Ruta Lee

photos: Alan Mercer

Ruta Lee is a Canadian actress and dancer who appeared as one of the brides in the film Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. She is also known for being a regular on a number of game shows, including Hollywood Squares, What's My Line?, and as Alex Trebek's co-host on High Rollers.
She was born Ruta Mary Kilmonis in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, the only child of Lithuanian immigrants. Her father was a tailor and her mother was a homemaker. In 1948 her family moved to Los Angeles where she attended high school at Hollywood High School, and began studying acting and appearing in high school plays
She worked as a cashier, usherette, and candy girl at the famous Grauman's Chinese Theater, but when she was $40.00 short at the end of her shift one night she was fired.
In 1967, Lee appeared on The Lucy Show starring Lucille Ball, playing a substitute secretary to Mr. Mooney when Lucy Carmichael is supposed to go on vacation. During this period, Lee also began appearing regularly on game shows such as Hollywood Squares and Match Game.
In the early 1970s, Lee continued to appear in both films and television roles including stints on Love, American Style, The Mod Squad, and a role in the 1972 film The Doomsday Machine. By 1974, Lee grew frustrated by the lack of roles she was landing and took a job co-hosting the daytime game show High Rollers. She remained with the show until 1976.
During the 1980s, she lent her voice to episodes of The Flintstone Comedy Show and The Smurfs, in addition to roles on CHiPs, The Love Boat, Charles in Charge. In 1989, she played the role of Sally Powers in the TV movie Sweet Bird of Youth with Elizabeth Taylor. In the 1990s, Lee continued to appear in episodic television, most notably in the series Roseanne. Lee appeared as the girlfriend of Roseanne Connor's mother, Bev Harris, who had disclosed that she was gay.
In 2006, Lee received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her contribution to the television industry.
I met Ruta Lee through my good friend David Blackstock. She is a delight to work with and be around. Ruta is so much more than an actress or entertainer, she is a real philanthropist. She has been heading up the Thalians Charity for over fifty years now.
We sat down in her enormous Laurel Canyon home, which used to belong to Orson Welles and Rita Hayworth at one time, to chat about what's up wth her these days.

AM: Is it true that you have been on over 2500 TV shows? Is that a world record?

RL: Oh I don’t know. I’m sure there are people that have been on more shows. I know I have been on between 2500 and 3000 shows. Think about all the shows I’ve done where you shoot five in a row. Game shows and talk shows add up very fast.

AM: How would you describe your career?

RL: What a wonderfully diversified career I’ve had. I did everything and I still do anything in show business. I think that’s why I’ve had a real long journeyman’s career. If there wasn’t a lot of stuff happening in movies there was television. If there wasn’t a lot of stuff in television there was theatre. When there wasn’t enough going on in theatre I went on the Home Shopping Network for five years. There are always speeches to be made and conventions to go to. I’m always working in one way or another.

AM: Have you never had any lulls in your career?

RL: Well I’ve had a lifetime of lulls.

AM: But you’ve never had a two year period where you didn’t work?

RL: No I haven’t. I’ve got to tell you that I am looking for a lull. My time is always totally filled with my do-good activities. I’m not patting myself on the back. I’m getting ticked off at myself that I have very little time for me. I have very little time to do what I like to do which is read a book, do crossword puzzles, to paint, to walk, to do nothing or sit and watch a movie. I feel guilty if I take a Sunday afternoon and do something. Gee I should be answering emails or something else. The lull that I am looking for is one that I will have to make. I will have to resign from my official capacity as Chairman of the Board for the Thalians Charity. I will always be there to help. I will take a little of that time to write my book.

AM: Are you writing your autobiography?

RL: Yes I am.

AM: You, of all people, have a story to tell because of all the great names you have been around and called friends. You seem to have lived this life without the negative side effects.

RL: Well maybe that is because I was never huge. I was in the company of greatness but I was never a ‘great one.’

AM: Isn’t that enough for you?

