Thelma Ritter
Biography
Thelma Ritter was an American character actress known for working-class roles and a strong New York accent. Born in Brooklyn in 1902, she began with stock theater companies based in New York and New England before taking Broadway parts in plays such as The Shelf and In Times Square. Her first film role came in Miracle on 34th Street (1947), and she went on to appear in A Letter to Three Wives (1949) and All About Eve (1950), which brought the first of her six nominations for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Further nominations followed for The Mating Season (1951), With a Song in My Heart (1952), Pickup on South Street (1953), Pillow Talk (1959), and Birdman of Alcatraz (1962). She also appeared in Rear Window (1954) and The Misfits (1961), and shared a 1958 Tony Award for her work in the musical New Girl in Town. She died in 1969.
66years old at death
- Born Brooklyn
- Died New York City
- Star sign: AquariusThe sign runs January 20 to February 18
Movie Career
- Films
- 17
- Career span
- 18 years1950 to 1968
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Behind the award
For the musical New Girl in Town, Ritter and her co-star Gwen Verdon both won the 1958 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical, a prize they shared.
Big break
After Ritter appeared uncredited in Joseph L. Mankiewicz's A Letter to Three Wives, the writer-director remembered her and gave her the part of Birdie Coonan in All About Eve, which earned her an Oscar nomination.
Beyond film
In 1955, Ritter shared hosting duties at the Oscar ceremony, where she notably traded wisecracks with Bob Hope during the event.
Thelma Ritter movies on Netflix
Best known for
The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.
Most often with
Michael Gordon directed two of these films, Jean Negulesco two. Marilyn Monroe appears in three of them, more than any other actor. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.
Films together
Marilyn Monroe's page
Doris Day's page
Fred Clark's page
Harry Carter's page
Eugene Borden's page
Gary Merrill's page
All films by Michael Gordon
Jean NegulescoDirector, 2 films, 1953 to 1955
All films by Jean Negulesco
Also two films together6 more actors
- Hugh MarloweBirdman of Alcatraz (1962) and All About Eve (1950)
- Allyn JoslynTitanic (1953) and As Young as You Feel (1951)
- Jan SterlingThe Incident (1967) and The Mating Season (1951)
- Jean PetersPickup on South Street (1953) and As Young as You Feel (1951)
- Larry KeatingDaddy Long Legs (1955) and The Mating Season (1951)
- Virginia CarrollA New Kind of Love (1963) and Pickup on South Street (1953)
When several people share the same number of films, the ones with the most films on Netflix are in the chart.
Box office
What Thelma Ritter's films earned in cinemas worldwide.
Combined worldwide box office
$93.1 million
7 of the 17 films have a worldwide figure.
Of the 17 films: 7 worldwide figure; 2 us gross only; 8 figure not found.
- 7Worldwide figure
- 2US gross only
- 8Figure not found
Top grosser
Highest grossing
The seven biggest films earned 100% of the total. The bars are drawn to scale.
- 1$37M39.8% of the total
- 2$19M20.1% of the total
- 3$13M13.6% of the total
- 4$8.4M9.0% of the total
- 5$8.2M8.8% of the total
- 6$4.9M5.3% of the total
- 7$3.1M3.3% of the total
Awards
One award and honor, one of them major.
| Year | Award | Film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tony Awards | |||
| 1958 | Best Actress in a Musical | Won | |
Online
Official profiles and reference pages.