Ruth Gordon was an American actress and writer. Gordon’s Broadway debut was in a revival of PETER PAN, OR THE BOY WHO WOULDN’T GROW UP in the role of Nibs (one of the Lost Boys). In 1918, Gordon played Lola Pratt in the Broadway adaptation of BOOTH TARKINGTON’S SEVENTEEN opposite actor Gregory Kelly, who later acted with her in North American tours of Frank Craven's THE FIRST YEAR and Tarkington's CLARENCE AND TWEEDLES. Gordon continued to act on the stage throughout the 1930s, including notable runs in ETHAN FROME, THE COUNTRY WIFE, and A DOLL’S HOUSE. Gordon was signed to an MGM film contract for a brief period in the early 1930s but did not make a movie for the company until she acted opposite Greta Garbo in “Two-Faced Woman” in 1941. She had better luck at other studios in Hollywood, appearing in supporting roles in a string of films, including “Abe Lincoln in Illinois,” “Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet,” and “Action in the North Atlantic.” Gordon's Broadway acting appearances in the 1940s included THE STRINGS, MY LORD, ARE FALSE and THREE SISTERS, as well as leading roles in her own plays, OVER TWENTY-ONE and THE LEADING LADY. Gordon and husband Garson Kanin collaborated on the screenplays for the Katharine Hepburn/Spencer Tracy films “Adam's Rib” (1949) and “Pat and Mike” (1952). Gordon and Kanin received Academy Award nominations for both of those screenplays, as well as for that of a prior film, “A Double Life” (1947). In 1953 “The Actress,” Gordon's film adaptation of her own autobiographical play, YEARS AGO, became a Hollywood production. Gordon would go on to write three volumes of memoirs in the 1970s: “My Side, Myself,” “Among Others,” and “An Open Book.” Gordon continued her onstage acting career in the 1950s, and was nominated for a 1956 Tony Award for THE MATCHMAKER. In 1966, Gordon was nominated for an Oscar and won a Golden Globe award as Best Supporting Actress for "Inside Daisy Clover" opposite Natalie Wood. She won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for “Rosemary's Baby.” Gordon won another Golden Globe for “Rosemary's Baby,” and was nominated again, in 1971, for her role as Maude in the cult classic “Harold and Maude.” She went on to appear in twenty-two more films and at least that many television appearances through her seventies and eighties, including such successful sitcoms as “Rhoda” (which earned her another Emmy nomination) and “Newhart.” She also guest-starred on the episode “Columbo: Try and Catch Me.” She made countless talk show appearances, in addition to hosting "Saturday Night Live" in 1977. Gordon won an Emmy Award for a guest appearance on the sitcom “Taxi.” Her last Broadway appearance was as Mrs. Warren in George Bernard Shaw's MRS. WARREN’S PROFESSION in 1976. In the summer of 1976, Gordon starred in the leading role of her own play, HO! HO! HO!, at the Cape Playhouse in Dennis, Massachusetts. She had a minor but memorable role as the mother of Orville Boggs (Geoffrey Lewis) in the Clint Eastwood films “Every Which Way But Loose” and “Any Which Way You Can.”
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