RL: Yes it is! You always think that gee it would have been fun to hit superstardom if for no other reason it is financially rewarding for a short time. I think if I had reached superstardom I wouldn’t have become a little shit. My darling friend Ray Danton, God love him, was asked by James Garner while filming Maverick, ‘Ray, why are you such a shit?’ Ray answered back, ‘Because when I’m a star I don’t want anyone to say that I’ve changed!’

AM: Why do you think you are so grounded?

RL: I have been rooted so well because I came from a family who were not rich. My folks were very poor. They came from the poorest of Lithuania to Canada and worked very hard and saved their money.

AM: Did your folks struggle?

RL: I was never hungry and I was always dressed in pretty little things. My parents supported whatever I wanted to do. My Mother and Father went along with my desire to be in show business. I was well grounded. I knew what hard work was. I knew what saving was. I knew that there would be lean times no matter how successful you become and that you better put some aside for a rainy day.

AM: What did your father do for a living?

RL: My father was a tailor. My Mother was a seamstress and they had a shop in Montreal, Canada.

AM: So your parents came from no money, opened a tailor shop, and were able to buy this house?

RL: That’s because they got it at a very good price. Back in 1948 they bought this house for $65,000.00. That was an enormous amount of money. They had a long time mortgage on it but they did it. I don’t know who could put a value on it now with all the property. It’s a lot to keep up with!

AM: So if you never had another outside job again, your time would be filled with all your philanthropy work and maintaining your property?

RL: Maintaining because I am a landlady. That all takes a certain amount of time. I love being a landlady because it’s like a cow that never runs dry. It’s very good because it supports the property.

AM: Why are you so associated with Texas?

RL: When I got back from the Soviet Union, when I got my Grandmother out of there, (that story will be in the book) the gentleman who operated the Casa Manana Theatre in Ft. Worth Texas came to me and asked if I would do a show there.

AM: What show did you do?

RL: I went down to play Mollie Brown for them. It was the most wonderful experience to have me fall in love with a town and a town fall in love with me. I WAS Mollie Brown to them. It was thanks to the ladies and gentleman of the press, who came down to meet the star at a breakfast. We told bawdy stories and had a hell of a good time. To them I was the spirit of Texas, which is a great state, one of the last of the Americana states. I went back for 35 years after that. The headlines used to say, ‘Summer is here and Ruta is back!’ We became official residents of the state of Texas. As you know my darling hairstylist, adopted Godson, David Blackstock, is there.

AM: Tell me about the year you honored Lucille Ball at the Thalians.

RL: Every one of them is a struggle of pleasure. Anytime you have to put something together and I don’t care who we had, basically I wound up producing it. Lucy was just wonderful. She was a tough dame. She didn’t want to do anything that she didn’t want to do. I was on the road doing a show and I was calling her. I loved it because I had the idea that we would call it the ‘Lucille’ Ball. It was glorious. We had an elephant on stage at the Century Plaza Hotel. We had a whole circus theme going on because Lucy was the clown. It was super.

AM: Does any year stand out to you more than another?

RL: With all of the stars that we have had from Frank Sinatra to Whoopi Goldberg, all the way through, the greatest stars of all time, I think the year we honored 14 of the USA Astronauts stands out. That was pretty exciting.

AM: Ruta, are you aware of how important the internet has become for communication and publicity?

RL: I certainly don’t understand it, but I relate to it. I understand the necessity. I don’t understand how it works and I do panic when I can’t pull something up on the computer. I call my assistant and start crying, “What do I do now?’ I know what you are saying. But I do ask why does anybody need a Facebook or a MySpace? Who needs to twitter? Who CARES!?! But I guess people do. I don’t quite understand it. I think it’s for people who don’t have a life. I’m not sure what it means. I understand Facebook and MySpace better.

AM: How are you celebrating your birthday this year?

RL: Normally I go to Mexico, but that isn’t happening this year, so I am celebrating my birthday by going to a Benefit called ‘Heroes Among Us.’ They honor the unspoken people who do good things for people without a lot of hoopla. Let’s face it I have come to a point where I ignore my birthdays. I’d rather just forget about it.



To learn more about Ruta Lee visit her web site www.rutalee.com