Ann Rutherford
Ann Rutherford | |
|---|---|
 Rutherford in a 1940s publicity photo | |
| Born | Therese Ann Rutherford November 2, 1917 Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |
| Died | June 11, 2012 (aged 94) |
| Nationality | Canadian-American |
| Education | Fairfax High School |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1935–1978 |
| Notable work | Gone with the Wind, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty |
| Spouse(s) |
David May
(m. 1942; div. 1953) |
| Partner | Al Morley |
| Children | 1 |
Therese Ann Rutherford (November 2, 1917 – June 11, 2012) was a Canadian-American actress in film, radio, and television. She had a long career starring and co-starring in films, playing Polly Benedict during the 1930s and 1940s in the Andy Hardy series, and as one of Scarlett O'Hara's sisters in the film Gone with the Wind (1939).
Biography
Background
Rutherford was born on November 2, 1917,[1] in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada to John Rutherford and Lucille (née Mansfield; 1890–1981) Rutherford. Rutherford's mother was a silent film actress, and her father was a former operatic tenor.[2] While Rutherford was still a baby, the family moved to San Francisco, California. Soon afterwards, her parents separated and Lucille Mansfield moved to Los Angeles, California, with Ann Rutherford and her sister Judith.[3][4]
While roller skating home from middle school in Hollywood, Rutherford would stop at some of the radio studios to listen to voice actors perform. After being criticized one day by her English teacher, Rutherford decided to show her up. The girl falsified an acting history and applied for work at radio station KFAC. A month later, Rutherford had a part in a radio serial drama.[3]
Rutherford was married twice. On December 31, 1942, she married David May II, the grandson of the founder of the May Company department stores; the couple had a girl, Gloria May, in 1943. On June 6, 1953, Rutherford and May were divorced in a court in Juárez, Mexico.[5] On October 7, 1953, in New York City, Rutherford married actor/producer William Dozier, the creator of the Batman (1966–68) TV series.[6] Dozier died in Santa Monica of a stroke on April 23, 1991.[7] Her companion of twenty years was Al Morley.[4]
Film career
In 1935, Rutherford began her Hollywood film career in the starring role of Joan O'Brien in the dramatic film Waterfront Lady for Mascot Pictures, later to be Republic Pictures. Rutherford soon established herself as a popular leading lady of Western films at Republic, costarring with actors Gene Autry and John Wayne.
In 1937, Rutherford left Republic and signed a film contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios. At MGM, Rutherford appeared as the Spirit of Christmas Past in A Christmas Carol (1938) and Lydia Bennet in Pride and Prejudice (1940) among other roles.
In 1938, MGM loaned Rutherford to Selznick International Pictures to appear as Carreen O'Hara, a sister of Scarlett O'Hara, in the film Gone with the Wind (1939). MGM boss Louis Mayer originally refused the loan because he considered the role too minor, but Rutherford passionately appealed to him to change his mind.[3] In December 1939, while promoting the new movie, Rutherford visited six Confederate Army veterans at the Confederate Soldiers Home near Atlanta. One of the veterans gave Rutherford a rose corsage tied with Confederate colors.[8]
From 1937 until 1942, Rutherford portrayed Polly Benedict in the MGM Andy Hardy youth comedy film series with actor Mickey Rooney. Her first film in this series was You're Only Young Once (1937) and the last was Andy Hardy's Double Life (1942). Rutherford's performances as Andy Hardy's sweet and patient girlfriend established her screen popularity.[4]
Rutherford also played Carol Lambert, comedian Red Skelton's screen girlfriend, for MGM in a series of mystery/comedies: Whistling in the Dark (1941), Whistling in Dixie (1942), and Whistling in Brooklyn (1943).
