THELMA RITTER BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:

Thelma Ritter was born on February 14th, 1902 in Brooklyn, New York and first developed an interest in acting while in high school.  She participated in a number of school productions and after high school, she went on to train at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts.

Her professional career first began as a stage actress appearing in stock theater and working on the radio.  She then broke into the film industry with her first role as a small part in the film, "Miracle on 34th Street" (1947) starring John Payne, Maureen O'Hara, Natalie Wood, Edmund Gwenn, Porter Hall, Gene Lockhart, Jack Albertson, Harry Antrim, William Frawley and Jerome Cowan.  Soon she was gaining the attention of Hollywood and was appearing in more substantial film roles such as, "Call Northside 777" starring James Stewart, Richard Conte, Lee J. Cobb, Helen Walker, John McIntire, E.G. Marshall and Lionel Stander and "A Letter to Three Wives" (1949) also starring Jeanne Crain, Linda Darnell, Ann Sothern, Kirk Douglas, Paul Douglas, Hobart Cavanaugh, Connie Gilchrist, Florence Bates, Celeste Holm and Jeffrey Lynn, "All About Eve" (1950) starring Bette Davis, Anne Baxter, George Sanders, Celeste Holm, Hugh Marlowe, Barbara Bates, Gregory Ratoff, Marilyn Monroe and Gary Merrill and "The Mating Season" (1951) starring Gene Tierney, John Lund, Miriam Hopkins, Jan Sterling and Ellen Corby, both roles earned her an Oscar nomination, although she won for neither.

Over the course of her career as an actress, Ritter received a total of six Academy Award nominations, however she never brought home one.

Along with working as a stage, radio and film actress, Ritter added numerous television series to her credits such as, "Alfred Hitchcock Presents", "The United States Steel Hour", "Lux Video Theater", "The Best of Broadway", "Goodyear Playhouse", "The Christophers" and "Wagon Train".

Ritter also appeared in more prominent film roles such as, "Pickup on South Street" (1953) starring Richard Widmark, Jean Peters, Richard Kiley, Milburn Stone and Willis Bouchey, "Titanic" (1953) starring Clifton Webb, Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Wagner, Audrey Dalton, Brian Agherne, Harper Carter and Basehart, "Rear Window" (1954) starring James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Wendell Corey and Raymond Burr, "Pillow Talk" (1959) co-starring Rock Hudson, Doris Day, Tony Randall, Allen Jenkins and Nick Adams and "The Misfits" (1961) starring alongside Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe, Montgomery Clift, Kevin McCarthy, James Barton and Eli Wallach. 

Her final acting roles were on the films, "Boeing (707)" (1965) starring with Jerry Lewis, Tony Curtis and Suzanna Leigh, "The Incident" (1967) starring Beau Bridges, Tony Musante, Brock Peters, Ruby Dee, Gary Merrill, Jan Sterling, Robert Fields, Donna Mills, Jack Gilford and Martin Sheen in his first film role, "What's So Bad About Feeling Good?" (1968) starring George Peppard, Mary Tyler Moore, Jeanne Arnold, Dom DeLuise, Jeanne Arnold and Gillian Spencer and her final appearance prior to passing was on the television show, "The Jerry Lewis Show". 

Thelma Ritter married only once to Joseph Moran in 1927 and they had two children and remained married until she passed away at the age of sixty seven on February 5th, 1969 in New York City from a sudden heart attack.

Filmography

1968         What's So Bad About Feeling Good?
1967         The Incident
1965         Boeing (707)
1963         Move Over, Darling
1963         A New Kind of Love
1963         For Love or Money
1962         How the West Was Won
1962         Wagon Train 
1962         Birdman of Alcatraz
1961         The Second Time Around
1961         Frontier Circus
1961         The Misfits
1960         Startime
1960         G.E. True Theater 
1959         Pillow Talk
1959         A Hole in the Head
1957         Telephone Time
1957         The United States Steel Hour
1956         The Christophers
1956         The Proud and Profane
1956         Alfred Hitchcock Presents
1955         The 20th Century-Fox Hour
1955         Lucy Gallant
1955         Goodyear Playhouse
1955         The Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse
1955         Daddy Long Legs
1955         The Best of Broadway 
1954         Lux Video Theatre
1954         Rear Window
1953         The Farmer Takes a Wife
1953         Pickup on South Street
1953         Titanic
1952         With a Song in My Heart
1951         The Model and the Marriage Broker
1951         As Young as You Feel
1951         The Mating Season
1950         All About Eve
1950         I'll Get By
1950         Perfect Strangers
1949         Father Was a Fullback
1949         City Across the River
1949         A Letter to Three Wives
1948         Call Northside 777
1947         Miracle on 34th Street