Ford, Ruth mss., 1936-1986
Summary Information
Repository
Lilly Library (Indiana University, Bloomington)
Lilly Library
Indiana University
1200 E. Seventh St.
Bloomington, IN 47405-5500
Phone: 812-855-2452
Fax: 812-855-3143
Email: liblilly@indiana.edu
Creator
Ford, Ruth, 1911-2009
TitleFord, Ruth mss., 1936-1986
Collection No.
LMC 2757
Extent
73 items
Language
Materials are in English.
Abstract
Collection consists of the papers of
stage and screen actress Ruth Ford.
Access Restrictions
This collection is open for research.
Biographical Note
Ruth Ford was born on July 7, 1911 in Brookhaven, Mississippi to Charles and Gertrude
Cato Ford. Her parents owned and managed hotels in several southern towns; as a
result Ford and her brother, the poet, novelist and surrealist artist, Charles Henri
Ford, spent much of their childhood moving from hotel to hotel. Ford married Goetz
(Peter) Van Eyck in the 1940s but the marriage soon ended in divorce. In 1950, she
married actor Zachary Scott and they remained together until his death in 1965.
After joining her brother in New York City in the 1930s, Ford modeled for well-known
professional photographers Carl Van Vechten, Man Ray and Cecil Beaton, whose photos
appeared in magazines such as
Vogue,
Mademoiselle and
Harper's.
In 1938, she performed in "The Shoemaker's Holiday," a production of Orson Welles'
Mercury Theater Group. Subsequently moving to Hollywood, she made approximately two
dozen B-movies, including
The Gorilla Man and
Lady Gangster. She was later to remark that she "made so
many terrible movies in Hollywood." Returning to New York City, Ford experienced
greater success in the theater. An acquaintance of William Faulkner's since their
days in Mississippi, in 1959 she starred in the well-reviewed title role of
Temple Drake in Faulkner's play,
Requiem for a Nun. She went on to work in the Broadway theater and in
television productions. She died in New York City on August 12, 2009 at the age of
98.
Arrangement
The collection is organized into the following series: I. Correspondence; II.
Miscellaneous.
Scope and Content Note
Collection consists of the papers of
stage and screen actress Ruth Ford. Correspondents include Elre Eick, John Huston, Jørgen Roos, Goetz (Peter) Van Eyck.
Miscellaneous materials include a typescript of an untitled original treatment
written by John Huston and Ruth Marton (i.e., Ruth Ford).
Administrative Information
Acquisition Information
Acquired: 2011
Usage RestrictionsPrior arrangements are not necessary before coming to the Library, however,
patrons from out of town are encouraged to communicate with the Library in
advance of their visits to ascertain availability of materials.
Photocopying permitted only with permission of the Curator of Manuscripts, Lilly
Library.
Preferred Citation
[Item], Ford, Ruth mss., Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.
Processing InformationProcessed by Alyssa Feik and Maureen Maryanski.
Completed in 2011
Series:
Box 1
Correspondence
Arranged alphabetically by correspondent
Eick, Elre to Ford, Ruth, 1936-1941
Eick, Elre to Van Eyck, Goetz, 1936-1937 ; undated
Ford, Ruth to Van Eyck, Goetz, 1936
(3 folders)
Ford, Ruth to Van Eyck, Goetz, 1937
(3 folders)
Ford, Ruth to Van Eyck, Goetz, 1938
Ford, Ruth to Van Eyck, Goetz, 1939
Ford, Ruth to Van Eyck, Goetz, 1942
Ford, Ruth to Van Eyck, Goetz, 1943
Ford, Ruth to Van Eyck, Goetz, undated
Ford, Ruth to Roos, Jørgen, 1961
Huston, John to Ford, Ruth, 1958-1986
Jones, Nancy to Van Eyck, Goetz, 1937
Roos, Jørgen to Ford, Ruth, 1949-1984
Van Blöme, Edgar Adolf to Van Eyck, Goetz, 1937
Van Eyck, Goetz to Ford, Ruth, 1936
Van Eyck, Goetz to Ford, Ruth, 1937
Van Eyck, Goetz to Ford, Ruth, 1938-1941
Van Eyck, Goetz to Ford, Ruth, 1942
Van Eyck, Goetz to Ford, Ruth, 1943-1944
Van Eyck, Goetz to Ford, Ruth, 1945-1946
Van Eyck, Goetz to Ford, Ruth, 1947-1950
Van Eyck, Goetz to Ford, Ruth, undated
Van Eyck, Goetz to unidentified correspondent, 1945
Van Eyck, Goetz to Van Eyck, Shelley 1944-1947
[Brother of Van Eyck] to Van Eyck, Goetz, 1937
de Vilaine, G. to Van Eyck, Goetz, 1939-1940
[Unknown last name], Camille to Van Eyck, Goetz, 1937
Unidentified correspondents to Van Eyck, Goetz
Series:
Box 1
Miscellaneous
Untitled Original, co-written by John Huston and Ruth Marton (i.e., Ruth Ford), typescript
Invitations and magazine clipping
