Rita Gam

Rita Gam, born Rita Eleanore MacKay on April 2, 1927, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was an American actress, documentary filmmaker, and author whose career spanned Broadway, film, and television from 1946 to 2000. She died on March 22, 2016, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles from respiratory failure.

Gam was the daughter of Belle, née Fately, who was born in Romania, and Milton A. MacKay, who was born in France to Romanian parents. Her father died in New York in 1931, after which her mother remarried. Gam adopted the surname of her stepfather, Benjamin J. Gam. Before pursuing acting, she worked as a model. Her professional career began on the stage and in television before expanding into film.

Her Broadway credits included A Flag is Born, The Insect Comedy, A Temporary Island, The Young and Fair, There's a Girl in My Soup, and Uncle Vanya, among other productions. She made her screen debut in the 1952 film noir The Thief, starring Ray Milland, and signed a long-term contract with MGM in October of that year. A notable subsequent role was Herodias in the 1961 biblical epic King of Kings. During the 1950s and early 1960s, she was also an occasional panelist on the CBS television game show What's My Line.

At the 1962 Berlin Film Festival, Gam shared the Silver Bear for Best Actress with Viveca Lindfors for their performances in Tad Danielewski's No Exit. The following year, she was a leading member of the Minnesota Theatre Company during the inaugural season of the Tyrone Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. She later appeared in the 1971 American film Klute before transitioning to documentary filmmaking. Gam was also the author of two books, Actress to Actress and Actors: A Celebration.

In her personal life, Gam married director Sidney Lumet in 1949; the marriage ended in divorce in 1955. In 1956, she served as a bridesmaid at the Monaco wedding of Grace Kelly to Prince Rainier. That same year she married publisher Thomas Guinzburg, from whom she was divorced in 1963.