Ruth Hussey

Ruth Hussey is an example of a fairly common trope I’ve gotten all too familiar with over the years of writing this column—the woman who spends less time acting so she can raise her children. And, look, I don’t judge, if that’s what makes you happy, though I do know exactly how people would react if Ryan Reynolds dropped out of acting to raise the four children that he knows of that he keeps telling me about on that goddamn Mint Mobile ad. (I know how much you’re getting paid for things, Ryan Reynolds, quit telling me how much Mint Mobile cheaps out on its ads.) I just can’t help wondering how many women were really choosing it and how many felt obligated.

I also can’t help wondering if Hussey felt a little frustrated with the whole thing by the time she went off to raise her kids. She attended Pembroke College, the women’s college that is now just part of Brown University, and apparently never made it into any plays she auditioned for there. After graduation from Pembroke, she went to the University of Michigan; I can’t find out if she got a Masters there, as neither school’s Wikipedia page says what degree she got, nor does her IMDb page. But she did two years of summer stock in Michigan before returning home to Providence, Rhode Island.

In Providence, she had a radio show about fashion. A friend encouraged her to audition for the Providence Playhouse—but she was told they only cast roles out of New York and did not accept auditioners from town. She went to New York; on her first day, she was signed with a talent agency that got her an immediate job. At the Providence Playhouse. I can’t help thinking that must have been extremely frustrating for her. Clearly she was talented enough, but hey.

And we know she’s talented, because we’ve seen her in The Philadelphia Story. Now, that is a movie with a packed cast. She spends almost every scene with one of three of the powerhouses of that era of acting—either Katharine Hepburn, James Stewart, or Cary Grant, or some combination of the three. And that’s not even to mention Roland Young or Virginia Weidler. And yet there’s a sparkle to Hussey every time she’s on camera as Elizabeth Imbrie. I won’t say the movie wouldn’t have worked without her, but it would have missed some of the fun it has now.

The other problem, honestly, is that even that performance wasn’t considered enough to get her the kind of roles she deserved. She apparently didn’t hustle for roles, and the producers didn’t come for her, either. At least that’s what she said. But it’s astounding to think that even as she started appearing on the early days of television, people didn’t think it was worth giving her juicy roles. Or even delightful comedic ones that she could have excelled at. Oh, it looks like there are movies of hers I should check out—also she’s in the third Andy Hardy movie—but what a career she should have had.