Ruth Attaway

Ruth Attaway (June 28, 1910 – September 21, 1987) was an American film and stage actress. Among the films she appeared in are Raintree County, Porgy and Bess (1959) and Being There (1979). She was the daughter of physician W.A. Attaway, PhD. Her siblings included a sister, Florence, She graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, where she majored in sociology.

Attaway was the first director of the New York Players Guild, a black repertory theater company formed in New York in 1945.

From 1964 to 1967, Attaway was with the Repertory Society of Lincoln Center. She went on to play a variety of characters in film such as Philomena in The Young Don't Cry (1957), Serena in Porgy and Bess (1959), Edna in Conrack (1974) and Louise in Being There (1979).

Television work In 1954, Attaway was within the cast of an unaired pilot titled Three's Company.

She also played Delia in the 1978 television movie, The Bermuda Depths.

Other ventures In addition to acting, Attaway was also trained as a social worker and, between acting jobs, worked with the American Red Cross, the New York State Department of Social Welfare and New York's Metropolitan Hospital.

Personal life and death Attaway was married to Allan Morrison, an editor of Ebony. He died on May 29, 1968, at the age of 51.

Attaway died on September 21, 1987, in New York Hospital of injuries resulting from a Manhattan apartment fire. She was 77 years old.

Partial filmography The President's Lady (1953) - Moll The Young Don't Cry (1957) - Philomena Raintree County (1957) - Parthenia (uncredited) Porgy and Bess (1959) - Serena Robbins Terror in the City (1964) - Farmer's Wife Conrack (1974) - Edna The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974) - Mayor's Nurse The Bermuda Depths (1978) - Delia Being There (1979) - Louise (final film role)