Ruth McDevitt

Ruth Thane McDevitt (née Shoecraft; September 13, 1895 – May 27, 1976) was an American actress whose career spanned stage, film, radio, and television across several decades. Born in Coldwater, Michigan, to John Barnabas Shoecraft and Elizabeth Imber Shoecraft, she was raised in Ohio and trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.

On December 10, 1928, McDevitt married Patrick McDevitt, and she stepped away from acting to focus on her marriage. Following her husband's death in 1934, she resumed her professional career. Her Broadway debut came in 1940, and she went on to perform on the New York stage through 1971. Among her Broadway credits were the starring role in Fancy Meeting You Again, as well as appearances in Absence of a Cello, the political drama The Best Man, and the comedy Diary of a Scoundrel. She also succeeded her friend Josephine Hull in three productions: Arsenic and Old Lace, Harvey, and The Solid Gold Cadillac.

McDevitt's radio work included portraying the title character's mother in Keeping up with Rosemary and the role of Jane in This Life Is Mine. Her television career began with the DuMont drama A Woman to Remember in 1949, in which she played Bessie Thatcher. She went on to play Mom Peepers in the 1950s sitcom Mister Peepers and Grandma Hanks on the CBS series Pistols 'n' Petticoats. She held a regular role on The Everly Brothers Show and appeared on the NBC soap opera Bright Promise from September 1969 to June 1970. Later, she played Emily Cowles on Kolchak: The Night Stalker, starring Darren McGavin. She also carried a recurring role on All in the Family during 1974 and 1975, and guest starred in numerous series including The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, The Andy Griffith Show, Bewitched, Gunsmoke, Little House on the Prairie, Mannix, Marcus Welby M.D., I Dream of Jeannie, Here's Lucy, That Girl, Mayberry R.F.D., Room 222, The Ghost & Mrs. Muir, The Courtship of Eddie's Father, Phyllis, The Streets of San Francisco, Naked City, Suspense, Westinghouse Studio One, The United States Steel Hour, Cosmopolitan Theatre, Decoy, Love American Style, Nanny and the Professor, and The Debbie Reynolds Show.

McDevitt made her film debut in The Guy Who Came Back in 1951. Subsequent film roles included Miss Inch, the camp counselor, in The Parent Trap, and Mrs. MacGruder, the pet store saleslady, in Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds. Her additional film credits included Boys' Night Out, Dear Heart, The Shakiest Gun in the West, Angel in My Pocket, The Love God?, Change of Habit, The War Between Men and Women, and Mixed Company.

McDevitt died at the age of 80 in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, and is interred at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery.