Rita Gam (born Rita Eleanore MacKay, April 2, 1927March 22, 2016) was an American film and television actress and documentary filmmaker. She won the

Silver Bear for Best Actress The Silver Bear for Best Actress (german: Silberner Bär/Beste Darstellerin) was an award presented at the Berlin International Film Festival from 1956 to 2020. It was given to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance and was chos ...

Background

Gam was born in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, the daughter of Belle (née Fately), who was born in Romania, and Milton A. MacKay, who was born in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

to parents from Romania. Her father died in New York in 1931 and her mother remarried. Gam took the surname of her stepfather, Benjamin J. Gam.

Career

Gam was a model before she ventured into acting. Her acting career began on Broadway and in television, after which she moved on to films. Her Broadway credits included ''

There's a Girl in My Soup '' There's a Girl in My Soup'' is a 1970 British romantic comedy film based on the stage play of the same name, directed by Roy Boulting and starring Peter Sellers and Goldie Hawn. The film was Sellers' last commercial success until '' Return ...

'', ''The Insect Comedy'', '' A Flag is Born'', and ''A Temporary Island''. She appeared first in the 1952

film noir Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American ' ...

'' The Thief'', which starred Ray Milland. In October 1952, she signed a long-term

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

contract. Another notable role was Herodias in 1961's ''

King of Kings King of Kings; grc-gre, Βασιλεὺς Βασιλέων, Basileùs Basiléōn; hy, արքայից արքա, ark'ayits ark'a; sa, महाराजाधिराज, Mahārājadhirāja; ka, მეფეთ მეფე, ''Mepet mepe'' ...

''. Gam was an occasional panelist on the famous live broadcast CBS game show ''What's My Line'' as well in the 1950s and early 1960s. She shared the

award with

Viveca Lindfors Elsa Viveca Torstensdotter Lindfors (December 29, 1920 – October 25, 1995) was a Swedish stage, film, and television actress. She won an Emmy Award and a Silver Bear for Best Actress. Biography Lindfors was born in Uppsala, Sweden, the d ...

at the 1962 Berlin Film Festival, for their performances in

Tad Danielewski Tad Danielewski (March 29, 1921 – January 6, 1993) was a Polish-born American film director. Early years Born as Tadeusz Zbigniew Danielewski in Radom, Poland, he served in the Polish Underground during World War II but was captured and inter ...

's ''

No Exit ''No Exit'' (french: Huis clos, links=no, ) is a 1944 existentialist French play by Jean-Paul Sartre. The play was first performed at the Théâtre du Vieux-Colombier in May 1944. The play begins with three characters who find themselves waiting ...

''. In 1963, Gam was a leading member of The Minnesota Theatre Company in the opening season of The

Tyrone Guthrie Theater Tyrone may refer to: * Kingdom of Tyrone or Tír Eoghain, a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland * County Tyrone, a county in Northern Ireland * Earl of Tyrone, a title in the Peerage of Ireland * Tyrone (name), a male given name Places Canada * Tyrone, On ...

in Minneapolis. Gam appeared in a few more American films before working in Europe. She returned to the U.S. to appear in small parts in films, including ''

Klute ''Klute'' is a 1971 American neo-noir crime thriller film directed and produced by Alan J. Pakula, written by Andy and Dave Lewis, and starring Jane Fonda, Donald Sutherland, Charles Cioffi, and Roy Scheider. The film follows a high-priced call ...

'' in 1971, before taking up documentary film making. In 2003, she appeared in the rotating cast of the Off-Broadway stage reading of '' Wit & Wisdom''. In 2004, she appeared in one of a series of ads for the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Personal life and death

Gam's first husband was director

Sidney Lumet Sidney Arthur Lumet ( ; June 25, 1924 – April 9, 2011) was an American film director. He was nominated five times for the Academy Award: four for Best Director for ''12 Angry Men'' (1957), ''Dog Day Afternoon'' (1975), ''Network'' (1976), ...

, whom she married in 1949. The marriage ended in divorce in 1955. In 1956, Gam was a bridesmaid at the wedding of

Grace Kelly Grace Patricia Kelly (November 12, 1929 – September 14, 1982) was an American actress who, after starring in several significant films in the early to mid-1950s, became Princess of Monaco by marrying Prince Rainier III in April 1956. Kelly ...

Prince Rainier Rainier III (Rainier Louis Henri Maxence Bertrand Grimaldi; 31 May 1923 – 6 April 2005) was Prince of Monaco from 1949 to his death in 2005. Rainier ruled the Principality of Monaco for almost 56 years, making him one of the longest-ruling m ...

in Monaco. Gam’s 1956 marriage to publisher

Thomas Guinzburg Thomas Henry Guinzburg (March 30, 1926 – September 8, 2010) was an American editor and publisher who served as the first managing editor of ''The Paris Review'' following its inception in 1953 and later succeeded his father as president of ...

ended in divorce in 1963. Gam died on March 22, 2016, at

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a nonprofit, tertiary, 886-bed teaching hospital and multi-specialty academic health science center located in Los Angeles, California. Part of the Cedars-Sinai Health System, the hospital employs a staff of over 2 ...

in Los Angeles, California, from respiratory failure.

Books

Gam was the author of two books, ''Actress to Actress'' and ''Actors: A Celebration.''

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * * *
Rita Gam
at the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

'
Actors Studio audio collection
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gam, Rita 1927 births 2016 deaths Actresses from Pittsburgh American documentary film directors American film actresses American people of French-Jewish descent American people of Romanian-Jewish descent American television actresses American stage actresses Jewish American actresses Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract players Ethical Culture Fieldston School alumni Silver Bear for Best Actress winners 20th-century American actresses Film directors from New York City American women documentary filmmakers Lumet family