Ruta Lee

Acting

Ruta Lee

Born May 30, 1935 · Montréal, Québec, Canada (age 91)

Ruta Lee (born Ruta Mary Kilmonis, May 30, 1935) is a Canadian-American actress and dancer who appeared as one of the brides in the musical Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. She had roles in films including Billy Wilder's crime drama Witness for the Prosecution and Stanley Donen's musical comedy Funny Face and also is remembered for her guest appearance in a 1963 episode of Rod Serling's sci-fi ser…

Known For

Witness for the ProsecutionWitness for the Prosecution · 1957
Witness for the Prosecution
8.21957
MovieDramaMystery
An ailing barrister is thrust back into the courtroom in what becomes one of the most unusual and eventful murder cases of the lawyer's career when he finds himself defending a man being tried for the murder of a socialite.
Funny BonesFunny Bones · 1995
Funny Bones
6.61995
MovieComedy
Tommy Fawkes wants to be a successful comedian. After his Las Vegas debut is a failure, he returns to Blackpool where his father—also a comedian—started, and where he spent the summers of his childhood.
Funny FaceFunny Face · 1957
Funny Face
7.01957
MovieMusicComedy
A shy Greenwich Village book clerk is discovered by a fashion photographer and whisked off to Paris where she becomes a reluctant model.
Seven Brides for Seven BrothersSeven Brides for Seven Brothers · 1954
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
7.11954
MovieComedyDrama
In 1850 Oregon, when a backwoodsman brings a wife home to his farm, his six brothers decide that they want to get married too.
Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul SchoolScooby-Doo and the Ghoul School · 1988
Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School
7.41988
MovieAnimationFamily
Scooby, Shaggy and Scrappy are on their way to Miss Grimwood's Finishing School for Girls, where they've been hired as gym teachers. Once there, however, they find that not only is it actually an all-girl school of famous monsters' daughters but there's a villainess out to enslave the girls.
Pretty When You CryPretty When You Cry · 2001
Pretty When You Cry
3.42001
MovieCrimeDrama
A wife is caught in a web of sex and violence.
People Like UsPeople Like Us · 1990
People Like Us
5.81990
MovieDramaTV Movie
When a wealthy scriptwriter and socialite's daughter is murdered, he feels let down by the courts, and so decides to use his powerful position to enable his own form of justice.
Senior MomentSenior Moment · 2021
Senior Moment
5.62021
MovieComedyRomance
After drag racing his vintage convertible around Palm Springs, a retired NASA test pilot loses his license. Forced to take public transportation, he meets Caroline and learns to navigate love and life again.

