Ruth Selwyn (born Ruth Virginia Wilcox; November 6, 1905 – December 13, 1954) was an American theater producer and actress.
Early life and education
Ruth Wilcox was born in Tazewell, Virginia and raised in Morgantown, West Virginia,[1] the daughter of James Columbus Wilcox and Martha McLeod WIlcox. Her father was an optometrist and jeweler.[2] Her brother was film and television director Fred M. Wilcox. Her sister Pansy Wilcox married film studio executive Nicholas Schenck.
Career
Selwyn worked as an actress and theater producer.[3] She produced several productions of Broadway comedies and musicals.[4] In 1930, she produced The 9:15 Revue,[5] with formidable writing and performing rosters including Anita Loos, Ring Lardner, Ira Gershwin, George Gershwin, Harold Arlen,[6]Eddie Cantor, Ruth Etting, and Leslie Howard.[4] Despite this star power, the show closed after five performances.[7]Bachelor Born, which she produced in 1938 with Milton Shubert, ran for over a year with 400 performances, and toured nationally.[1] Her last Broadway production was Walk With Music (1940), with music by Hoagy Carmichael and lyrics by Johnny Mercer.[8]
Selwyn was also active in developing Palm Springs, where she owned the Red Roof Ranch.[9][10]
Wilcox married three times. Wilcox's first husband was Russell Martin Snyder; they married in 1922 and divorced in 1925. They had one son, Russell.[12] Her second husband was film director Edgar Selwyn; they married in 1926,[2] and he adopted her son. They divorced in 1938. She married Irish-born actor John Warburton in 1943.[13] They divorced in 1948.[14] Ruth Selwyn died in Hollywood on December 13, 1954, and was interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California; she was 49 years old.[9][10][15]
