Ruth Nelson

Stage actress Ruth Nelson's biggest claim to fame was as one of the founding members of the famed New York-based "Group Theatre" back in the 30s and was well-received playing the cabby's wife in Clifford Odets' short play "Waiting for Lefty" in 1935. This role would typify Ruth's career as the non-flashy, blue-collar or "working class" wife, loyal to the bone. She blended in so well with her rather submissive delivery that she went by totally unnoticed when she moved to film parts in the 40s. She gave a restrained realism in her roles in The North Star (1943), A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945), Humoresque (1946), The Sea of Grass (1947) and Mother Wore Tights (1947), among others. Her second husband was director John Cromwell, who became a victim the "Red Scare" in the early 50s after being labeled a Communist. Ruth could have had a major career upswing with her important casting in the play "Death of a Salesman" but she felt compelled to turn it down when the role would have taken her t