Movies

Witness for the ProsecutionWitness for the Prosecution · 1957
Witness for the Prosecution
8.21957
MovieDramaMystery
An ailing barrister is thrust back into the courtroom in what becomes one of the most unusual and eventful murder cases of the lawyer's career when he finds himself defending a man being tried for the murder of a socialite.
Funny BonesFunny Bones · 1995
Funny Bones
6.61995
MovieComedy
Tommy Fawkes wants to be a successful comedian. After his Las Vegas debut is a failure, he returns to Blackpool where his father—also a comedian—started, and where he spent the summers of his childhood.
Funny FaceFunny Face · 1957
Funny Face
7.01957
MovieMusicComedy
A shy Greenwich Village book clerk is discovered by a fashion photographer and whisked off to Paris where she becomes a reluctant model.
Seven Brides for Seven BrothersSeven Brides for Seven Brothers · 1954
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
7.11954
MovieComedyDrama
In 1850 Oregon, when a backwoodsman brings a wife home to his farm, his six brothers decide that they want to get married too.
Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul SchoolScooby-Doo and the Ghoul School · 1988
Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School
7.41988
MovieAnimationFamily
Scooby, Shaggy and Scrappy are on their way to Miss Grimwood's Finishing School for Girls, where they've been hired as gym teachers. Once there, however, they find that not only is it actually an all-girl school of famous monsters' daughters but there's a villainess out to enslave the girls.
Pretty When You CryPretty When You Cry · 2001
Pretty When You Cry
3.42001
MovieCrimeDrama
A wife is caught in a web of sex and violence.
People Like UsPeople Like Us · 1990
People Like Us
5.81990
MovieDramaTV Movie
When a wealthy scriptwriter and socialite's daughter is murdered, he feels let down by the courts, and so decides to use his powerful position to enable his own form of justice.
Senior MomentSenior Moment · 2021
Senior Moment
5.62021
MovieComedyRomance
After drag racing his vintage convertible around Palm Springs, a retired NASA test pilot loses his license. Forced to take public transportation, he meets Caroline and learns to navigate love and life again.
Operation EichmannOperation Eichmann · 1961
Operation Eichmann
6.81961
MovieDrama
Drama about the life Adolf Eichmann, the Nazi officer responsible for the deaths of countless Jewish people during World War II.
Bullet for a BadmanBullet for a Badman · 1964
Bullet for a Badman
6.31964
MovieWestern
Former Texas Rangers Sam Ward and Logan Keliher become enemies when Sam turns bank robber and Logan marries Sam's ex-wife.
Sweet Bird of YouthSweet Bird of Youth · 1989
Sweet Bird of Youth
5.51989
MovieDramaTV Movie
Tennessee William’s masterful melodrama about an aging movie star who, appalled by her own image on the screen, flees from her movie premiere and goes into seclusion, becoming entangled with a much younger hotel masseur and resident gigolo.
Doomsday MachineDoomsday Machine · 1972
Doomsday Machine
3.31972
MovieScience Fiction
Following the discovery of a doomsday machine capable of destroying Earth, the launch of a US space mission to Venus is taken over by the military.
Marjorie MorningstarMarjorie Morningstar · 1958
Marjorie Morningstar
6.31958
MovieDramaRomance
While working as a counselor at a summer camp, college-student Marjorie Morgenstern falls for 32-year-old Noel Airman, a would-be dramatist working at a nearby summer theater. Like Marjorie, he is an upper-middle-class New York Jew, but has fallen away from his roots, and Marjorie's parents object among other things to his lack of a suitable profession. Noel himself warns Marjorie repeatedly that she's much too naive and conventional for him, but they nonetheless fall in love.
