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Thelma Ruby

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Thelma Ruby
Born
Thelma Wigoder

(1925-03-25) 25 March 1925 (age 99)
Chapel Allerton, Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, England
OccupationActress
Years active1944–present
Known forperforming in Fiddler on the Roof at London's West End theatre
SpousePeter Frye 1970-1991 (his death)

Thelma Ruby, also known as Thelma Ruby-Frye (born 23 March 1925), is a British actress. Born Thelma Wigoder, she grew up in an Orthodox Jewish family in Leeds. Her mother, Ruby, was an actress;[1] her father, Louis, from Lithuania, was a dentist.

Early life and education

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Ruby was born at Chapel Allerton in Leeds.[2] She was educated at Leeds Girls' High School[2][3] and, after evacuation with her mother to the United States during the Second World War, at Finch College in New York City.[1]

Career

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Returning to Britain in 1944, Ruby joined the Entertainments National Service Association and performed to British troops.[1]

In 1958 she acted in Bernard Kops' play, The Hamlet of Stepney Green, at the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith in London, with Harold Lang, John Fraser, John Barrard and George Selway also in the cast.[4] She also had a role in the British film Live Now, Pay Later in 1962.[5] Her West End theatre roles included performing as Golde in Fiddler on the Roof alongside Topol in 1984.[6][7]

In 1996 she appeared in ITV's Coronation Street as Lily Dempsey, a friend of Phyllis Pearce.[2]

From 1980, she and her husband, Peter Frye, adapted and performed in the play Momma Golda about the life of Golda Meir, Israel's first and only woman Prime Minister.[1][6] In 2018, at the age of 93, she performed extracts from Momma Golda in a one-woman show at the King's Head Theatre in London.[6]

In 2017 she played Alice in the ITV sitcom Bad Move.[8] In 2024, she appeared in Back to Black.[9]

Personal life

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Ruby, who lives in Wimbledon, London[10] and is a member of Wimbledon Synagogue,[7] was married to Canadian-born actor Peter Frye from 1970 until his death in 1991.[1] She has a step-daughter from Peter Frye's first marriage.[7]

In 2024, Ruby publicly criticised the expansion of the Wimbledon tennis championships which she lives nearby.[11] She said she would chain herself to tree in protest.[12]

Publications

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  • Ruby-Frye, Thelma; Frye, Peter (1997) Double or Nothing: Two Lives in the Theatre. The Autobiography of Thelma Ruby and Peter Frye. Janus Publishing Company, 336 pp. ISBN 9781857562149

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Miller, Sarah (29 September 2022). "At 97, Thelma Ruby is both a marvel and a rarity". Jewish News. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  2. ^ a b c "That's Entertainment as Thelma looks back on her career". The Grammar School at Leeds. 16 January 2014. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
  3. ^ "The Leeds-born actress who is making a comeback on ITV – at the age of 92". Yorkshire Evening Post. 15 September 2017. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  4. ^ Tusa, John (22 February 2018). Making a Noise: Getting It Right, Getting It Wrong in Life, Arts and Broadcasting. Orion. ISBN 9781474607100 – via Google Books.
  5. ^ "Live Now---Pay Later – Full Cast & Crew". TV Guide. 1962. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
  6. ^ a b c Wild, Stephi (1 October 2018). "Thelma Ruby Returns To The Stage At 93 Years Old For A Limited Run Of MOMMA GOLDA". Broadway World. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  7. ^ a b c North, Nic (16 June 2022). "Stage star Thelma Ruby lowers the curtain on her sparkling 78-year career with a solo show". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  8. ^ ""That's Entertainment" with Thelma Ruby". Spiro Ark. 2017. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  9. ^ "Thelma scores a part in new Amy Winehouse biopic". The Grammar School at Leeds. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  10. ^ Brown, Mick (18 June 2022). "Wimbledon at war: Inside the bitter battle between furious locals and Big Tennis". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  11. ^ Grace, Liam (16 October 2024). "99-year-old vows to chain herself to a tree to stop £200m Wimbledon expansion". Metro. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  12. ^ Smith, Kieran (17 October 2024). "99-year-old woman threatens protest against $250,000,000 Wimbledon expansion plans". The Tennis Gazette. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
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