Ruth Chatterton December 24 1892 November 24 1961 was an American stage film and television actress She was at her most popular in the early to mid1930s and in the same era gained prominence as an aviator one of the few female pilots in the United States at the time In the late 1930s Chatterton retired from film acting but continued her career on the stage She had several TV roles beginning in the late 1940s and became a successful novelist in the 1950s