Ruth Ford (July 7, 1911 â€" August 12, 2009) was an American model and
actress. Her brother was the bohemian surrealist Charles Henri Ford.
Their parents owned or managed hotels in the American South, and the
family regularly moved.Born in Brookhaven, Mississippi, Ford was the
daughter of Charles and Gertrude Cato Ford, who owned hotels in four
towns in the South. She was a graduate of the University of
Mississippi.As a model, Ford posed for photographers Cecil Beaton, Man
Ray, and Carl Van Vechten, among others.She married actor Peter Van
Eyck in 1940, but the marriage was unsuccessful. Van Eyck was the
father of her daughter, Shelley, who was born in 1941. Before Ford's
trip to Hollywood, she was a member of Orson Welles' Mercury Theatre,
and appeared in his film Too Much Johnson (1938), which was considered
lost until the rediscovery of footage in 2013. Welles' assistance
helped her to land contracts with Columbia Pictures and Warner Bros.
studios.
actress. Her brother was the bohemian surrealist Charles Henri Ford.
Their parents owned or managed hotels in the American South, and the
family regularly moved.Born in Brookhaven, Mississippi, Ford was the
daughter of Charles and Gertrude Cato Ford, who owned hotels in four
towns in the South. She was a graduate of the University of
Mississippi.As a model, Ford posed for photographers Cecil Beaton, Man
Ray, and Carl Van Vechten, among others.She married actor Peter Van
Eyck in 1940, but the marriage was unsuccessful. Van Eyck was the
father of her daughter, Shelley, who was born in 1941. Before Ford's
trip to Hollywood, she was a member of Orson Welles' Mercury Theatre,
and appeared in his film Too Much Johnson (1938), which was considered
lost until the rediscovery of footage in 2013. Welles' assistance
helped her to land contracts with Columbia Pictures and Warner Bros.
studios.
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