Indict and ConvictIndict and Convict · 1974
Indict and Convict
5.01974
MovieCrimeDrama
A prosecutor must try his friend, a deputy district attorney, who has been charged with murdering his wife and her lover.
Sergeants 3Sergeants 3 · 1962
Sergeants 3
5.81962
MovieWesternComedy
Mike, Chip, and Larry are three lusty, brawling U. S. Cavalry sergeants stationed in Indian Territory in 1870.
Rooster: Spurs of Death!Rooster: Spurs of Death! · 1977
Rooster: Spurs of Death!
3.01977
MovieDrama
70's drama about a cock fighter and his son and the goings on of the cockfighting industry.
The Girl in the Red Velvet SwingThe Girl in the Red Velvet Swing · 1955
The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing
6.11955
MovieDramaRomance
Broadway showgirl Evelyn Nesbit is the object of affection of two men: playboy architect Stanford White and the wealthy but unstable Harry Thaw. Nesbit marries Thaw, but White’s continued pursuit puts him in the path of Thaw’s volatile temper. A fictionalized account of true events that occurred at the turn of the 20th century.
SmorgasbordSmorgasbord · 1983
Smorgasbord
6.01983
MovieComedy
Warren Nefron is a hopeless klutz who has some of the worst luck in the world: when he tries to end it all with a foolproof suicide plan, he still manages to mess it up. In desperation, he goes to a psychiatrist to see if there is some way for him to end his troubles.
Pterodactyl Woman from Beverly HillsPterodactyl Woman from Beverly Hills · 1997
Pterodactyl Woman from Beverly Hills
5.31997
MovieComedy
Pixie is cursed with turning into a Pterodactyl when her husband is caught messing with bones on an ancient burial ground. Her husband, children, friends, and neighbours must come to terms with Pixie's new "look". Her only chance to return to her normal state is to find the shaman who inflicted the curse on her.
The Gun HawkThe Gun Hawk · 1963
The Gun Hawk
5.11963
MovieWestern
When his town-drunk father is killed by the Sully brothers, gunfighter Blaine Madden exacts his revenge but has to flee, aided by a young aspiring gunslinger, when the sheriff tries to arrest him.
A Christmas Too ManyA Christmas Too Many · 2007
A Christmas Too Many
3.52007
MovieComedy
Disaster strikes when an aging actress invites her eccentric family to Hollywood for the holidays.
A Howling in the WoodsA Howling in the Woods · 1971
A Howling in the Woods
5.21971
MovieHorrorMystery
A disillusioned housewife on a vacation in the woods is disturbed by her husband continually trying to get her to come home and, more ominously, a mysterious howling at night.
Christmas Do-OverChristmas Do-Over · 2006
Christmas Do-Over
5.72006
MovieComedyFamily
Kevin just wants a normal Christmas with his son and ex-wife’s family—until a wish makes it Christmas every day. Caught in a festive loop, Kevin learns new talents and big lessons.
Elvis and the Beauty QueenElvis and the Beauty Queen · 1981
Elvis and the Beauty Queen
3.91981
MovieDramaMusic
Don Johnson stars as Elvis Presley in this made-for-TV true story about The King's love affair with Linda Thompson (Stephanie Zimbalist), a young beauty pageant contestant who was his live-in girlfriend and traveling companion for the last four years of his life. The story begins with their first meeting and traces their years together when Thompson tried to keep Presley off drugs in the last years of his career.

