Ruta Lee (May 30, 1935) is a Canadian-American actress and dancer who appeared as part of the mother / daughter con woman duo Lisa and Penny, who dupe and rob Mork & Mr. Bickley in Season 1's Mork's Night Out.
Biography[]
Born Ruta Mary Kilmonis on May 30, 1935, in Montreal, Quebec, she was the only child of Lithuanian Roman Catholic immigrants. Her father was a tailor and her mother a homemaker.
On March 1, 1948, her family moved to the United States and ended up settling in Los Angeles, where she graduated in 1954 from Hollywood High School and began studying acting and appearing in school plays.
She attended both Los Angeles City College and the University of California at Los Angeles. She worked as a cashier, usherette, and candy girl at Grauman's Chinese Theater; but, when she was $40 short in her cash account at the end of her shift one night, she was fired.
Lee is a naturalized United States citizen. She and her husband Webster Bernard "Webb" Lowe Jr. a Texas restaurant executive, were married 44 years until his death (13 February 1976 - 1 July 2020).I n 1976, Lee married Texas restaurant executive Webster B. Lowe Jr. They divided their time between their homes in Hollywood, Palm Springs, Fort Worth, and Mexico. Webb died July 1, 2020. They had no children. Lee describes her political views as "conservative"
Lee has been involved with the charitable organization The Thalians for over 50 years. In addition to raising money and providing services for troubled youth and mental health organizations, Lee, who is also the board chairman, co-produced the annual Ball of the Thalians with the late Debbie Reynolds throughout these five decades. In 2011, after 55 years of involvement with The Thalians, she stepped down and is now a member emerita.[1] [2]
Career[]
She got her first screen credit on TV The Roy Rogers Show (1952), followed by a two episode stint on The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show (1953-1955) and appearances on Fireside Theatre (1953) Adventures of Superman (1953) Lux Video Theatre (1954) before landing her first big screen role as one of the brides in the lavish musical Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954) all as Ruta Kilmonis.
After that success, Lee appeared in several films including Anything Goes (1956), Funny Face (1957), Alfred Hitchcok's Witness for the Prosecution (1957), and Marjorie Morningstar (1958). In 1962, she played the female lead in the Rat Pack comedy/Western film Sergeants 3 starring Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop. She then co-starred with Audie Murphy and Darren McGavin in a Western, Bullet for a Badman (1964).[1]
Filmography (Movies)[]
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1954 | Seven Brides for Seven Brothers | Ruth |
| 1955 | The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing | Tennis Girl |
| 1955 | The Twinkle in God's Eye | Ruthie |
| 1956 | Anything Goes | Girl |
| 1956 | Gaby | Denise |
| 1957 | Funny Face | Lettie |
| 1957 | Witness for the Prosecution | Diana |
| 1958 | Marjorie Morningstar | Imogene Norman |
| 1961 | Operation Eichmann | Anna Kemp |
| 1962 | Sergeants 3 | Amelia Parent |
| 1963 | The Gun Hawk | Marleen |
| 1963 | Hootenanny Hoot | A.G. Bannister |
| 1964 | Bullet for a Badman | Lottie |
| 1965 | Invisible Diplomats | Connie Wisner |
| 1972 | Doomsday Machine | Dr. Marion Turner |
| 1983 | Rooster: Spurs of Death! | Gayly |
| 1983 | Cracking Up | Ms. Sultry (voice) |
| 1995 | Funny Bones | Laura Fawkes |
| 1997 | Pterodactyl Woman from Beverly Hills | Mrs. Poole |
| 2001 | Pretty When You Cry | Antique Store Patron |
| 2004 | Quiet Kill | Doris |
| 2006 | Sadie and the Slot Machines | Sadie Silver |
| 2007 | A Christmas Too Many | Grandma |
| 2011 | Forever Young at Heart | Shelley Felgerstein |
| 2013 | For Better or for Worse |
In addition to films, Lee continued to appear in dozens of guest-starring roles on television spanning 6 decades, often returning several times in multiple roles. From 1957 to 1959 she was cast in different roles in eight episodes of the CBS crime drama series The Lineup, and also played the leading lady in three episodes of Maverick: "The Comstock Conspiracy" (1957) with James Garner, and "The Plunder of Paradise" (1958) and "Betrayal" (1959) with Jack Kelly. In 1959 and 1960 she was cast in four episodes of John Bromfield's syndicated crime drama U.S. Marshal. [1] [2]
Filmography (Television)[]
