Ruth McDevitt

 ( Actresses From Michigan ) 

Ruth Thane McDevitt ( Shoecraft; September 13, 1895 – May 27, 1976)

was an American film, stage, radio, and television actress.

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Career The daughter of John Barnabas Shoecraft and Elizabeth Imber Shoecraft, McDevitt was born in Coldwater, Michigan, but grew up in Ohio. After attending the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, she married Patrick McDevitt on December 10, 1928, and decided to devote her time to her marriage. After her husband's death in 1934, she returned to acting. She made her debut on Broadway in 1940, and succeeded her friend Josephine Hull in Arsenic and Old Lace, Harvey, and The Solid Gold Cadillac.

(2025). 9781581826586, Cumberland House. ISBN 9781581826586

McDevitt also acted on radio, portraying the title character's mother in Keeping up with Rosemary

(1999). 9780786445134, McFarland & Company, Inc.. ISBN 9780786445134

and Jane in This Life Is Mine.

On television, McDevitt portrayed Bessie Thatcher in the DuMont drama A Woman to Remember (1949). She played Mom Peepers in the 1950s sitcom Mister Peepers and Grandma Hanks on CBS's Pistols 'n' Petticoats. She was a regular on The Everly Brothers Show

and the NBC soap Bright Promise from September 1969 to June 1970. McDevitt also had a regular role as Emily Cowles on , starring Darren McGavin.

McDevitt guest starred in such series as Suspense, Cosmopolitan Theatre, Decoy, The United States Steel Hour, Westinghouse Studio One, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (2 episodes) , The Andy Griffith Show (2 episodes), The Debbie Reynolds Show, The Ghost & Mrs. Muir, Mayberry R.F.D., I Dream of Jeannie, Bewitched (3 episodes), The Courtship of Eddie's Father, Love, American Style, That Girl, Nanny and the Professor, Room 222, Mannix (2 episodes), Here's Lucy, Gunsmoke, Marcus Welby, M.D., Phyllis, Little House on the Prairie, The Streets of San Francisco, Naked City, and All in the Family (on which she had a recurring role during 1974 and 1975).

Her film debut was in The Guy Who Came Back (1951), followed by memorable roles in The Parent Trap (as camp counselor Miss Inch), Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds (as Mrs. MacGruder, the pet store saleslady), 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.

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Death McDevitt died, aged 80, in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California and is interred in Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery.

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Filmography

1951	The Guy Who Came Back	Grandma
1953	The Long, Long Trailer	Mrs. Vagabond	Uncredited
1961	The Parent Trap	Miss Inch
1962	Boys Night Out	Beulah Partridge
1963	The Birds	Mrs. MacGruder, bird shop employee
	Love Is a Ball	Mathilda, grandmother
1964	Dear Heart	Miss Tait
1968	The Shakiest Gun in the West	Mrs. Olive Heywood	with film's star Don Knotts
1969	Angel in My Pocket	Nadine	with Andy Griffith
	The Love God?	Miss Keezy	with film's star Don Knotts
	Change of Habit	Lily
1972	The War Between Men and Women	Old woman
1974	Mame	Cousin Fan
	Homebodies	Mrs. Loomis
	Mixed Company	Miss Bergquist

1949	A Woman to Remember	Bessie Thatcher	Unknown episodes
1958	Harbourmaster	Mrs. Markham	1 episode
	Omnibus	Ewa	1 episode
1961	Naked City	Mrs. Abbie Dobbins	1 episode
1962	The Nurses	Miss Dillion	1 episode
	Dr. Kildare	Adele Fromm, RN	1 episode
1963	The Alfred Hitchcock Hour	Mrs. Fister	Season 2 Episode 8: "The Cadaver"
1964	The Alfred Hitchcock Hour	Miss Emmy Wright	Season 2 Episode 24: "The Gentleman Caller"
	Route 66	Mrs. Harris	1 episode
	The Doctors	Mrs. McMurtrie	Unknown episodes
1966–1967	Pistols 'n' Petticoats	Grandma Effie Hanks	26 episodes
1967	Bewitched	The Queen Ticheba / Mrs Parsons / Aunt Millicent	3 episodes
1968	The Andy Griffith Show	Mrs. Pendleton	2 episodes
1969	The Debbie Reynolds Show	Mrs. Patterson	1 episode
	Bright Promise	Clara Ryan	September 29, 1969 to June 1970
1970	The Courtship of Eddie's Father	Miss Bristol	1 episode
	That Girl	Aunt Belle	1 episode
1971	The New Andy Griffith Show	Mrs. Gossage	3 episodes
	Nanny and the Professor	Mrs. Rumble	1 episode
	In Search of America	Grandma Rose	ABC Movie of the Week
1972	Room 222	Miss Brown/Vivian Higgins	2 episodes
1973	The New Dick Van Dyke Show	Mrs. Ferguson	1 episode
	The Girl Most Likely to...	Housemistress	made-for-TV movie
1974	Kojak	Mrs. Farenkrug	12 episodes
	Gunsmoke	Grandma Boggs	"The Tainted Badge" (S20E9)
	McCloud	Landlady	1 episode
1974	Little House on the prairie: If I Should Wake Before I Die	Maddie Elder	Season 1, Episode 6
1973-1975	All In the Family	Josephine "Jo" Nelson	3 episodes
1974–1975		Emily Cowles	12 episodes
1975	Phyllis	Miss McDermott	1 episode
1975	Ellery Queen	Zelda Van Dyke	1 episode
	Medical Center	Alice	1 episode

She also appeared in a The Streets of San Francisco episode "Winterkill" from season 2 on December 13, 1973.

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External links

• Ruth McDevitt at the University of Wisconsin's Actor Studio audio collection

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