Ann Rutherford

Infobox actor
name = Ann Rutherford


imagesize = 275px
caption = as Polly Benedict in "Love Finds Andy Hardy" (1938)
birthname = Therese Ann Rutherford
birthdate = birth date and age|1920|11|2
location = Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
deathdate =
deathplace =
othername =
yearsactive = 1935 - 1976
spouse = David May (1942-1953)
William Dozier (1953-1991)
awards = 1988 Golden Boot
Walk of Fame - Motion Picture
6834 Hollywood Blvd
Walk of Fame - Television
6331 Hollywood Blvd

Therese Ann Rutherford (born November 2, 1920) is a Canadian-American actress in film, radio, and television. She has had a long career starring and co-starring in films, playing Polly Benedict on the big screen of the 1930s and 1940s, and on "The Bob Newhart Show" as Newhart's character's mother-in-law.

Her first film role was in "Waterfront Lady" in 1935. She appeared in eighteen films between 1935 and 1937. It was in 1937 that her first notable role came as Andy Hardy's girlfriend, Polly Benedict, in "You're Only Young Once". In the long-running, Academy Award-winning Andy Hardy film series, she played Polly twelve times, with the last appearance being in "Andy Hardy's Double Life" in 1942.

She was born to a former Metropolitan Opera tenor and an actress in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. At an early age, she performed in various radio shows. She began her film career in starring roles in "Waterfront Lady" for Mascot Pictures in 1935. Mascot merged with Republic Pictures, and Miss Rutherford soon established herself as a popular leading lady of Westerns with Gene Autry and John Wayne. Afterward, she was placed under contract with MGM. At MGM, she appeared in such films as "A Christmas Carol" (1938) and "Pride and Prejudice" (1940). She was loaned to Selznick International to appear as Carreen O'Hara in "Gone with the Wind" (1939).

From 1937 until 1942, she portrayed Polly Benedict in the very successful "Andy Hardy" series. She also starred in a series of mystery/comedies with Red Skelton, "Whistling in the Dark" (1941), "Whistling in Dixie" (1942), and "Whistling in Brooklyn" (1943).

She left MGM to freelance in the early 1940s, starring in such films as "Orchestra Wives" (1942), "Two O'Clock Courage" (1945) and "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" (1947).

She retired from films in 1950, but returned to her old studio in 1972 to make "They Only Kill Their Masters". Ironically (given the film's grisly name), the film was shot on the old Andy Hardy set.

On radio, Ann Rutherford replaced Penny Singleton as Blondie.

She was supposed to make a comeback out of retirement to play Rose Calvert in the 1997 blockbuster movie "Titanic" (1997), but turned down the role, which went to Gloria Stuart.

In October 2004, she made a guest appearance with many fans at the Margaret Mitchell Birthday in Jonesboro, Georgia, to honor "Gone With the Wind", and she even signed autographs and reminisced old times at this historic event. She was the guest star at the Marietta, Georgia "Gone With the Wind Museum" in June, 2007 entitled "The Heart and History of Hollywood." TCM host Robert Osborne emceed the event. She is scheduled to return to Marietta July 4, 2008 to be reunited with 4 costars from GWTW Cammie King, Fred Crane, Mickey Kuhn, and Patrick Curtis.

On November 2, 2005, Rutherford celebrated her 85th birthday surrounded by her fans & friends at a luncheon in Beverly Hills, California. Neither Evelyn Keyes (who was suffering from Alzheimer's disease) nor Olivia de Havilland, two of her surviving "Gone with the Wind" co-stars, was able to attend.

Rutherford was married twice. On Christmas Eve, 1942, she married David May, and the couple had a girl, Gloria May, in 1943. They were divorced in 1953, and in that same year, she married William Dozier, who went on to produce the "Batman" TV series. Dozier died in 1991.

Filmography

Features

*"Waterfront Lady" (1935)
*"Melody Trail" (1935)
*"The Fighting Marines" (1935)
*"The Singing Vagabond" (1935)
*"The Oregon Trail" (1936)
*"The Lawless Nineties" (1936)
*"Doughnuts and Society" (1936)
*"Comin' 'Round the Mountain" (1936)
*"The Harvester" (1936)
*"The Lonely Trail" (1936)
*"Down to the Sea" (1936)
*"The Devil Is Driving" (1937)
*"Public Cowboy No. 1" (1937)
*"The Bride Wore Red" (1937)
*"Live, Love and Learn" (1937)
*"You're Only Young Once" (1937)
*"Of Human Hearts" (1938)
*"Judge Hardy's Children" (1938)
*"Love Finds Andy Hardy" (1938)
*"Out West with the Hardys" (1938)
*"Dramatic School" (1938)
*"A Christmas Carol" (1938)
*"Four Girls in White" (1939)
*"The Hardys Ride High" (1939)
*"Andy Hardy Gets Spring Fever" (1939)
*"These Glamour Girls" (1939)
*"Dancing Co-Ed" (1939)
*"Gone with the Wind" (1939)
*"Judge Hardy and Son" (1939)
*"The Ghost Comes Home" (1940)
*"Andy Hardy Meets Debutante" (1940)
*"Pride and Prejudice" (1940)
*"Wyoming" (1940)
*"Keeping Company" (1940)
*"Andy Hardy's Private Secretary" (1941)
*"Washington Melodrama" (1941)
*"Whistling in the Dark" (1941)
*"Life Begins for Andy Hardy" (1941)
*"Badlands of Dakota" (1941)
*"This Time for Keeps" (1942)
*"The Courtship of Andy Hardy" (1942)
*"Orchestra Wives" (1942)
*"Whistling in Dixie" (1942)
*"Andy Hardy's Double Life" (1942)
*"Happy Land" (1943)
*"Whistling in Brooklyn" (1943)
*"Bermuda Mystery" (1944)
*"Two O'Clock Courage" (1945)
*"Bedside Manner" (1945)
*"The Madonna's Secret" (1946)
*"Murder in the Music Hall" (1946)
*"Inside Job" (1946)
*"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" (1947)
*"Adventures of Don Juan" (1948)
*"Operation Haylift" (1950)
*"They Only Kill Their Masters" (1972)
*"Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood" (1976)

hort Subjects

*"Annie Laurie" (1936)
*"Carnival in Paris" (1937)
*"Andy Hardy's Dilemma" (1938)
*"Angel of Mercy" (1939)
*"Screen Snapshots: Sports in Hollywood" (1940)
*"Unusual Occupations: Film Tot Holiday" (1947)

External links

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Persondata
NAME= Rutherford, Ann
ALTERNATIVE NAMES= Rutherford, Therese Ann
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Actor
DATE OF BIRTH= 1920-11-2
PLACE OF BIRTH= Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=