Ruth Taylor

Ruth Alice Taylor was born on January 13, 1905 (some sources say 1908) in Grand Rapids, Michigan. When she was a child her family moved to Oregon. At the age of nineteen Ruth went to Hollywood and started her career as an extra at Universal Studios. In 1925 she signed a two year contract with Mack Sennett and became one of his bathing beauties. With her perky smile and blonde spit curls Ruth quickly became one of Sennett's most popular actresses. She had supporting roles in several comedies including A Yankee Doodle Duke and The Pride Of Pikeville. Ruth was nicknamed "The Little Girl With A Big Personality". In 1928 she beat out dozens of other actresses for the role of Lorelei Lee in the film version of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. That same year she was named one of the WAMPAS Baby Stars. Ruth was offered a contract at Paramount and starred in the comedy The College Coquette. In 1930 she married stockbroker Paul Steinberg Zuckerman and had a son. She decided to quit making movies and became a housewife. Her final acting role was in the comedy short Scrappily Married. Ruth and Paul lived in Palm Springs and were happily married until his death in 1965. Their son, Buck Henry, became a successful screenwriter. Ruth died on April 12, 1984 at the age of seventy-nine. She is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills, California.