Ruth Hussey

Born: 1911-10-30

​From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Ruth Carol Hussey (October 30, 1911 – April 19, 2005) was an American actress best known for her Academy Award-nominated role as photographer Elizabeth Imbrie in The Philadelphia Story. After working as an actress in summer stock, she returned to Providence and worked as a radio fashion commentator on a local station. She wrote the ad copy for a Providence clothing store and read it on the radio each afternoon. She was encouraged by a friend to try out for acting roles at the Providence Playhouse. The theater director there turned her down, saying the roles were cast only out of New York City. Later that week, she journeyed to New York City and on her first day there, she signed with a talent agent who booked her for a role in a play starting the next day back at the Providence Playhouse. In New York City, she also worked for a time as a model. She then landed a number of stage roles with touring companies. Dead End toured the country in 1937 and the last theater on the road trip was at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles, where she was spotted on opening night by MGM talent scout Billy Grady. MGM signed her to a players contract and she made her film debut in 1937. She quickly became a leading lady in MGM's "B" unit, usually playing sophisticated, worldly roles. For a 1940 "A" picture role, she was nominated for an Academy Award for her turn as Elizabeth Imbrie, the cynical magazine photographer and almost-girlfriend of James Stewart's character Macaulay Connor in The Philadelphia Story. In 1941, exhibitors voted her the third-most popular new star in Hollywood. Hussey also worked with Robert Taylor in Flight Command (1940), Robert Young in Northwest Passage (1940) and H.M. Pulham, Esq. (1941), Van Heflin in Tennessee Johnson (1942), Ray Milland in The Uninvited (1944), and Alan Ladd in The Great Gatsby (1949). In 1946, she starred on Broadway in the Pulitzer Prize-winning play State of the Union. Her 1949 role in Goodbye, My Fancy on Broadway caused a Billboard reviewer to write: "Miss Hussey brings a splendid aliveness and warmth to the lovely congresswoman...." She filled in for Jean Arthur in the 1955 Lux Radio Theater presentation of Shane, playing Miriam Start, alongside original film stars Alan Ladd and Van Heflin. In 1960, she co-starred in The Facts of Life with Bob Hope. Hussey was also active in early television drama.


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The Philadelphia Story

as Elizabeth 'Liz' Imbrie
Released: 1940-12-05

When a rich woman's ex-husband and a tabloid-type reporter turn up just before her planned...

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The Women

as Miss Wattson
Released: 1939-09-01

A happily married woman lets her catty friends talk her into divorce when her husband strays.

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The Uninvited

as Pamela Fitzgerald
Released: 1944-02-24

A brother and sister move into an old seaside house that has been abandoned for many years on...

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Marie Antoinette

as Duchess de Polignac (uncredited)
Released: 1938-08-26

The young Austrian princess Marie Antoinette is arranged to marry Louis XVI, future king of...

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Another Thin Man

as Dorothy Waters
Released: 1939-11-17

Not even the joys of parenthood can stop married sleuths Nick and Nora Charles from...

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Northwest Passage

as Elizabeth Browne
Released: 1940-02-23

Based on the Kenneth Roberts novel of the same name, this film tells the story of two friends...

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The Great Gatsby

as Jordan Baker
Released: 1949-07-13

Nick Carraway, a young Midwesterner now living on Long Island, finds himself fascinated by the...

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Blackmail

as Helen Ingram
Released: 1939-09-08

A fugitive from a chain gang becomes an oil-well firefighter and meets the man who framed him.

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Marine Raiders

as Lt. Ellen Foster
Released: 1944-07-11

A Marine major (Pat O'Brien) looks out for his captain (Robert Ryan) on Guadalcanal and in...

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H.M. Pulham, Esq.

as Cordelia 'Kay' Motford Pulham
Released: 1941-12-04

A man who lived his life as he was told he should, not as he would have chosen to, is brought...

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Madame X

as Annette
Released: 1937-10-01

An alcoholic woman was charged and tried for murder and a young defense attorney, unaware that...

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That's My Boy

as Ann Jackson
Released: 1951-05-31

Jack Jackson, the greatest football player in Ridgefield College history, is disappointed that...

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Big City

as Mayor's Secretary (uncredited)
Released: 1937-09-03

Anna and Joe are newly married, playful and deeply in love. Joe is scraping by as cab driver in...

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Maisie

as Sybil Ames
Released: 1939-06-22

Wisecracking showgirl Maisie Ravier finds herself trapped in a Wyoming town when her new...

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Honolulu

as Eve
Released: 1939-02-03

Wanting a break from his overzealous fans, a famous movie star hires a Hawaiian plantation owner...

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Louisa

as Meg Norton
Released: 1950-05-31

Architect Hal Norton and wife Meg invite his widowed mother Louisa to move in with them, only to...

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Our Wife

as Professor Susan Drake
Released: 1941-08-20

A musician's ex-wife wants him back after he finds love and success.

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A New Romance of Celluloid: The Miracle of Sound

as Self
Released: 1940-10-24

This short documentary, presented and directed by MGM sound engineer Douglas Shearer, goes...

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Mr. Music

as Lorna Marvis
Released: 1950-12-08

A golf-crazy songwriter tries to avoid the long, solitary hours of concentration needed to...

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I, Jane Doe

as Eve Meredith Curtis
Released: 1948-05-25

While stationed in France during World War II, an American fighter pilot marries a French girl...

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The Facts of Life

as Mary Gilbert
Released: 1960-11-14

Middle-class suburbanites Larry and Kitty grow bored with their lives and respective marriages....

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Tender Comrade

as Barbara Thomas
Released: 1944-05-30

Jo Jones, a young defense plant worker whose husband is in the military during World War II,...

