Ruth Kobart

Ruth Kobart
Born	Ruth Maxine Kahn Des Moines, Iowa, U.S.
Died	December 14, 2002(2002-12-14) (aged 78) San Francisco, California, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Actress, singer

Ruth Kobart (April 24, 1924 — December 14, 2002) was an American performer, whose six-decade career encompassed opera, Broadway musical theatre, regional theatre, films, and television.

Life and career

Born as Ruth Maxine Kahn in Des Moines, Iowa, Kobart studied opera at the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago and made her professional debut as the Witch in an off-Broadway production of Engelbert Humperdinck's Hänsel und Gretel.

She frequently toured with the NBC Opera Theatre (NBCOT) and the New York City Opera (NYCO). With the NBCOT she notably created the role of Agata in the world premiere of Gian Carlo Menotti's Maria Golovin at the Expo '58 in Brussels on August 20, 1958; later the same year she portrayed the role on Broadway. For the NBC, she also created the role of Arina in the premiere of Bohuslav Martinů's The Marriage. She played Madame Pace in the world premiere of Hugo Weisgall's Six Characters in Search of an Author at the NYCO in 1959. Regarding her role as Madame Pernelle in Tartuffe at the Geary Theater, she wrote: "I had a big voice and a big body ... I came out on stage and shouted my head off, and believe it or not, I found my way."

In 1953, Kobart made her Broadway debut in the chorus of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Pipe Dream. She understudied leading lady Helen Traubel and played her role twenty times times during the show's run. Additional Broadway credits included How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, A Flea in Her Ear, and Three Sisters. She was nominated for the 1963 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for Forum.

Kobart's association with San Francisco's American Conservatory Theater began with its first season in 1967 and lasted through 1994. Her appearances with them included The House of Bernarda Alba, Sunday in the Park with George, Arsenic and Old Lace, A Little Night Music and Home.

In the 1970s she took an extended leave from the company to portray Nurse Ratched in the 18-month-long San Francisco production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Her national tour credits included Forty Carats, The Last of the Red Hot Lovers, and Annie, where her portrayal of Miss Hannigan there, and in a long Chicago run, was considered one of the musicals best interpreters of that classic role after succeeding the original Dorothy Loudon.

Films and television

On screen she appeared in the feature film adaptation of How to Succeed, as well as Petulia, Dirty Harry, The Hindenburg, and Sister Act and Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit. Her television credits, included a regular role on Bob (which starred Bob Newhart) and guest appearances on CHiPs, Archie Bunker's Place, St. Elsewhere, Matt Houston, Remington Steele, Midnight Caller, and Murphy Brown. One of her more memorable roles was portraying the hijacked school bus driver in Dirty Harry.

Death

Kobart died of pancreatic cancer at her home in San Francisco, California, aged 78, seven months after being diagnosed with the illness. She was survived by her brother, Howard S. Kahn, and various nephews and nieces.

External links

• Ruth Kobart at the Internet Broadway Database
• Ruth Kobart at IMDb
• Obituary
• Ruth Kobart ACT profile
• Notice of Kobart's death