Ruth Attaway

From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia Ruth Attaway June 28 1910 September 21 1987 was an American film and stage actress Among the films she appeared in include Raintree County 1957 Porgy and Bess 1959 and Being There 1979 Attaway was born on June 28 1910 in Greenville Mississippi She was the daughter of physician WA Attaway PhD Her siblings included a sister Florence and a brother William She graduated from the University of Illinois where she majored in sociology Attaway made her Broadway debut in 1936 in the Pulitzer Prize winning play You Cant Take It with You She was the first director of the New York Players Guild a black repertory theater company formed in New York in 1945 From 1954 to 1955 she portrayed Anna Hicks in the play Mrs Patterson at the National Theater From 1964 to 1967 she was with the Repertory Society of Lincoln Center Attaway made her film debut by portraying Moll in The Presidents Lady 1953 opposite Susan Hayward and Charlton Heston She went on to play a variety of characters in film such as Philomena in The Young Dont Cry 1957 Serena Robbins in Porgy and Bess 1959 the Farmers Wife in Terror in the City 1964 Edna in Conrack 1974 and Louise in Being There 1979 In 1954 Attaway was within the cast of an unaired pilot titled Threes Company She also played Delia in the 1978 television movie The Bermuda Depths Attaway was married to Allan Morrison an editor of Ebony He died on May 29 1968 at the age of 51 Attaway died on September 21 1987 in New York Hospital of injuries resulting from a Manhattan apartment fire She was 77 years old