Ruth Chatterton
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Ruth Chatterton (December 24, 1893 - November 24, 1961) was an American actress.
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[edit] Early life
Born in New York City on Christmas Eve, 1893, of English and French extraction, she was on Broadway by the age of 14 as a dancer.
[edit] Film career
Her first film was Sins of the Fathers in 1928, and almost all of her films were pre-Code. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for two films -- Madame X (1929) and Sarah and Son (1930).
Her stage experience enhanced many of her film performances when the "silents" segued to the "talkies." Although her first "talkies" were merely filmed stage productions, her enunciation and acting were appreciated by the public and critics alike. And when she abandoned Paramount, her initial studio, for Warner Brothers (along with Kay Francis and William Powell), it was noted that the brothers Warner needed an infusion of "class."
She also was known for her co-starring role in the film Dodsworth (1936), which is widely regarded as her finest film, although not a pre-Code film.
Chatterton's last film was A Royal Divorce in 1938, after which she relocated to England for many years. She appeared on television in 1953 to play "Gertrude" in Hamlet, with Maurice Evans in the title role.
[edit] Author and Later Life
Having left acting, she began a successful writing career, producing several novels. She was also one of the few aviatrices at the time, and was acquainted with Amelia Earhart.
She was married to her younger but frequent film co-star George Brent, a fellow Warners player in the 1930s.
She died of a cerebral haemorrhage at the age of 67 in Norwalk, Connecticut in 1961.
Occasional, much-younger co-star Bette Davis recalled that Chatterton was "very kind" to her at Warners when Davis was a young actress starting out on her career.
She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6263 Hollywood Blvd.