In the early 1940s, Rutherford left MGM to work without contract with different studios. During this period, she starred in films such as Orchestra Wives (1942) with 20th Century Fox, Two O'Clock Courage (1945) with RKO Radio Pictures, and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947), also with RKO. In 1950, Rutherford retired from films. Despite Mickey Rooney's pleas, she passed on returning as Polly Benedict in the final Andy Hardy film, Andy Hardy Comes Home (1958), stating that she didn't believe most people married their first sweethearts and that Andy Hardy becoming a judge was implausible.[9]
Later career
 | This section needs additional citations for verification. (January 2017) |
Rutherford was the heroine of a novel, Ann Rutherford and the Key to Nightmare Hall (1942 by Katherine Heisenfelt), where "the heroine has the same name and appearance as the famous actress but has no connection ... it is as though the famous actress has stepped into an alternate reality in which she is an ordinary person." The story was probably written for a young teenage audience and is reminiscent of the adventures of Nancy Drew. It is part of a series known as "Whitman Authorized Editions", 16 books published between 1941 and 1947 that featured a film actress as heroine.[10]
Among her television appearances, Rutherford guest starred in four episodes of Perry Mason. Her first appearance was in the 1959 episode, "The Case of the Howling Dog," when she played defendant Evelyn Forbes.
In 1972, Rutherford returned to MGM to make the film They Only Kill Their Masters. Ironically (given the film's grisly name), the film was shot on the old Andy Hardy set. On radio, Ann Rutherford replaced Penny Singleton as the title character on the Blondie show. In the 1970s, Rutherford made two guest appearances on television as Aggie Harrison, the mother of Suzanne Pleshette's character Emily Hartley, on The Bob Newhart Show.
During the 1990s, Rutherford was offered the role of Rose Calvert in the film Titanic (1997), but turned it down; the role went to Gloria Stuart. On November 2, 2002, Rutherford celebrated her 85th birthday, surrounded by her fans and friends at a luncheon in Beverly Hills, California. Neither Evelyn Keyes (1916–2008), then suffering from Alzheimer's disease, nor Olivia de Havilland, two of her surviving Gone with the Wind co-stars, was able to attend. In October 2004, Rutherford made a guest appearance at the Margaret Mitchell birthday celebration in Jonesboro, Georgia, to honor the film Gone With the Wind. Rutherford signed autographs and reminisced with fans about old times.[citation needed]
In June 2007, she was the guest star at the Marietta Gone With the Wind Museum in Marietta, Georgia. The occasion was "The Heart and History of Hollywood" event with Turner Classic Movies (TCM) host Robert Osborne serving as emcee. Rutherford was scheduled to return to Marietta on July 4, 2008 to be reunited with four of the surviving costars from Gone With The Wind; Cammie King, Fred Crane, Mickey Kuhn, and Patrick Curtis. Fred Crane died on August 21, 2008, and Cammie King died on September 1, 2010.[citation needed]
Death
Rutherford died on June 11, 2012 at her home in Beverly Hills, California, following declining health due to heart problems.[3] She was cremated and her ashes given to her daughter.[11]
Filmography
Features
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1934 | Student Tour | Student | Uncredited |
| 1935 | Waterfront Lady | Joan O'Brien | |
| Melody Trail | Millicent Thomas | ||
| The Fighting Marines | Frances Schiller | 12-chapter serial | |
| The Singing Vagabond | Lettie Morgan | ||
| 1936 | The Oregon Trail | Anne Ridgeley | |
| The Lawless Nineties | Janet Carter | ||
| Doughnuts and Society | Joan Dugan | ||
| Comin' 'Round the Mountain | Dolores Moreno | ||
| The Harvester | Ruth Jameson | ||
| The Lonely Trail | Virginia Terry | ||
| Down to the Sea | Helen Pappas | ||
| 1937 | Espionage | Train Passenger | Uncredited |
| The Devil Is Driving | Kitty Wooster | ||
| Public Cowboy No. 1 | Helen Morgan | ||
| Live, Love and Learn | |||
| The Bride Wore Red | Third Peasant Girl | Uncredited | |
| You're Only Young Once | Polly Benedict | ||
| 1938 | Of Human Hearts | Annie Hawks | |
