An
actress and
comédienne who was everywhere in the
1960's and
1970's. She had bit rolls in
That Girl,
Love American Style, and
The Love Boat. However, she earned her fame from comedy shows. A regular entertainer on
Laugh In,
The Gong Show, and
Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts.
During this era I was very young, and very into watching television on our new color T.V. set (we even had cable, which back then meant ABC, NBC and CBS all came in clearly). Ruth often played a grumpy old lady with a nasty scowl on her face, chin jutting out, wearing a knit sweater, hair net, and a flowery dress with sensible shoes. Eventually, some male comedian would upset her, and Ruth would beat hell out of the poor guy with her purse. Apparently network television never grew tired of this gag, I know I didn't.
I look at the extensive list of shows Ruth has played a role in, and it becomes obvious to me why I still think she is one of the greatest comedians ever. She did voice overs for Baggy Pants and the Nitwits, The Jetsons and The Smurfs. She was in The Apple Dumpling Gang, and made guest appearances in Trapper John, M.D., The Muppet Show, Sesame Street, and CHiPs...like I said, she was everywhere back then.
Here's a little sample of Ruth, playing Gladys Ormphby in Rowan and Martin's Laugh In:
Tyrone: Would you call my face ruggedly handsome?
Gladys: (Gladys bashes him over the head with purse)
Tyrone: Would you call my body sensuously attractive?
Gladys: (Again Gladys hits him with her purse)
Tyrone: Would you call my next of kin? (Tyrone falls off bench)