TV Shows

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny CarsonThe Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson · 1962
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
7.51962
Series
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is a talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under The Tonight Show franchise from 1962 to 1992. It originally aired during late-night. For its first ten years, Carson's Tonight Show was based in New York City with occasional trips to Burbank, California; in May 1972, the show moved permanently to Burbank, California. In 2002, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson was ranked #12 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.
Perry MasonPerry Mason · 1957
Perry Mason
7.71957
SeriesMysteryDrama
The cases of master criminal defense attorney Perry Mason and his staff who handled the most difficult of cases in the aid of the innocent.
Murder, She WroteMurder, She Wrote · 1984
Murder, She Wrote
7.51984
SeriesMysteryCrime
An unassuming mystery writer turned sleuth uses her professional insight to help solve real-life homicide cases.
IronsideIronside · 1967
Ironside
6.91967
SeriesCrimeDrama
When an assassin's bullet confines him to a wheelchair for life ending his career as Chief of Detectives, Robert T. Ironside becomes a consultant to the police department. Detective Sergeant Ed Brown and policewoman Eve Whitfield join with him to crack varied and fascinating cases. Ex-con Mark Sanger is employed by the chief as home help but eventually becomes a fully fledged member of the team also. Officer Whitfield leaves after 4 years service, and is replaced by Officer Fran Belding.
The Andy Griffith ShowThe Andy Griffith Show · 1960
The Andy Griffith Show
7.61960
SeriesComedyFamily
The Andy Griffith Show is an American sitcom first televised on CBS between October 3, 1960 and April 1, 1968. Andy Griffith portrays the widowed sheriff of the fictional small community of Mayberry, North Carolina. His life is complicated by an inept, but well-meaning deputy, Barney Fife, a spinster aunt and housekeeper, Aunt Bee, and a precocious young son, Opie. Local ne'er-do-wells, bumbling pals, and temperamental girlfriends further complicate his life. Andy Griffith stated in a Today Show interview, with respect to the time period of the show: "Well, though we never said it, and though it was shot in the '60s, it had a feeling of the '30s. It was when we were doing it, of a time gone by." The series never placed lower than seventh in the Nielsen ratings and ended its final season at number one. It has been ranked by TV Guide as the 9th-best show in American television history. Though neither Griffith nor the show won awards during its eight-season run, series co-stars Knotts and Bavier accumulated a combined total of six Emmy Awards. The show, a semi-spin-off from an episode of The Danny Thomas Show titled "Danny Meets Andy Griffith", spawned its own spin-off series, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., a sequel series, Mayberry R.F.D., and a reunion telemovie, Return to Mayberry. The show's enduring popularity has generated a good deal of show-related merchandise. Reruns currently air on TV Land, and the complete series is available on DVD. All eight seasons are also now available by streaming video services such as Netflix.
MannixMannix · 1967
Mannix
6.81967
SeriesCrime
Mannix is an American television detective series that ran from 1967 through 1975 on CBS. Created by Richard Levinson and William Link and developed by executive producer Bruce Geller, the title character, Joe Mannix, is a private investigator. He is played by Mike Connors. Mannix was the last series produced by Desilu Productions.
MaverickMaverick · 1957
Maverick
6.91957
SeriesComedyWestern
The Maverick boys - Bret, Bart, Beau and Brent - are a clan of well-dressed dandies, gamblers who'd much rather make their money playing cards than messing up their fine clothing with actual work. Sly and clever, none of the Mavericks are much for acts of derring do, but they can be courageous when the situation calls for it. Most often, however, they live by their wits and considerable charm.
DragnetDragnet · 1951
Dragnet
6.51951
SeriesDramaCrime
Follows the cases of a dedicated Los Angeles police detective, Sergeant Joe Friday, and his partners. The show takes its name from the police term "dragnet", meaning a system of coordinated measures for apprehending criminals or suspects.
Simon & SimonSimon & Simon · 1981
Simon & Simon
6.71981
SeriesDrama
A.J. Simon is a polished fellow with a taste for classic cars and tailored suits. Rick Simon is his less refined (but still pleasant) older brother who has a taste for cowboy boots and four-wheel drive pickups. The two of them live in San Diego, where they own a private detective agency.
Love, American StyleLove, American Style · 1969
Love, American Style
6.21969
SeriesComedy
An anthology comedy series featuring a line up of different celebrity guest stars appearing in anywhere from one, two, three, and four short stories or vignettes within an hour about versions of love and romance.
The FugitiveThe Fugitive · 1963
The Fugitive
7.31963
SeriesDrama
Richard Kimble is falsely convicted of his wife's murder and given the death penalty. En route to death row, Kimble's train derails and crashes, allowing him to escape and begin a cross-country search for the real killer, a "one-armed man". At the same time, Dr. Kimble is hounded by the authorities, most notably dogged by Police Lieutenant Philip Gerard.
The Twilight ZoneThe Twilight Zone · 1959
The Twilight Zone
8.51959
SeriesSci-Fi & FantasyMystery
An anthology series containing drama, psychological thriller, fantasy, science fiction, suspense, and/or horror, often concluding with a macabre or unexpected twist.
Adventures of SupermanAdventures of Superman · 1952
Adventures of Superman
6.71952
SeriesSci-Fi & Fantasy
