Ruth Thane McDevitt ( Shoecraft; September 13, 1895 – May 27, 1976) was an American film, stage, radio, and television actress.

Career

The daughter of John Barnabas Shoecraft and Elizabeth Imber Shoecraft, McDevitt was born in

Coldwater, Michigan Coldwater is a city in and county seat of Branch County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city had a population of 13,822 at the 2020 census. The city is mostly surrounded by Coldwater Township, but the two are administered autonomously. H ...

, but grew up in

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. After attending the

American Academy of Dramatic Arts The American Academy of Dramatic Arts (AADA) is a Private college, private drama school with two locations, one in New York City and one in Los Angeles. The academy offers an associate degree in occupational studies and teaches drama and related ...

, she married Patrick McDevitt on December 10, 1928, and decided to devote her time to her marriage. After her husband's death in 1934, she returned to acting. She made her debut on Broadway in 1940, and succeeded her friend Josephine Hull in '' Arsenic and Old Lace'', '' Harvey'', and '' The Solid Gold Cadillac''. McDevitt also acted on radio, portraying the title character's mother in ''Keeping up with Rosemary'' and Jane in ''This Life Is Mine''. On television, McDevitt portrayed Bessie Thatcher in the DuMont drama '' A Woman to Remember'' (1949). She played Mom Peepers in the 1950s sitcom ''

Mister Peepers ''Mister Peepers'' is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from July 3, 1952, to June 12, 1955. Overview Wally Cox starred as Robinson J. Peepers, Jefferson City's junior high school science teacher. Others in the cast included Tony Randall ...

'' and Grandma Hanks on CBS's '' Pistols 'n' Petticoats''. She was a regular on ''The Everly Brothers Show'' and the NBC soap '' Bright Promise'' from September 1969 to June 1970. McDevitt also had a regular role as Emily Cowles on '' Kolchak: the Night Stalker'', starring Darren McGavin. McDevitt guest starred in such series as ''

Suspense Suspense is a state of anxiety or excitement caused by mysteriousness, uncertainty, doubt, or undecidedness. In a narrative work, suspense is the audience's excited anticipation about the plot or conflict (which may be heightened by a viol ...

'', '' Cosmopolitan Theatre'', ''

Decoy A decoy (derived from the Dutch ''de'' ''kooi'', literally "the cage" or possibly ''eenden kooi'', " duck cage") is usually a person, device, or event which resembles what an individual or a group might be looking for, but it is only meant to ...

'', '' The United States Steel Hour'', '' Westinghouse Studio One'', ''

The Alfred Hitchcock Hour ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' is an American television anthology series created, hosted and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, airing on CBS and NBC, alternately, between 1955 and 1965. It features dramas, thrillers, and mysteries. Between 1962 a ...

'' (2 episodes)'','' ''

The Andy Griffith Show ''The Andy Griffith Show '' is an American sitcom television series that was aired on CBS from October 3, 1960, to April 1, 1968, with a total of 249 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons—159 in black and white and 90 in color. The series ...

'' (2 episodes), '' The Debbie Reynolds Show'', '' The Ghost & Mrs. Muir'', '' Mayberry R.F.D.'', ''

I Dream of Jeannie ''I Dream of Jeannie'' is an American Fantasy television, fantasy sitcom television series created by Sidney Sheldon and starring Barbara Eden as a beautiful but guileless 2,000-year-old Jinn, genie and Larry Hagman as an astronaut with whom s ...

'', '' Bewitched'' (3 episodes), '' The Courtship of Eddie's Father'', ''

Love, American Style ''Love, American Style'' is an American anthology comedy television series that aired on ABC from September 29, 1969, to January 11, 1974. The series was produced by Paramount Television. During the 1971–72 and 1972–73 seasons, it was a pa ...

'', '' That Girl'', '' Nanny and the Professor'', ''

Room 222 ''Room 222'' is an American comedy-drama television series produced by 20th Century Fox Television that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC for 112 episodes, from September 17, 1969, until January 11, 1974. The show was broadcast on 1969 ...

'', ''

Mannix ''Mannix'' is an American detective television series that originally aired for eight seasons on CBS from September 16, 1967, to March 13, 1975. The show was created by Richard Levinson and William Link, and developed by executive producer ...

'' (2 episodes), ''

Here's Lucy ''Here's Lucy'' is an American sitcom starring Lucille Ball. The series co-starred her long-time comedy partner Gale Gordon and her real-life children Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz Jr. It was broadcast on CBS from 1968 to 1974. It was Ball's third ...

'', ''

Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centered on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central charact ...

'', '' Marcus Welby, M.D.'', '' Phyllis'', ''

Little House on the Prairie The ''Little House on the Prairie'' books comprise a series of American children's novels written by Laura Ingalls Wilder (b. Laura Elizabeth Ingalls). The stories are based on her childhood and adulthood in the Midwestern United States, Americ ...

'', '' The Streets of San Francisco'', '' Naked City'', and ''

All in the Family ''All in the Family'' is an American sitcoms in the United States, sitcom television series that aired on CBS for nine seasons from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979, with a total of 205 episodes. It was later produced as ''Archie Bunker's Pla ...

'' (on which she had a recurring role during 1974 and 1975). Her film debut was in '' The Guy Who Came Back'' (1951), followed by memorable roles in '' The Parent Trap'' (as camp counselor Miss Inch),

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English film director. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featu ...

's '' The Birds'' (as Mrs. MacGruder, the pet store saleslady), '' Boys' Night Out'', '' Dear Heart'', '' The Shakiest Gun in the West'', '' Angel in My Pocket'', '' The Love God?'', '' Change of Habit'', '' The War Between Men and Women'', and '' Mixed Company''.

Death

McDevitt died, aged 80, in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California and is interred in

Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park and Mortuary is a cemetery and Morgue, mortuary located in the Westwood, Los Angeles, Westwood area of Los Angeles. It includes a crematory for cremation services. Its location is at 1218 Glendon Av ...

Filmography

She also appeared in a '' The Streets of San Francisco'' episode "Winterkill" from season 2 on December 13, 1973.

References

External links

* * * *
Ruth McDevitt
at the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

'
Actor Studio audio collection
{{DEFAULTSORT:McDevitt, Ruth Actresses from Michigan American Academy of Dramatic Arts alumni American film actresses American radio actresses American soap opera actresses American stage actresses American television actresses 20th-century American actresses Burials at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery 1895 births 1976 deaths People from Coldwater, Michigan