Ann Rutherford
Therese Ann Rutherford was born on November 2, 1917, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Her parents were John and Lucille Rutherford. Her mother was a silent film actress, while her father was an operatic tenor. When Rutherford was an infant, her family relocated to San Francisco, California, and soon separated. Rutherford’s mother took Ann and her sister, Laurette, to Los Angeles, California.
As a child, Rutherford enjoyed stopping by radio studios to listen to voice actors during their performances. She indulged in this routine when she roller-skated home from middle school. Rutherford eventually applied for work at KFAC radio station with a faux acting history and soon secured a role in a radio drama. As the years went on, she attended Los Angeles High School.
By 1935, Rutherford began her film career, starring in Waterfront Lady (1935) for Mascot Pictures. She was also a regular in Western films at Republic (formerly Mascot Pictures) and soon left for a contract at MGM Studios. There, she appeared in A Christmas Carol (1938) and Pride and Prejudice (1940).
Rutherford was loaned out to Selznick International Pictures to appear as Careen O’Hara, Scarlett’s sister, in Gone with the Wind (1939).
Between 1937 and 1942, Rutherford appeared as Polly Benedict in MGM’s popular Andy Hardy series, starring Mickey Rooney. This role secured her screen popularity among moviegoing audiences. She also starred alongside Red Skelton in the mystery comedies Whistling in the Dark (1941), Whistling in Dixie (1942), and Whistling in Brooklyn (1943).
Throughout the 1940s, Rutherford left MGM and worked with a wide range of studios, appearing in Orchestra Wives (1942) and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947).
In 1942, Rutherford married David May II, grandson of the May Company department stores founder. They had one child—Gloria May—and divorced in 1953. In 1953, she married William Dozier, creator of the Batman television series. They remained together until his passing in 1991.
By 1950, she retired from films altogether. Though Rooney wanted her to return as Polly Benedict in the final Andy Hardy film, she nonetheless did not appear in it.
In 1952, she became a naturalized U.S. citizen.
In her later years, she made several television appearances and returned to MGM in 1972 to appear in They Online Kill Their Maters (1972)—a film shot on the former Andy Hardy set. Rutherford also replaced actress Penny Singleton on radio as the title character in the Blondie series.
In the 1990s, Rutherford was offered the role of the older Rose in Titanic (1997) but turned it down, with the role eventually going to Gloria Stuart.
Rutherford made personal appearances at events and locations tied to the legacy of Gone with the Wind.
She passed away on June 11, 2012, in her Beverly Hills, California, home due to heart ailments. Rutherford was cremated and her ashes were given to her daughter, who has since passed in 2013. The whereabouts of her final resting place is not known to the public.
In 1930, Rutherford lived at 624 ½ S. Westmoreland Ave., Los Angeles, California. This home has since been razed.
In 1940, she resided at 6129 6th St., Los Angeles, California. This home remains.
Rutherford lived at 826 Greenway Dr., Beverly Hills, California. The home stands.
Rutherford also has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, honoring her work in motion pictures and television. Her stars are located at 6834 and 6331 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles, California, respectively.
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–Annette Bochenek for Classic Movie Hub
Annette Bochenek pens our monthly Classic Movie Travels column. You can read all of Annette’s Classic Movie Travel articles here.
Annette Bochenek of Chicago, Illinois, is a PhD student at Dominican University and an independent scholar of Hollywood’s Golden Age. She manages the Hometowns to Hollywood blog, in which she writes about her trips exploring the legacies and hometowns of Golden Age stars. Annette also hosts the “Hometowns to Hollywood” film series throughout the Chicago area. She has been featured on Turner Classic Movies and is the president of TCM Backlot’s Chicago chapter. In addition to writing for Classic Movie Hub, she also writes for Silent Film Quarterly, Nostalgia Digest, and Chicago Art Deco SocietyMagazine.
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