Ruth Kobart (April 24, 1924 – December 14, 2002) was an American performer, whose six-decade career encompassed

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

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 ...

musical theatre, regional theatre, films, and

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

Life and career

Born as Ruth Maxine Kahn in

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

, Kobart studied opera at the

American Conservatory of Music The American Conservatory of Music (ACM) was a major American school of music founded in Chicago in 1886 by John James Hattstaedt (1851–1931). The conservatory was incorporated as an Illinois non-profit corporation. It developed the Conservator ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and made her professional debut as the Witch in an off-Broadway production of Engelbert Humperdinck's '' Hänsel und Gretel''. She frequently toured with the

NBC Opera Theatre The NBC Opera Theatre (sometimes mistakenly spelled NBC Opera Theater and sometimes referred to as the NBC Opera Company) was an American opera company operated by the National Broadcasting Company from 1949 to 1964. The company was established spec ...

(NBCOT) and the

New York City Opera The New York City Opera (NYCO) is an American opera company located in Manhattan in New York City. The company has been active from 1943 through 2013 (when it filed for bankruptcy), and again since 2016 when it was revived. The opera company, du ...

(NYCO). With the NBCOT she notably created the role of Agata in the world premiere of Gian Carlo Menotti's ''

Maria Golovin ''Maria Golovin'' is an English language opera in three acts by Gian Carlo Menotti. It is through-composed and centers on a romantic encounter between a blind recluse named Donato and the title character, a married woman living in a European count ...

'' at the

Expo '58 Expo 58, also known as the 1958 Brussels World's Fair (french: Exposition Universelle et Internationale de Bruxelles de 1958, nl, Brusselse Wereldtentoonstelling van 1958), was a world's fair held on the Heysel/Heizel Plateau in Brussels, Bel ...

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

on August 20, 1958; later the same year she portrayed the role on

. For the NBC, she also created the role of Arina in the premiere of Bohuslav Martinů's '' The Marriage''. She played Madame Pace in the world premiere of

Hugo Weisgall Hugo David Weisgall (October 13, 1912 – March 11, 1997) was an American composer and conductor, known chiefly for his opera and vocal music compositions. He was born in Ivančice, Moravia (then part of Austria-Hungary, later in his childhood ...

's ''

Six Characters in Search of an Author ''Six Characters in Search of an Author'' ( it, Sei personaggi in cerca d'autore, link=no ) is an Italian play by Luigi Pirandello, written and first performed in 1921. An absurdist fiction, absurdist metatheatrical, metatheatric play about th ...

'' at the NYCO in 1959. Regarding her role as Madame Pernelle in ''

Tartuffe ''Tartuffe, or The Impostor, or The Hypocrite'' (; french: Tartuffe, ou l'Imposteur, ), first performed in 1664, is a theatrical comedy by Molière. The characters of Tartuffe, Elmire, and Orgon are considered among the greatest classical thea ...

'' at the Geary Theater, she wrote: "I had a big voice and a big body ... I came out on stage and shouted my head off, and believe it or not, I found my way."Theatermania: Notice of the death of Ruth Kobart
/ref> In 1955, Kobart made her Broadway debut in the chorus of

Rodgers and Hammerstein Rodgers and Hammerstein was a theater-writing team of composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and lyricist-dramatist Oscar Hammerstein II (1895–1960), who together created a series of innovative and influential American musicals. Their popular ...

's ''

Pipe Dream Pipe dream may refer to: Music * ''Pipe Dream'' (John Williamson album), 1997, or the titular song * ''Pipedream'' (Alan Hull album), 1973 * ''Pipe Dreams'' (Murray Head album), 1995 * "Pipe Dreams" (Nelly Furtado song), 2016 * ''Pipe Dream ...

''. She understudied leading lady

Helen Traubel Helen Francesca Traubel (June 16, 1899July 28, 1972) was an American opera and concert singer. A dramatic soprano, she was best known for her Wagnerian roles, especially those of Brünnhilde and Isolde. Born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, ...

and played her role forty two times during the show's run. Additional Broadway credits included ''

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying ''How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying'' may refer to: * ''How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying'' (book), a 1952 book written by Shepherd Mead and the inspiration for the musical of the same name. * ''How to Succeed in Bu ...

'', '' A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum'', ''

A Flea in Her Ear ''A Flea in Her Ear'' (french: La Puce à l'oreille) is a play by Georges Feydeau written in 1907, at the height of the Belle Époque. The author called it a vaudeville, but in Anglophone countries, where it is the most popular of Feydeau's play ...

'', and '' Three Sisters''. She was nominated for the 1963

Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical has been presented since 1950. The award was not given at the first three Tony Award ceremonies. Nominees were not announced publicly until 1956. Winners and nominees 1950s ...

for ''Forum''. Kobart's association with

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

's American Conservatory Theater began with its first season in 1967 and lasted through 1994. Her appearances with them included ''

The House of Bernarda Alba ''The House of Bernarda Alba'' ( es, La casa de Bernarda Alba) is a play by the Spanish dramatist Federico García Lorca. Commentators have often grouped it with ''Blood Wedding'' and ''Yerma'' as a "rural trilogy". Garcia Lorca did not include ...

