Thelma Ritter (February 14, 1902 – February 5, 1969) was an American supporting and character actress from the 1940s until her death in 1969.
Ritter was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1902. After appearing in high school plays and stock companies, she trained as an actress at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. She went on to establish a stage career but took a hiatus to raise her two children by her husband, Joseph Moran, an actor turned adver...
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Thelma Ritter (February 14, 1902 – February 5, 1969) was an American supporting and character actress from the 1940s until her death in 1969.
Ritter was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1902. After appearing in high school plays and stock companies, she trained as an actress at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. She went on to establish a stage career but took a hiatus to raise her two children by her husband, Joseph Moran, an actor turned advertising-executive.
Ritter did stock theater and radio shows early in her career, without much impact. Ritter's first movie role was in Miracle on 34th Street (1947). She made a memorable impression in a brief uncredited part, as a frustrated mother unable to find the toy that Kris Kringle has promised to her son. Her second role, in writer-director Joseph L. Mankiewicz's A Letter to Three Wives (1949), also left a mark, although Ritter was again not listed in the credits.
Mankiewicz kept Ritter in mind, and cast her as "Birdie" in All About Eve...
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