Thelma Ritter

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Thelma Ritter (born February 14, 1902 in New York City , New York , † February 4, 1969 there ) was an American actress . She made a name for herself as a character actress from the late 1940s and appeared primarily as a concise supporting actress. She often embodied women of advanced age who stand out for their brash humor.

life and career

Thelma Ritter was born in Brooklyn , New York in 1902 . Even as a schoolgirl she took part in school theater performances and in amateur play groups; later she took acting classes at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts . She first worked as a stage actress, then was temporarily a housewife and mother. In the early 1940s she worked in the radio.

As a film actress, she first appeared in The Miracle of Manhattan in 1947 . She has been nominated several times for the most coveted film and acting awards, including the Oscar , the Golden Globe and the Emmy , but only once did she actually receive such an award, a Tony Award . Therefore, Ritter is often mentioned in the same breath as Deborah Kerr , the actress who was most frequently nominated for an award without ever winning one. With six nominations she still holds the record for the most Oscar as Best Supporting Actress to be nominated, but she could win him before. Actress Ritter commented on this with the following words: "Now I know what it feels like to always be the bridesmaid and never the bride."

Thelma Ritter is best known to today's audience for her roles as the nurse of LB Jeff Jefferies, played by James Stewart , in Das Fenster zum Hof (1954), as the diligent maid of Margo Channing ( Bette Davis ) in Alles über Eva (1950) and as the hard-drinking housekeeper Alma by Doris Day in Bettgeflüster (1959). In all of these roles she stood out for her quick-wittedness and brash manner.

Shortly after appearing on the Jerry Lewis Show , Thelma Ritter suffered a heart attack in 1969 from which she never recovered. She died ten days before her 67th birthday. She had been married to her husband Joseph Moran since 1927 and they had two children.

Filmography (selection)

Awards

  • Tony Awards: Best Actress (Musical) 1957 in New Girl in Town (with Gwen Verdon )

Nominations

Oscar

  • as best supporting actress in Everything about Eva (1950)
  • as best supporting actress in SOS - Two Mothers-in-Law (1951)
  • as best supporting actress in With a Song in Your Heart (1952)
  • as best supporting actress in police intervenes (1953)
  • as best supporting actress in Bettgeflüster (1959)
  • as Best Supporting Actress in The Prisoner of Alcatraz (1962)

Emmy

  • for Best Supporting Actress on Goodyear Television Playhouse for The Catered Affair

Golden Globe

  • as best supporting actress in Everything about Eva (1950)
  • as best supporting actress in SOS - Two Mothers-in-Law (1951)
  • as best supporting actress in Boeing-Boeing (1965)

Trivia

The comic artist Ted Benoît created a memorial for Thelma Ritter in his comics by placing the housekeeper Thelma Ritter at the side of his detective and privateer Ray Banana.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Nedjar / Benoît: Ray Banana II. The Memoirs of Thelma Ritter , Carlsen Verlag, March 1992, ISBN 978-3-551-02552-4 .