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Tennessee Johnson

as Eliza McCardle Johnson
Released: 1942-12-01

The tumultuous presidency of 19th-president Andrew Johnson is chronicled in this biopic. The...

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Hold That Kiss

as Nadine Piermont
Released: 1938-05-13

Two young people meet at a wedding and begin dating, each thinking the other is extremely...

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Man-Proof

as Jane (dialogue scenes deleted)
Released: 1938-01-07

A newspaper illustrator tries to remain best friends with the man she secretly loves, even...

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Fast and Furious

as Lily Cole
Released: 1939-10-06

Joel & Garda Sloan, a husband and wife detective team, who also sell rare books in New York,...

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Flight Command

as Lorna Gray
Released: 1940-12-27

A rookie flyer, Ens. Alan Drake, joins the famous Hellcats Squadron right out of flight school...

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Woman of the North Country

as Christine Powell
Released: 1952-07-23

In 1890 Minnesota Christine Powell is the scheming head of the Powell dynasty, the richest...

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Rich Man, Poor Girl

as Joan Thayer
Released: 1938-08-12

A millionaire courts a working-class woman.

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Married Bachelor

as Norma Haven
Released: 1941-10-16

A man's marriage suffers when he pretends to be a bachelor while promoting "his" best-selling...

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Her Favorite Patient

as Dr. Hedy Fredericks, MD
Released: 1945-06-22

A beautiful female doctor visits her small hometown on her way back to Chicago. Her overworked...

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Spring Madness

as Kate McKim
Released: 1938-11-11

Harvard senior Sam Thatcher (Lew Ayres) and his best friend and roommate, known as "The...

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The Lady Wants Mink

as Nora Connors
Released: 1953-03-29

A woman raises mink to get the coat she's always wanted.

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Within the Law

as Mary Turner
Released: 1939-03-17

A wrongly convicted woman studies law and seeks her revenge.

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My Darling Daughters' Anniversary

as Maggie Cartwright
Released: 1973-11-08

In this sequel, the daughters' anniversary present is the news that their widowed father is...

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The Resurrection of Broncho Billy

as Voice Over
Released: 1970-06-11

The story of a young man, a self-styled cowboy; His dreams of the Old West and its film heroes...

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Susan and God

as Charlotte
Released: 1940-06-07

A flighty socialite neglects her family to promote a new religious group.

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Pierre of the Plains

as Daisy Denton
Released: 1942-07-29

A French-Canadian trapper's adventures jeopardize his romance with an innkeeper.

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Judge Hardy's Children

as Margaret Lee
Released: 1938-03-26

Judge Hardy takes a business trip to Washington, DC, where Andy promptly falls for the French...

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Time Out for Murder

as Peggy Norton, victim
Released: 1938-09-25

A bank runner is accused of killing a woman for whom he deposited a large amount. Reporter and...

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Free and Easy

as Martha Gray
Released: 1941-02-28

This MGM B-picture was adapted from Ivor Novello's play The Truth Game. Max and Florian...

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Stars and Stripes Forever

as Jennie Sousa
Released: 1952-12-22

Marine bandmaster John Philip Sousa (Clifton Webb) becomes famous for his marches and inspires...

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Hill Number One: A Story of Faith and Inspiration

as Mary
Released: 1951-03-25

The story of the Crucifixion, set within the context of the Korean War.

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Studio One

as Nancy Edison
First aired: 1948-11-07

An American radio–television anthology series, created in 1947 by Canadian director Fletcher...

TV Show page

Alfred Hitchcock Presents

as Paula Hudson
First aired: 1955-10-02

A television anthology series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock featuring dramas, thrillers, and mysteries.

TV Show page

Lux Video Theatre

as Polly Baxter
First aired: 1950-10-02

Lux Video Theatre is an American anthology series that was produced from 1950 until 1959. The...

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Lux Video Theatre

as Linda Carson
First aired: 1950-10-02

Lux Video Theatre is an American anthology series that was produced from 1950 until 1959. The...

TV Show page

Lux Video Theatre

as Irene
First aired: 1950-10-02

Lux Video Theatre is an American anthology series that was produced from 1950 until 1959. The...

TV Show page

Lux Video Theatre

as Harriet Craig
First aired: 1950-10-02

Lux Video Theatre is an American anthology series that was produced from 1950 until 1959. The...

TV Show page

Lux Video Theatre

as Kit Marlowe
First aired: 1950-10-02

Lux Video Theatre is an American anthology series that was produced from 1950 until 1959. The...

TV Show page

Lux Video Theatre

as Meg
First aired: 1950-10-02

Lux Video Theatre is an American anthology series that was produced from 1950 until 1959. The...

TV Show page

Climax!

as Katherine Benson
First aired: 1954-10-07

Climax! is an American anthology series that aired on CBS from 1954 to 1958. The series was...

TV Show page

Climax!

as Martha
First aired: 1954-10-07

Climax! is an American anthology series that aired on CBS from 1954 to 1958. The series was...

TV Show page

Climax!

as Alice Moore
First aired: 1954-10-07

Climax! is an American anthology series that aired on CBS from 1954 to 1958. The series was...

TV Show page

The Case of the Dangerous Robin

as Maid
First aired: 1960-10-18

The Case of the Dangerous Robin is an American crime drama series which aired in syndication...

TV Show page

General Electric Theater

as uncredited
First aired: 1953-02-01

General Electric Theater is an American anthology series hosted by Ronald Reagan that was...

TV Show page

General Electric Theater

as Emma
First aired: 1953-02-01

General Electric Theater is an American anthology series hosted by Ronald Reagan that was...

TV Show page