Thelma Ritter is a famous American actress of the mid-20th century, who has been repeatedly nominated for prestigious film awards. Viewers are most familiar with her roles in the films All About Eve, Boeing Boeing and Bird Lover of Alcatraz.
Biography
Thelma Ritter was born on February 14, 1905 in Brooklyn, the most populated area of New York, USA. She died on February 5, 1969, a little before her 64th birthday. Thelma has been nominated for an Oscar 6 times, all of them for supporting roles. This is a kind of record in the film industry.
Thelma from a young age wanted to become an actress. She took an active part in school plays. She then performed with small theater companies. After school, Ritter decided to study acting at a professional level and entered the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. After graduating from it, Thelma decided to wait with an acting career and got married in 1927. Her husband was Joseph Moran, who starred with Thelma in the 1956 film Proud and Secular. Thelma's husband was a native of Baltimore, Maryland, USA. Joseph was 2 years older than his wife. The family had two children. Thelma devoted herself to their upbringing, putting her professional career as an actress in second place.
Career
In the early 1940s, Thelma Ritter was promoted to radio station presenter. Then she, as in school days, performed in a theater troupe. In 1947, Ritter made her film debut. Her first film was Miracle on 34th Street. At that time, Thelma was already 42 years old. This is probably why she was expected mainly by supporting roles. But this actress found a balance between her professional and personal life, taking care of both her family and her favorite business since childhood.
The second film of the actress is "A Letter to Three Wives", which was released 2 years after "Miracle on 34th Street". Thelma came to real popularity in 1950 after the role of Birdie Coonan in the famous film "All About Eve". Then, in 1951, there was another sensational movie, The Mating Season. For the next 20 years, Ritter successfully starred in films, worked on television, was a participant in theatrical performances. She hosted the 27th Academy Awards. Bob Hope became her co-host. This American comedian, stage and film actor, an anchor on television and radio stations, has led the ceremony more than anyone else - 18 times.
Thelma Ritter, unfortunately, never received her Oscar. She was nominated for her roles in the 1952 film With a Song in My Heart, then in the 1953 film The Incident on South Street, then in the 1959 film Intimate Conversation. She was also nominated for Best Actress in a Musical in 1958 for her performance in New Girl in Town. In 1968, Thelma played on The Jerry Lewis Show. Some time after that, she had a heart attack, and the actress died.
Filmography
In addition to the above pictures, Thelma starred in many other films. In 1948, the film noir-style Call Northside 777 was released. The film is based on real events. Starring James Stewart. The director of the picture is Henry Hathaway, who became famous for his westerns. Call Northside 777 is the story of a Chicago reporter who has proven the innocence of a murder convict.
Thelma's filmography is continued by The City Across the River. It is a 1949 American film directed by Maxwell Shane. The main roles were played by Stephen McNally, Sue England, Barbara Whiting, Louis Van Ruten and Jeff Corey. Ritter also played one of the main roles in the film. The script was based on the novel by Irving Shulman "The Hero-Amboy".
Thelma starred in the 1949 black and white film Father Was the Protector. Based on the comedy by Clifford Goldsmith. This is the history of college football. It stars Fred McMurray, Maureen O'Hara, Natalie Wood and Betty Lynn.
Ritter played the role of Lena Fassler in the 1950 film Ideal Strangers, directed by Ernest Breten Windust, an American director of theater, film and television. In 1951, Monty Woolley, David Wayne and Marilyn Monroe became Ritter's partners on the set in the comedy Young As You Feel.
Thelma's next work is the 1951 romantic comedy Model and Marriage Broker. Here Ritter played the main role again. The film is directed by George Cukor and produced by Charles Brackett. Ritter then played Clancy in the 1952 biopic With a Song in My Heart. It tells the story of an actress and singer who survived a plane crash.
In 1953, Ritter starred in Jean Negulesco's Titanic. The premiere of the film is timed to coincide with the 41st anniversary of the sinking of the ocean liner. In the same year, another film with Thelma Ritter's participation was released - "Pickup on South Street". It tells about the times of the Cold War. It's a spy noir script by Samuel Fuller. He also became a director. The film was released by 20th Century Fox. Its stars were Richard Widmark and Jean Peters. Thelma played the third major role. South Street Pickup was shown at the Venice Film Festival. In 2018, it was listed on the US National Film Register as culturally, historically and aesthetically significant.
1953 was a very productive year for Ritter. The third film in this period was "The Farmer Takes a Wife". This musical comedy with Betty Grable and Dale Robertson became a remake of the 1935 film of the same name. Thelma played the role of Lucy Cashdollar. The songs for the film were written by Harold Arlen and Dorothy Fields.
In 1954, the great Albert Hitchcock invited Ritter to his thriller Rear Window. Together with her, James Stewart, Grace Kelly and Wendell Corey starred in the film. The picture was shown at the Venice Film Festival. In the same year, Ritter starred in one of the episodes in the American television anthology series Lux Video Theater, which was produced from 1950 to 1957. The following year, Thelma could be seen as Mrs. Fisher in Best on Broadway, which aired on CBS from 1954-1955.
This was followed by a role in the musical comedy "Daddy Long Legs". Here Ritter starred alongside Fred Astaire, Leslie Caron, Terry Moore and Fred Clark. Then Thelma played the owner of the boarding house Molly Besserman in the film "Lucy Gallant". This drama was based on the novel The Life of Lucy Gallant, written by Margaret Cousins.
Ritter's last film role was Mrs. Schwartz in the 1968 comedy directed by George Seaton, What's wrong with Feeling Good? Thelma's partners on the set were George Peppard, Mary Tyler Moore, Jean Arnold, Dom DeLuis and Jillian Spencer. Unfortunately, the film flopped at the box office.