| Year | TV Series | Episode(s) | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | Adventures of Superman | My Friend Superman | Teenager |
| 1952–57 | Schlitz Playhouse of Stars | 2 episodes | Various roles |
| 1953–55 | Burns and Allen | 2 episodes | Various roles |
| 1954 | Lux Video Theatre | I'll Never Love Again | Marion |
| 1955 | Science Fiction Theatre | The Unexplored | Student |
| 1955–56 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Whodunit
The Cheney Vase |
Various roles |
| 1956 | I Led Three Lives | New Member | Louise Burke |
| 1956 | Dragnet | The Big Daughter | |
| 1957 | Highway Patrol | Armored Car | Lea Franklin |
| 1957 | Suspicion | The Story of Marjorie Reardon | Betty |
| 1957 | Captain David Grief | The Affair at Les Trois Magots | Rose |
| 1957–59 | Maverick | 3 episodes | Various roles |
| 1957–59 | The Lineup | 8 episodes | Various roles |
| 1958 | The Gray Ghost | Contraband | |
| 1958 | Playhouse 90 | The Right Hand Man | |
| 1958 | The Walter Winchell File | The Dice of Fortune: File | Joan |
| 1958 | Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer | 2 episodes | Various roles |
| 1958 | Man with a Camera | Second Avenue Assassin | Dolly MacDermott |
| 1958 | Rescue 8 | The Cage | Ann Dagget |
| 1958 | December Bride | Bride's Father-in-Law | Carol Hodges |
| 1958–59 | Sugarfoot | 2 episodes | Various roles |
| 1958–60 | M Squad | 3 episodes | Various roles |
| 1958–62 | Gunsmoke | 2 episodes including "Jenny" | Jenny Glover |
| 1958–64 | 77 Sunset Strip | 5 episodes | Various roles |
| 1958–65 | Perry Mason | 5 episodes | Various roles |
| 1959 | Yancy Derringer | Two of a Kind | Romilly Vale |
| 1959 | The Restless Gun | The Painted Beauty | Lucy Collins |
| 1959 | Peter Gunn | Edie Finds a Corpse | Marie Gipson |
| 1959 | The Millionaire | Millionaire Angela Temple | Angela Temple |
| 1959 | Richard Diamond, Private Detective | Jukebox | Louise |
| 1959 | Bat Masterson | The Death of Bat Masterson | Nellie Fontana |
| 1959 | Alcoa Theatre | Medals for Harry | Emily Meadows |
| 1959 | The Lawless Years | The Payoff | Gloria Fallon |
| 1959 | Markham | The Duelists | Tammy Miles |
| 1959 | Johnny Staccato | The Naked Truth | Dee Dee |
| 1959 | Tightrope | Stand on Velvet | Laura |
| 1959 | Whirlybirds | Mr. Jinx | Ginny |
| 1959 | Hennesey | Hennesey and Peyton Place | Ruth Thomas |
| 1959 | The Man from Blackhawk | The Legacy | Ginnie Thompson |
| 1959–60 | United States Marshal | 4 episodes | Various roles |
| 1959–60 | The Alaskans | 2 episodes | Various roles |
| 1959–60 | Colt .45 | 2 episodes | Various roles |
| 1959–63 | Wagon Train | 2 episodes | Various roles |
| 1960 | Shotgun Slade | Killer's Brand | Lilly Cody |
| 1960 | The Rebel | Grant of Land | Ellen Barton |
| 1960–1961 | Hawaiian Eye | 3 episodes | Various roles |
| 1961 | The Tab Hunter Show | Turnabout | |
| 1961 | Michael Shayne | Spotlight On a Corpse | Naomi Lester |
| 1961 | Dante | Dante's Fickle Fate | Peggy Braddock |
| 1961 | The Brothers Brannagan | Shot in the Dark | Lynn |
| 1961 | The Case of the Dangerous Robin | Brink of Disaster | |
| 1961 | Zane Grey Theater | Man from Everywhere | Jenny Aldrich |
| 1961 | Harrigan and Son | The Legacy | Rose |
| 1961 | Stagecoach West | 2 episodes | Various roles |
| 1961 | Laramie | Siege at Jubilee | Opal Crane |
| 1962 | The Outlaws | Farewell Performance | Jennie |
| 1962 | Cheyenne | Wanted for the Murder of Cheyenne Bodie | Lenore Walton Hanford |
| 1962 | The Dick Powell Show | Crazy Sunday | Eva Gobel |
| 1962–63 | Rawhide | 2 episodes | Various roles |
| 1962–65 | The Andy Griffith Show | Andy on Trial
The Hollywood Party |
Jean Boswell,
Darlene Mason |
| 1963 | Bonanza | A Woman Lost | Rita Marlowe |
| 1963 | Arrest and Trial | Call It a Lifetime | Colleen Riley |
| 1963 | The Twilight Zone | A Short Drink from a Certain Fountain | Flora Gordon |
| 1963 | Temple Houston | Enough Rope | Lucy Tolliver |
| 1963 | Fractured Flickers | Episode 20 | Herself |
| 1964 | The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters | The Day of the Lame Duck | Zoe Pigalle |
| 1964 | The Fugitive | Angels Travel on Lonely Roads: Part 2 | Mrs. Janet Loring |
| 1964 | The Virginian | 2 episodes | Various roles |
| 1964–1965 | Burke's Law | 3 episodes | Various roles |
| 1965 | The Bill Dana Show | Beauty and the Bellhop | Yvette Renay |
| 1965 | Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. | Gomer Dates a Movie Star | Gloria Morgan |
| 1965 | The Wackiest Ship in the Army | The Stowaway | |
| 1965–1967 | The Wild Wild West | 2 episodes | Various roles |
