Ruth Shepley (May 29, 1892 - October 16, 1951) was an American stage actress from

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

who appeared in comedies such as '' It Pays to Advertise'' (1914).''The Stage'',

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, 1916, pg. 104. A

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 ...

performer, she was trim, with blonde hair, and medium height. She was educated in Paris. Shepley was a close friend of

Helen Hayes Helen Hayes MacArthur ( Brown; October 10, 1900 – March 17, 1993) was an American actress whose career spanned 80 years. She eventually received the nickname "First Lady of American Theatre" and was the second person and first woman to have w ...

and Douglas Fairbanks Sr.

Acting career

Shepley's debut as an actress came in 1908 at the Bijou Theatre. She appeared in ''All For A Girl''. Subsequent performances at the same venue included acting in ''A Gentleman of Leisure'' (1911), ''The Brute'' (1912), ''The Fatted Calf'' (1912), ''Nearly Married'' (1913), and ''It Pays To Advertise'' (1914). Quite a few of her early stage work came under the management of

David Belasco David Belasco (July 25, 1853 – May 14, 1931) was an American theatrical producer, impresario, director, and playwright. He was the first writer to adapt the short story ''Madame Butterfly'' for the stage. He launched the theatrical career of m ...

and

George M. Cohan George Michael Cohan (July 3, 1878November 5, 1942) was an American entertainer, playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, singer, dancer and theatrical producer. Cohan began his career as a child, performing with his parents and sister in a vaudev ...

. Her most noted production was ''The Boomerang'' (1915) in which Shepley played the part of Grace Tyler at the

Belasco Theatre The Belasco Theatre is a Broadway theatre, Broadway theater at 111 West 44th Street, between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue and Sixth Avenue, in the Theater District, Manhattan, Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York Ci ...

. In 1921 Shepley appeared at the

Cort Theatre The James Earl Jones Theatre, originally the Cort Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 138 West 48th Street, between Seventh Avenue and Sixth Avenue, in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States. It was built in ...

in ''Her Salary Man''. The following year she made her first London performance in ''Lawful Larceny''. Her final work as an actress came with Helen Hayes in ''Ladies and Gentlemen'' (1939), a production staged in

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara ( es, Santa Bárbara, meaning "Saint Barbara") is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coas ...

. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Shepley was a captain in the American Women's Voluntary Services. In

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

she was featured in an eight-month tour of the

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in ''Dear Ruth''. The entertainment was under the auspices of the

United Services Organization The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...

Personal life

Shepley married Gordon Sarre in 1920, a union which was dissolved in 1932. She was survived by her second husband, the New York surgeon Dr. Beverly C. Smith, whom she married in 1932. She lived at 28 East 73rd Street in

Greenwich, Connecticut Greenwich (, ) is a New England town, town in southwestern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the town had a total population of 63,518. The largest town on Connecticut's Gold Coast (Conne ...

."Ruth Shepley, 59, A Retired Actress", ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', October 17, 1951, p. 31.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shepley, Ruth 1892 births 1951 deaths American stage actresses Actors from Providence, Rhode Island 20th-century American actresses