L. Mankiewicz	Uncredited
	City Across the River	Mrs. Katie Cusack	Maxwell Shane
	Father Was a Fullback	Geraldine	John M. Stahl
1950	Perfect Strangers	Lena Fassler	Bretaigne Windust
	I'll Get By	Miss Murphy	Richard Sale
	All About Eve	Birdie Coonan	Joseph L. Mankiewicz
1951	The Mating Season	Ellen McNulty	Mitchell Leisen
	As Young as You Feel	Della Hodges	Harmon Jones
	The Model and the Marriage Broker	Mae Swasey	George Cukor
1952	With a Song in My Heart	Clancy	Walter Lang
1953	Titanic	Maude Young	Jean Negulesco
	Pickup on South Street	Moe Williams	Samuel Fuller
	The Farmer Takes a Wife	Lucy Cashdollar	Henry Levin
1954	Rear Window	Stella	Alfred Hitchcock
1955	Daddy Long Legs	Alicia Pritchard	Jean Negulesco
	Lucy Gallant	Molly Basserman	Robert Parrish
1956	The Proud and Profane	Kate Connors	George Seaton
1959	A Hole in the Head	Sophie Manetta	Frank Capra
	Pillow Talk	Alma	Michael Gordon
1961	The Misfits	Isabelle Steers	John Huston
	The Second Time Around	Aggie Gates	Vincent Sherman
1962	Birdman of Alcatraz	Elizabeth Stroud	John Frankenheimer
	How the West Was Won	Agatha Clegg	John Ford Henry Hathaway George Marshall
1963	For Love or Money	Chloe Brasher	Michael Gordon
	Move Over, Darling	Grace Arden
	A New Kind of Love	Leena	Melville Shavelson
1965	Boeing Boeing	Bertha	John Rich
1967	The Incident	Bertha Beckerman	Larry Peerce
1968	What's So Bad About Feeling Good?	Mrs. Schwartz	George Seaton	final film role

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1954	Lux Video Theatre	Lux Video Theatre Guest	Episode: Christmas in July
1955	The Best of Broadway	Mrs. Fisher	Episode: The Show-Off
	The 20th Century Fox Hour	Abby	Episode: Christopher Bean
	Goodyear Television Playhouse	Aggie Hurley	Episode: The Catered Affair
1956	Alfred Hitchcock Presents	Lottie Slocum	Season 1 Episode 32: The Baby Sitter
1957	Telephone Time	Mary Devlin	Episode: Plot to Save a Boy
	The United States Steel Hour	Ma Garfield	Episode: The Human Pattern
1960	GE True Theatre	Doris Green	Episode: Sarah's Laughter
	Startime	Mrs. Gillis	Episode: The Man
1961	Frontier Circus	Bertha Marie Beecher	Episode: Journey from Hannibal
1962	Wagon Train	Madame Sagittarius	Episode: The Madame Sagittarius Story

Theatre

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1926	The Shelf	Miss Paterson	Morosco Theatre, Broadway
1931	In Times Square	Sally Stewart	Longacre Theatre, Broadway
1957	New Girl in Town	McCathy	46th Street Theatre, Broadway
1966	UTBU	Performer	Hayes Theatre, Broadway

Radio

Year	Program	Notes	Ref.
1953	Theatre Guild on the Air	Episode: A Square Peg	<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Open access</ref>

Awards and nominations

Ritter received six Academy Award nominations during her career, without a win. This ties her with Deborah Kerr and Amy Adams with the second most such nominations among actresses, behind Glenn Close’s eight. Peter O'Toole also has eight without a win among men. Only Kerr and O'Toole have received honorary awards from the Academy.

In 1955 Ritter co-hosted the Oscar ceremony, notably trading wisecracks with Bob Hope.

Association	Year	Category	Performance	Result	Ref.
Academy Awards	1950	Best Supporting Actress	All About Eve	Template:Nom	<ref name="aad">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}Template:Dead link</ref>
	1951		The Mating Season	Template:Nom
	1952		With a Song in My Heart	Template:Nom
	1953		Pickup on South Street	Template:Nom
	1959		Pillow Talk	Template:Nom
	1962		Birdman of Alcatraz	Template:Nom
Golden Globe Awards	1950	Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture	All About Eve	Template:Nom	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	1951		The Mating Season	Template:Nom	<ref name=gga/>
	1965		Boeing Boeing	Template:Nom	<ref name=gga/>
Primetime Emmy Awards	1956	Best Actress in a Supporting Role	Goodyear Television Playhouse	Template:Nom	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Tony Awards	1958	Best Actress in a Musical	New Girl in Town	Template:Won	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Further reading

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External links

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