Thanks to Aurora of Once Upon a Screen and her diligence at recognizing & celebrating the lives of memorable actors, directors and entertainers, I learned that it was Ruth Roman’s birthday on December 22. We lost Ruth Roman in 1999 –she would have been 94! I have always been a passionate fan of her work, because of her authentic, rugged & earthy sensuality that was always a bit edgier than the average film star. Some of my favorite performances of Ruth Roman’s have been Three Secrets 1950, in the fabulous noir paired with Steve Cochran in Tomorrow is Another Day 1951, Down Three Dark Streets 1954, 5 Steps to Danger 1957 the chemistry with Sterling Hayden is fabulous and The Alfred Hitchcock Hour’s episode which brought her together with another favorite of mine, Anne Francis in What Really Happened (1963) and Love Has Many Faces 1965. Of course I can’t begin to describe her over the top campy performance as Mrs. Wadsworth in director Ted Post’s The Baby 1973.
If I can get my Mo JoJo back and start writing again at The Last Drive in, doing a feature on Ruth Roman is something I’ve wanted to do for a while…