It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a syndicated TV adaptation of the beloved DC Comics superhero! You know the drill: When he isn't fighting for truth, justice and the American way, the man in tights dons a suit and glasses for his secret identity as Daily Planet newspaper reporter Clark Kent, who works alongside friends Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen for gruff boss Perry White.
The VirginianThe Virginian · 1962
The Virginian
6.51962
SeriesWesternDrama
The Shiloh Ranch in Wyoming Territory of the 1890s is owned in sequence by Judge Henry Garth, the Grainger brothers, and Colonel Alan MacKenzie. It is the setting for a variety of stories, many more based on character and relationships than the usual western.
The RebelThe Rebel · 1959
The Rebel
5.11959
SeriesWestern
After the end of the Civil War, a former Confederate Army private roams the Wild West, and, as a rogue drifter, gets involved in helping out various settlers threatened by various bad guys... THE REBEL is a 76-episode American western television series starring Nick Adams that debuted on the ABC network from 1959 to 1961. The Rebel was one of the few Goodson-Todman Productions outside of their game show ventures. Beginning in December 2011, The Rebel reruns began to air Saturday mornings on Me-TV.
Hogan's HeroesHogan's Heroes · 1965
Hogan's Heroes
7.51965
SeriesComedy
Hogan's Heroes is an American television sitcom that ran for 168 episodes from September 17, 1965, to July 4, 1971, on the CBS network. The show was set in a German prisoner of war camp during World War II. Bob Crane starred as Colonel Robert E. Hogan, coordinating an international crew of Allied prisoners running a Special Operations group from the camp. Werner Klemperer played Colonel Wilhelm Klink, the commandant of the camp, and John Banner was the inept sergeant-of-the-guard, Hans Schultz. The series was popular during its six-season run. In 2013, creators Bernard Fein through his estate and Albert S. Ruddy acquired the sequel and other separate rights to Hogan's Heroes from Mark Cuban through arbitration and a movie based on the show has been planned.
CheyenneCheyenne · 1955
Cheyenne
6.11955
SeriesWesternDrama
Cheyenne Bodie was a big man, a former army scout who went west after the American Civil War and drifted from job to job, here a cowboy, there a lawman, and always a larger-than-life hero. CHEYENNE is an American western television series of 108 black-and-white episodes broadcast on ABC from 1955 to 1963. The show was the first hour-long western, and in fact the first hour-long dramatic series of any kind, with continuing characters, to last more than one season. It was also the first series to be made by a major Hollywood film studio which did not derive from its established film properties, and the first of a long chain of Warner Brothers original series produced by William T. Orr.
Power RangersPower Rangers · 1993
Power Rangers
7.11993
SeriesSci-Fi & Fantasy
A team of teenagers with attitude are recruited to save Angel Grove from the evil witch, Rita Repulsa, and later, Lord Zedd, Emperor of all he sees, and their horde of monsters.
Jake and the FatmanJake and the Fatman · 1987
Jake and the Fatman
6.21987
SeriesDramaCrime
Jake and the Fatman is a television crime drama starring William Conrad as prosecutor J. L. "Fatman" McCabe and Joe Penny as investigator Jake Styles. The series ran on CBS for five seasons from 1987 to 1992. Diagnosis: Murder was a spin-off of this series.
The Wild Wild WestThe Wild Wild West · 1965
The Wild Wild West
7.61965
SeriesComedy
The Wild Wild West is an American television series. Developed at a time when the television western was losing ground to the spy genre, this show was conceived by its creator, Michael Garrison, as "James Bond on horseback." Set during the administration of President Ulysses Grant, the series followed Secret Service agents James West and Artemus Gordon as they solved crimes, protected the President, and foiled the plans of megalomaniacal villains to take over all or part of the United States. The show also featured a number of fantasy elements, such as the technologically advanced devices used by the agents and their adversaries. The combination of the Victorian era time-frame and the use of Verne-esque style technology have inspired some to give the show credit for the origins of the steam punk subculture.
Peter GunnPeter Gunn · 1958
Peter Gunn
6.61958
SeriesCrimeDrama
Peter Gunn is an American private eye television series. Filmed in a film noir atmosphere and featuring Henry Mancini music that could tell you the action with your eyes closed, Peter Gunn worked in style. Known as Pete to his friends and simply as Gunn to his enemies, he did his job in a calm cool way.
Bat MastersonBat Masterson · 1958
Bat Masterson
6.11958
SeriesWesternDrama
Bat Masterson is an American Western television series which showed a fictionalized account of the life of real-life marshal/gambler/dandy Bat Masterson. The title character was played by Gene Barry and the half-hour black-and-white shows ran on NBC from 1958 to 1961. The series was produced by Ziv Television Productions, the company responsible for such hit series as Sea Hunt and Highway Patrol.
RawhideRawhide · 1959
Rawhide
7.21959
SeriesWesternDrama
The tale of trail boss Gil Favor and his trusty foreman Rowdy Yates as they drives cattle across the old west. Along the way they meet up with adventure and drama.
The Lucy ShowThe Lucy Show · 1962
The Lucy Show
7.11962
SeriesComedy
The Lucy Show is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from 1962–68. It was Lucille Ball's follow-up to I Love Lucy. A significant change in cast and premise for the 1965–66 season divides the program into two distinct eras; aside from Ball, only Gale Gordon, who joined the program for its second season, remained. For the first three seasons, Vivian Vance was the co-star. The earliest scripts were entitled The Lucille Ball Show, but when this title was declined, producers thought of calling the show This Is Lucy or The New Adventures of Lucy, before deciding on the title The Lucy Show. Ball won consecutive Emmy Awards as Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for the series' final two seasons, 1966–67 and 1967–68.