A Birthday Tribute to Ruth Hussey

Actress Ruth Hussey was born 110 years ago today, on October 30th, 1911.

Hussey was born in Providence, Rhode Island. An early career in modeling led her to Hollywood, where she found success at MGM.

She appeared steadily in films from 1937 through the early '50s, after which she focused chiefly on television and the theater.

Hussey's warm, intelligent presence is always welcome in classic films. Her movies included an Oscar-nominated role in THE PHILADELPHIA STORY (1940), seen here with Cary Grant:

She also played Ray Milland's sister in the beloved ghost story THE UNINVITED (1944)...

...and she was Jordan Baker in the 1949 version of THE GREAT GATSBY, seen here with Macdonald Carey as Nick Carraway:

Hussey married Charles Robert Longenecker in 1942, a union which would last until his passing in 2002. They had two sons and a daughter.

Ruth Hussey passed away in Newbury Park, California, on April 19, 2005.

In 2019 I paid my respects at her final resting place at Valley Oaks Memorial Park in Westlake Village, California.

Having seen over 20 of Ruth Hussey's films, I'm deeply appreciative of her work, which will continue to entertain audiences for as long as movies survive.

Ruth Hussey films reviewed at Laura's Miscellaneous Musings: MAN-PROOF (1938) (also here), HOLD THAT KISS (1938), HONOLULU (1938), SPRING MADNESS (1938), RICH MAN, POOR GIRL (1938), ANOTHER THIN MAN (1939), WITHIN THE LAW (1939), FAST AND FURIOUS (1939), THE WOMEN (1939), BLACKMAIL (1939), SUSAN AND GOD (1940), FLIGHT COMMAND (1940), FREE AND EASY (1941), PIERRE OF THE PLAINS (1942), TENNESSEE JOHNSON (1942), TENDER COMRADE (1943) (also here), MARINE RAIDERS (1944), THE UNINVITED (1944) (also here), BEDSIDE MANNER (1945), I, JANE DOE (1948), and THE GREAT GATSBY (1949).

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