Barbara Ruick (December 23, 1932[citation needed] – March 3, 1974)[1] was an American actress and singer.
Early years
Ruick was the daughter of actors Lurene Tuttle and Melville Ruick,[2] and grew up acting out scenes with dolls, employing her mother as an audience.
Ruick attended North Hollywood High School.[3] She did little acting in high school but joined a school band at the age of 14. Ruick sang with the band at dances and benefits.
Early in her career, Ruick sang in clubs[4] and acted in Little Theater productions.[2] She achieved success in radio, then signed as a contract player with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.[5] She was heard in the original radio version of Dragnet. She also recorded several songs for MGM Records. In the 1950s, Ruick starred as Kay in the first LP recording of the songs from George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin's 1926 Broadway musical Oh, Kay!. This studio cast recording was released by Columbia Records and conducted by Lehman Engel.
In 1951, Ruick was signed by MGM for a role in the film Invitation (1952).[7] She had bit parts in her first four films, one of them being The Band Wagon (1953), and then graduated to supporting roles. Her best remembered roles both came from Rodgers and Hammerstein. She played Carrie Pipperidge in the film version of Carousel (1956) and Esmerelda, one of the wicked stepsisters, in the 1965 TV version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella.
Personal life
Ruick married actor Robert Horton in 1953.[8] She had co-starred with Horton in the movie Apache War Smoke the previous year. The couple separated just prior to their second wedding anniversary in 1955 and divorced in 1956,[9] just after he accompanied her to the world premiere of Carousel. She then married the young composer John Williams, who later became famous for Star Wars and many other films. Williams dedicated his First Violin Concerto to her memory (notes to DGG recording 289 471 326–2). During her marriage to Williams, Ruick appeared in few motion pictures. They had three children together, one of whom, Joseph Williams, is lead singer in the rock band Toto.[10]
^ abcTerrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010 (2nd ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. p. 200. ISBN978-0-7864-6477-7.
