death_date death_place birth_place birth_date yearsactive image article_title name occupation
17 november 1982 new york city , new york , u.s. trenton , new jersey , u.s. 17 may 1896 1913 & ndash ; 1965 ruth donnelly.jpg ruth donnelly
 ruth donnelly actress
ruth donnelly

ruth donnelly -lrb- may 17 , 1896 -- november 17 , 1982 -rrb- was an american stage and film actress .
according to a 1915 article in `` the day book '' , the young donnelly was forced to leave sacred heart convert in new jersey because she repeatedly broke into laughter at inappropriate times .
she began her stage career at the age of 17 in 1913 in `` the quaker girl '' .
`` the day book '' article also states that actress rose stahl took the teen under her wing and , after giving her training and a year 's experience in the chorus , placed the then 18-year-old in the play `` maggie pepper '' .
her broadway debut brought her to the attention of george m. cohan , who proceeded to cast her in numerous comic-relief roles in such musicals as `` going up '' -lrb- 1917 -rrb- .
though she made her first film appearance in 1913 , her hollywood career began in earnest in 1931 and lasted until 1957 .
in her films she often played the wife of guy kibbee -lrb- `` footlight parade '' , `` wonder bar '' , `` mr. smith goes to washington '' -rrb- .
among her roles was the part of sister michael in `` the bells of st. mary 's '' , starring bing crosby and ingrid bergman .
her uncle , frederick w. donnelly , was the longtime mayor of trenton , new jersey .
