Ruth Hale (October 14, 1908 – April 20, 2003) was an American playwright and actress.
Hale was born in Granger, Utah and was an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Hale and her husband, James Nathan Hale, moved to California to seek out opportunities in Hollywood. With little success landing film roles, they founded the Glendale Centre Theater. Ruth Hale wrote many original plays for the venue. Soon, they and their extended family had opened a number of theaters featuring a center stage (arena theaters or Theater in the round) throughout Utah and Arizona.[1]
The Hales were also playwrights. They wrote their first play Handcart Trails to save on the budget of a ward play production in Granger in the 1930s. This play was published in the MIA Book of Plays in 1940. The Hales' play Melody Jones was shown to a national audience by Kurt Television Theatre.
She is the grandmother of director Kurt Hale, actor Will Swenson, Hale Centre Theatre CEO Mark Dietlein and illustrator Nathan Hale.
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