# Ruth Foster

Ruth E. Foster (January 29, 1920 – May 12, 2012) was an American actress who portrayed Walnut Grove's postmaster, also named Foster, for several seasons on the NBC TV series Little House on the Prairie (1974–1983).

## Life and career

Foster was born on January 29, 1920, in Cincinnati, Ohio, as Ruth Emma Foerstel, the first child of George and Helen Wilhelmy Foerstel. She first broke into show business at the age of 12 when the Shubert Theater sponsored a Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dance contest. Foster competed and won first place. This exposure lead to a job as a dancer with a traveling dance group. Soon, she was offered a job as a dancer for the Latin Quarter Show. After several years of dancing, Foster went on to become an actress.
She traveled with vaudeville dance troupes in the early 1930s. Foster was on Ben Casey as Miss Fleming from 1962 to 1964. She was in Dimension 5 and Cyborg 2087 that were going to be released on television as television films, instead were theatrically released across the United States. Foster is most remembered as Melinda Foster, the Post office manager, on Little House on the Prairie for 61 episodes from 1974 to 1983. She was also a film editor, video tape editor and an associate producer. In 1984, Foster reprised her role as Melinda Foster in the Made-for-TV-Movies Little House: Bless All the Dear Children and Little House: The Last Farewell. Foster danced professionally in the Palm Springs and Branson Follies until the age of 85.

## Personal life and death

Foster married comedian Bobby Pinkus, a.k.a. Peter J. Accardy, in 1939. Accardy died on September 16, 1986. Foster died of natural causes in Del Mar, California at the age of 92. Several Little House cast-mates attended her funeral services.

## Filmography
### Acting
#### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1966 | Dimension 5 | Grumpy Man's Wife | Science fiction/espionage or spy-fi film written by Arthur C. Pierce and directed by Franklin Adreon. |
| 1966 | Cyborg 2087 | Citizen in Crowd | Science fiction film directed by Franklin Adreon and written by Arthur C. Pierce. |

#### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1954 | The Spike Jones Show | Pickpocket | Episode: "Panel Shows" (S 1:Ep 2) |
| 1962–64 | Ben Casey | Miss Fleming | Recurring |
| 1969 | Bonanza | Woman on Street | Episode: "A Darker Shadow" (S 11:Ep 10) |
| 1971 | Medical Center | Nurse | Episode: "Web of Darkness" (S 2:Ep 17) |
| 1974 | Little House on the Prairie | Aunt Ruby | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 1974–83 | Little House on the Prairie | Melinda Foster | Recurring |
| 1984 | Little House: Bless All the Dear Children | Melinda Foster | Made-for-TV-Movie directed by Victor French & written by Chris Abbott-Fish and based on the Little House series of books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. |
| 1984 | Little House: The Last Farewell | Melinda Foster | Made-for-TV-Movie written & directed by Michael Landon and based on the Little House series of books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. |
| 1989 | Highway to Heaven | Woman #1 | Episode: "The Reunion" (S 5:Ep 5) |

### Producing
#### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1987 | Fatal Confession: A Father Dowling Mystery | Associate producer | Made-for-TV-Movie directed by Christopher Hibler. |

### Editing
#### Documentaries

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1987 | Paul Simon: Graceland – The African Concert | Film editor | Documentary concert given in Zimbabwe, Africa, by singer Paul Simon, featuring such South African musicians Miriam Makeba and Hugh Masakela directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg. |
| 1996 | The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus | Film editor | Documentary of a December 11, 1968 event organized by the Rolling Stones. |

#### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1991 | The Object of Beauty | Film editor | Comedy crime–drama film directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg. |
| 1995 | Frankie Starlight | Film editor | Drama–romantic war film directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg with a screenplay written by Ronan O'Leary and Chet Raymo & based on the internationally best-selling novel The Dork of Cork by Raymo. |

#### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1983 | The Littlest Hobo | Video tape editor | Episode: "Trucker" (S 5:Ep 5) |
| 1985 | American Playhouse | Film editor | Episode: "Breakfast with Les and Bess" (S 4:Ep 12) |
| 1985 | Great Performances | Film editor | Episode: "Grown-Ups" (S 13–Episode aired 25 November 1985) |
| 1985 | Master Harold...and the Boys | Film editor | Made-for TV-Movie drama by Athol Fugard, adapted from his 1982 play of the same title, directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg. |
| 1985 | All the Way | Film editor | Made-for-TV-Movie directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg. |
| 1986–87 | Matlock | Film editor | 6 episodes |
| 1987 | Fatal Confession: A Father Dowling Mystery | Film editor | Credited as Ruth A. Foster. Made-for-TV-Movie directed by Christopher Hibler. |
| 1987 | Jake and the Fatman | Film editor | Episodes: "Laura" (S 1:Ep 3) "Love for Sale" (S 1:Ep 5) "Love Me or Leave Me" (S 1:Ep 9) |
| 1988 | Tanner '88 | Film editor | Created & written by Garry Trudeau and directed by Robert Altman. |
| 1988 | Tidy Endings | Film editor | Made-for-TV-Movie directed by Gavin Millar. |
| 1988 | The Christmas Wife | Film editor | Made-for-TV-Movie directed by David Jones and written by Catherine Ann Jones. |
| 1988 | Betrayal of Silence | Film editor | Made-for-TV-Movie directed by Jeffrey Woolnough. |
| 1989 | Glory! Glory! | Film editor | Televangelism comedy made-for-TV-Movie directed by Lindsay Anderson. |