| Judge Hardy's Children | Polly Benedict | ||
| Love Finds Andy Hardy | Polly Benedict | ||
| Out West with the Hardys | Polly Benedict | ||
| Dramatic School | Yvonne | ||
| A Christmas Carol | Spirit of Christmas Past | ||
| 1939 | Four Girls in White | Patricia Page | |
| The Hardys Ride High | Polly Benedict | ||
| Andy Hardy Gets Spring Fever | Polly Benedict | ||
| These Glamour Girls | Mary Rose Wilston | ||
| Dancing Co-Ed | Eve | ||
| Gone with the Wind | Carreen O'Hara | ||
| Judge Hardy and Son | Polly Benedict | ||
| 1940 | The Ghost Comes Home | Billie Adams | |
| Andy Hardy Meets Debutante | Polly Benedict | ||
| Pride and Prejudice | Lydia Bennet | ||
| Wyoming | Lucy Kincaid | ||
| Keeping Company | Mary Thomas | ||
| 1941 | Andy Hardy's Private Secretary | Polly Benedict | |
| Washington Melodrama | Laurie Claymore | ||
| Whistling in the Dark | Carol Lambert | ||
| Life Begins for Andy Hardy | Polly Benedict | ||
| Badlands of Dakota | Anne Grayson | ||
| 1942 | The Courtship of Andy Hardy | Polly Benedict | |
| This Time for Keeps | Katherine 'Kit' White | ||
| Orchestra Wives | Connie Ward | ||
| Andy Hardy's Double Life | Polly Benedict | ||
| Whistling in Dixie | Carol Lambert | ||
| 1943 | Happy Land | Lenore Prentiss | |
| Whistling in Brooklyn | Carol Lambert | ||
| 1944 | Bermuda Mystery | Constance Martin | |
| 1945 | Two O'Clock Courage | Patty Mitchell | |
| Bedside Manner | Lola Cross | ||
| 1946 | The Madonna's Secret | Linda | |
| Murder in the Music Hall | Gracie | ||
| Inside Job | Claire Gray Norton | ||
| 1947 | The Secret Life of Walter Mitty | Gertrude Griswold | |
| 1948 | Adventures of Don Juan | Donna Elena | |
| 1950 | Operation Haylift | Clara Masters | |
| 1972 | They Only Kill Their Masters | Gloria | |
| 1978 | Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood | Grayson's Studio Secretary | (final film Role) |
Short subjects
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1936 | Annie Laurie | Annie Laurie |
| 1937 | Carnival in Paris | Lisette |
| 1938 | Andy Hardy's Dilemma | |
| 1939 | Angel of Mercy | Sister of Dead Soldier (uncredited) |
| 1940 | Screen Snapshots: Sports in Hollywood | Herself, Polo Fan |
| 1947 | Unusual Occupations: Film Tot Holiday |
References
- ^ "Ann Rutherford". The Telegraph. 12 June 2012. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
- ^ Bergan, Ronald (June 12, 2012). "Ann Rutherford obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
- ^ a b c d Nelson, Valerie; Noland, Claire (June 11, 2012). "Ann Rutherford, actress in 'Gone With the Wind,' dies at 94". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 11, 2012.
- ^ a b c Berkvist, Robert (June 12, 2012). "Ann Rutherford, Studio Film Sweetheart, Dies at 94". The New York Times. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
- ^ "Ann Rutherford Divorced" (PDF). The New York Times. June 7, 1953. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
- ^ "Ann Rutherford Married Here". The New York Times. October 7, 1953.
- ^ "William Dozier; TV Producer, 83 AP". The New York Times. April 28, 1991. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
- ^ "Careen Visits Veterans" (PDF). The New York Times. December 14, 1939. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
- ^ "Andy Hardy Comes Home". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 2016-09-15.
- ^ "Whitman Authorized Editions for Girls". Series-books.com. Retrieved 2016-09-15.
- ^ Wilson, Scott (16 September 2016). "Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed". McFarland – via Google Books.
Further reading
- Alistair, Rupert (2018). "Ann Rutherford". The Name Below the Title : 65 Classic Movie Character Actors from Hollywood's Golden Age (softcover) (First ed.). Great Britain: Independently published. pp. 224–228. ISBN 978-1-7200-3837-5.
External links
- 1917 births
- 2012 deaths
- 20th-century Canadian actresses
- 20th-century American actresses
- Actresses from Vancouver
- American film actresses
- American stage actresses
- American television actresses
- Canadian emigrants to the United States
- Canadian child actresses
- Canadian film actresses
- Canadian stage actresses
- Canadian television actresses
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract players