Ruth Attaway (June 28, 1910 – September 21, 1987) was an American film and stage actress. Among the films she appeared in are '' Raintree County'' (1957), ''

Porgy and Bess ''Porgy and Bess'' () is an English-language opera by American composer George Gershwin, with a libretto written by author DuBose Heyward and lyricist Ira Gershwin. It was adapted from Dorothy Heyward and DuBose Heyward's play '' Porgy'', itse ...

'' (1959) and ''

Being There ''Being There'' is a 1979 American satire film directed by Hal Ashby. Based on the 1970 novel of the same name by Jerzy Kosiński, it was adapted for the screen by Kosiński and the uncredited Robert C. Jones. The film stars Peter Sellers a ...

'' (1979).

Early life

Attaway was born on June 28, 1910, in

Greenville, Mississippi Greenville is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 34,400 at the 2010 census. It is located in the area of historic cotton plantations and culture known as the Mississippi Delta. Hi ...

.Ruth Attaway biography at ''The New York Times''
/ref> She was the daughter of physician W.A. Attaway, PhD. Her siblings included a sister, Florence, and a brother, novelist and writer

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

. She graduated from the

University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Universit ...

, where she majored in sociology.

Career

Theatre work

Attaway made her

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

debut in 1936 in the

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...

winning play, '' You Can't Take It with You''. Attaway was the first director of the New York Players Guild, a black repertory theater company formed in New York in 1945. From 1954 to 1955, Attaway portrayed Anna Hicks in the play ''Mrs. Patterson'' at the National Theater. From 1964 to 1967, Attaway was with the Repertory Society of Lincoln Center.

Film work

Attaway made her film debut by portraying Moll in ''

The President's Lady ''The President's Lady'' is a 1951 novel of the life of American president Andrew Jackson and his marriage to Rachel Donelson Robards, written by Irving Stone. A biographical film was made in 1953 by 20th Century Fox, directed by Henry Levin and ...

'' (1953), opposite

Susan Hayward Susan Hayward (born Edythe Marrenner; June 30, 1917 – March 14, 1975) was an American film actress, best known for her film portrayals of women that were based on true stories. After working as a fashion model for the Walter Thornton Model A ...

and

Charlton Heston Charlton Heston (born John Charles Carter; October 4, 1923April 5, 2008) was an American actor and political activist. As a Hollywood star, he appeared in almost 100 films over the course of 60 years. He played Moses in the epic film ''The Ten C ...

. She went on to play a variety of characters in film such as Philomena in ''

The Young Don't Cry ''The Young Don't Cry'' is a 1957 American drama film directed by Alfred L. Werker and starring Sal Mineo, James Whitmore and J. Carrol Naish.Frascella & Weisel p.290 Plot An all-boys orphanage is not far from a prison camp near a swamp. Leslie ...

'' (1957), Serena in ''

'' (1959), Edna in ''

Conrack ''Conrack'' is a 1974 American drama film based on the 1972 autobiographical book '' The Water Is Wide'' by Pat Conroy, directed by Martin Ritt and starring Jon Voight in the title role, alongside Paul Winfield, Madge Sinclair, Hume Cronyn and ...

'' (1974) and Louise in ''

'' (1979).

Television work

In 1954, Attaway was within the cast of an unaired pilot titled ''Three's Company''. She also played Delia in the 1978 television movie, ''

The Bermuda Depths ''The Bermuda Depths'' is a Japanese / American co-production 1978 fantasy film originally broadcast as a made-for-TV movie written by Arthur Rankin Jr. of Rankin/Bass fame. Special effects and creature elements were handled by Tsuburaya Produc ...

''.

Other ventures

In addition to acting, Attaway was also trained as a

social worker Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social work ...

and, between acting jobs, worked with the

American Red Cross The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as the American National Red Cross, is a non-profit humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It is the desi ...

, the New York State Department of Social Welfare and New York's

Metropolitan Hospital Metropolitan Hospital Center (MHC, also referred to as Metropolitan Hospital) is a hospital in East Harlem, New York City. It has been affiliated with New York Medical College since it was founded in 1875, representing the oldest partnership be ...

Honors

On November 10, 1953, Attaway was one of three people cited by the Coordinating Council For Negro Performers at a special benefit in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...

Personal life and death

Attaway was married to Allan Morrison, an editor of ''

Ebony Ebony is a dense black/brown hardwood, coming from several species in the genus ''Diospyros'', which also contains the persimmons. Unlike most woods, ebony is dense enough to sink in water. It is finely textured and has a mirror finish when pol ...

''. He died on May 29, 1968, at the age of 51. Attaway died on September 21, 1987, in

New York Hospital Weill Cornell Medical Center (previously known as New York Hospital or Old New York Hospital or City Hospital) is a research hospital in New York City. It is part of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and the teaching hospital for Cornell University. ...

of injuries resulting from a

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

apartment fire.Ruth Attaway at Turner Classic Movies
/ref> She was 77 years old.

Partial filmography

*''

'' (1953) - Moll *''

'' (1957) - Philomena *'' Raintree County'' (1957) - Parthenia (uncredited) *''

'' (1959) - Serena Robbins *'' Terror in the City'' (1964) - Farmer's Wife *''

'' (1974) - Edna *'' The Taking of Pelham One Two Three'' (1974) - Mayor's Nurse *''

'' (1978) - Delia *''

'' (1979) - Louise (final film role)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Attaway, Ruth 1910 births 1987 deaths 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women 20th-century American actresses Accidental deaths in New York (state) Actresses from Mississippi Actresses from New York City African-American actresses American film actresses American social workers American stage actresses Deaths from fire in the United States People from Greenville, Mississippi University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni