Ruth McDevitt

Delightfully daffy and quite an apple dumpling of a darling, this cheerfully wizened character actress was born Ruth Thane Shoecraft on September 13, 1895, in Michigan but raised in Ohio where her father served as a county sheriff. Ruth's parents, both musicians, encouraged her to perform. Graduating from the Wooster University in Ohio, she later studied drama at the Toledo Dramatic Academy. Ruth would also attend the American Academy of Dramatic Art (AADA) with strong designs on a New York career but instead married a Florida widower, Patrick McDevitt, a contractor, and decided to focus on domestic life. With the passing of her husband, however, in 1934, the now broaching 40-year-old lady decided to give it a go again and began dabbling in community theater plays Reigniting her long dormant desires, Ruth eventually found herself in New York and it wasn't long before she became a viable 30's and 40's presence on Broadway and radio in both comedic and dramatic fare. Making her debut i