| 1967 | The Lucy Show | Lucy's Substitute Secretary
Lucy Meets the Berles |
Miss Audrey Fields;
Herself |
| 1967 | Judd, for the Defense | To Love and Stand Mute | Alida Nye |
| 1967 | Mannix | Run, Sheep, Run | Jean Coleman |
| 1967–1969 | Hogan's Heroes | 3 episodes | Various roles |
| 1968 | Ironside | To Kill a Cop | Marian |
| 1969 | The Guns of Will Sonnett | Trail's End | Fan |
| 1969 | The Flying Nun | 2 episodes | Faye/Sister Mary Grace |
| 1969 | Marcus Welby, M.D. | All Flags Flying | Shirley Ballinger |
| 1969–1972 | Love, American Style | 3 episodes | Various roles |
| 1971 | Mayberry R.F.D. | The City Planner | Terry Phillips |
| 1971 | A Howling in the Woods | Television film | Sharon |
| 1971 | The Mod Squad | Exit the Closer | Gloria Hardy |
| 1971 | Arnie | Et Tu, Arnie | Miss Fletcher |
| 1972 | Me and the Chimp | My Pet, the Thief | Lavelle Wiggins |
| 1973 | Match Game | One Week | Guest Panelist |
| 1974-1976 | High Rollers | Daytime | Co-Hostess |
| 1979 | Mork & Mindy | Mork's Night Out | Lisa |
| 1979–1982 | Three's Company | 2 episodes | Various roles |
| 1980–1982 | The Flintstone Comedy Show | 18 episodes | Hidea Frankenstone (Voice) |
| 1980 | Vega$ | Love Affair | Gloria Garland |
| 1980–1983 | Fantasy Island | 3 episodes | Various roles |
| 1981 | The Smurfs | Unknown episodes | Additional voices |
| 1982 | Three's Company | The Matchbreakers | Marsha |
| 1982 | Simon & Simon | Matchmaker | Penny Russell |
| 1982 | Madame's Place | Episode #1.42 | Kaye Jacobs |
| 1983 | CHiPs | Journey to a Spacecraft | Babe |
| 1984 | The Rousters | Slade vs. Slade | Mrs. Slade |
| 1984 | Hotel | Ideals | Georgia Potter |
| 1984–1985 | 1st & Ten | 4 episodes | Rona |
| 1985 | The Love Boat | 1 episode | Harriet Wolters |
| 1985 | Benson | Solid Gold | Zelda |
| 1988–1989 | Coming of Age | 15 episodes | Pauline Spencer |
| 1989 | Jake and the Fatman | Sweet Leilani | Leilani Simmons |
| 1990 | Timeless Tales from Hallmark | Rapunzel | Voice role |
| 1990 | Charles in Charge | Three Dates and a Walnut | Gloria |
| 1990 | Murder, She Wrote | A Body to Die For | Renee |
| 1992 | Delta | How Much Is That Darden in the Window? | Charlotte Tyler |
| 1993 | The Building | Yakkity Yak Don't Talk | Sylvia |
| 1997 | Roseanne | 2 episodes | Joyce |
| 1998 | Saved by the Bell: The New Class | Cigar Wars | Mrs. Gore |
| 2000 | Power Rangers: Lightspeed Rescue | In the Limelight | Koko Kashmere |
| 2003 | Life With Bonnie | Places, Stat! | Mrs. Ruta Blanchette |
| 2012 | Days of Our Lives | Episode #1.11749 | Tillie Inman |
Lee also began appearing regularly on game shows such as The Hollywood Squares, You Don't Say and Match Game. In the early 1970s, Lee continued to perform in both film and television roles on Love, American Style, The Mod Squad, and a role in the film The Doomsday Machine (1972). By 1974, Lee had grown frustrated by an increasing lack of roles, and took a job co-hosting the daytime game show High Rollers. She remained with the show until 1976.
From 1988 to 1989, Lee played a recurring role on the CBS sitcom Coming of Age. In 1989, she played the role of Sally Powers in the television movie Sweet Bird of Youth with Elizabeth Taylor. In the 1990s, Lee continued to appear in episodic television, most notably on the sitcom Roseanne. Lee appeared as the girlfriend of Bev Harris (Estelle Parsons), whose character disclosed she was gay.
She played the wife of comedian Jerry Lewis in the British comedy-drama Funny Bones (1995), in which they play the parents of the Oliver Platt's character. In 2002, Lee was presented with one of the Golden Boot Awards for her work in western television and cinema.
In 2006, Lee received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her contributions to the television industry. In 1995, a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars was dedicated to Lee.
Mork & Mindy[]
Ruta Lee appeared as the duplicitous Lisa, in Season 1's Mork's Night Out, who with her daughter Penny, operates a scam targetting unsuspecting Boulder men. Picking on Mork and Mr. Bickley they convince them they are being harassed by another pair of men and after some chit chat convince them to take them home to Bickley's place so they can have a drink with them in peace, only to pull a gun and rob both of them. Something it transpires they have been doing for a while.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Ruta Lee Wikipedia.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Ruta Lee IMDB.