'', '' Sunday in the Park with George'', '' Arsenic and Old Lace'', ''

A Little Night Music ''A Little Night Music'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler. Inspired by the 1955 Ingmar Bergman film ''Smiles of a Summer Night'', it involves the romantic lives of several couples. Its title is a ...

'', and '' Home''. In the 1970s she took an extended leave from the company to portray

Nurse Ratched Nurse Ratched (full name Mildred Ratched in the movie, also known as "Big Nurse") is a fictional character and the main antagonist of ''One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'', first featured in Ken Kesey's 1962 novel as well as the 1975 film adapt ...

in the 18-month-long San Francisco production of '' One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest''. Her national tour credits included ''

Forty Carats ''Forty Carats'' is a play by Jay Presson Allen. Adapted from the French original by Pierre Barillet and Jean-Pierre Gredy, the comedy revolves around a 40-year-old American divorcee who is assisted by a 22-year-old when her car breaks down du ...

'', ''

The Last of the Red Hot Lovers ''Last of the Red Hot Lovers'' is a comedy by Neil Simon. It premiered on Broadway in 1969. Production The play opened on Broadway at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre on December 28, 1969, and closed on September 4, 1971, after 706 performances and si ...

'', and ''

Annie Annie may refer to: People and fictional characters * Annie (given name), a given name and a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Annie (actress) (born 1975), Indian actress * Annie (singer) (born 1977), Norwegian singer The ...

''. Her portrayal of Miss Hannigan on the first tour of ''Annie'' and in a long Chicago run (in succession to originator

Dorothy Loudon Dorothy Loudon (September 17, 1925 – November 15, 2003) was an American actress and singer. She won the Tony Award for Best Lead Actress in a Musical in 1977 for her performance as Miss Hannigan in '' Annie''. Loudon was also nominated for T ...

) was considered one of the best interpretations of that classic role. She voiced the main villain, Malicia, in 1994 video game ''

King's Quest VII ''King's Quest VII: The Princeless Bride'' is a graphic adventure game developed and published by Sierra On-Line for the MS-DOS, Microsoft Windows and Macintosh computers in 1994. It features high-resolution graphics in a style reminiscent of Disn ...

''.

Films and television

On screen she appeared in the

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

adaptation of ''How to Succeed'', as well as ''

Petulia ''Petulia'' is a 1968 British-American drama film directed by Richard Lester and starring Julie Christie, George C. Scott and Richard Chamberlain. The film has a screenplay by Lawrence B. Marcus from a story by Barbara Turner and is based on ...

'', ''

Dirty Harry ''Dirty Harry'' is a 1971 American neo-noir action thriller film produced and directed by Don Siegel, the first in the ''Dirty Harry'' series. Clint Eastwood plays the title role, in his first outing as San Francisco Police Department (SFP ...

'', '' The Hindenburg'', and ''

Sister Act ''Sister Act'' is a 1992 American comedy film directed by Emile Ardolino and written by Paul Rudnick (as Joseph Howard). It stars Whoopi Goldberg as a lounge singer forced to join a convent after being placed in a witness protection program. I ...

'' and '' Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit''. Her television credits include a regular role on ''

Bob Bob, BOB, or B.O.B. may refer to: Places * Mount Bob, New York, United States *Bob Island, Palmer Archipelago, Antarctica People, fictional characters, and named animals *Bob (given name), a list of people and fictional characters *Bob (surname ...

'' (which starred

Bob Newhart George Robert Newhart (born September 5, 1929) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his deadpan and slightly stammering delivery style. Newhart came to prominence in 1960 when his album of comedic monologues, ''The Button-Down Mi ...

) and guest appearances on ''

The Streets of San Francisco ''The Streets of San Francisco'' is a television crime drama filmed on location in San Francisco and produced by Quinn Martin Productions, with the first season produced in association with Warner Bros. Television (QM produced the show on its ...

'', ''

CHiPs ''CHiPs'' is an American crime drama television series created by Rick Rosner and originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1977, to May 1, 1983. It follows the lives of two motorcycle officers of the California Highway Patrol (CHP). The seri ...

'', '' Archie Bunker's Place'', '' St. Elsewhere'', '' Matt Houston'', ''

Remington Steele ''Remington Steele'' is an American television series co-created by Robert Butler and Michael Gleason. The series, starring Stephanie Zimbalist and Pierce Brosnan, was produced by MTM Enterprises and first broadcast on the NBC network from O ...

'', '' Midnight Caller'', and '' Murphy Brown''. One of her more memorable roles was portraying the hijacked school bus driver in ''

''.

Death

Kobart died of pancreatic cancer at her home in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, aged 78, seven months after being diagnosed with the illness. She was survived by her brother, Howard S. Kahn, and various nephews and nieces.

Filmography

References

External links

* *
Obituary

Ruth Kobart ACT profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kobart, Ruth 1924 births 2002 deaths American stage actresses American musical theatre actresses American film actresses American television actresses Deaths from cancer in California Deaths from pancreatic cancer Actresses from Des Moines, Iowa Actresses from San Francisco Musicians from Des Moines, Iowa Singers from Iowa 20th-century American women opera singers 20th-century American actresses