Ruta Lee was born on May 30, 1935, in Montreal, Quebec, the only child of Lithuanian Roman Catholic immigrants.[1][2] Her father was a tailor and her mother a homemaker.[3]
In addition to films, Lee has appeared in dozens of guest-starring roles on television. For a number of years, she seemed to be everywhere on the small screen. From 1957 to 1959, she was cast in different roles in eight episodes of the CBS crime drama series The Lineup, and also played the leading lady in three episodes of Maverick: "The Comstock Conspiracy" (1957) with James Garner, "The Plunder of Paradise" (1958), and "Betrayal" (1959) with Jack Kelly. In 1959 and 1960, she was cast in four episodes of John Bromfield's syndicated crime drama U.S. Marshal.
She appeared as Ellen Barton in the 1960 episode "Grant of Land" of the ABCWestern series, The Rebel, starring Nick Adams. She also made five guest appearances on the CBS courtroom drama series Perry Mason between 1958 and 1965, including the roles of murderer Connie Cooper in "The Case of the Screaming Woman" (1958), defendant Millie Crest in "The Case of the Foot-Loose Doll" (1959), as Vita Culver in "The Case of the Prudent Prosecutor" (1960), Vivian Cosgrave in the episode "The Case of the Libelous Locket" (1963), and as Irene Prentice in "The Case of the Gambling Lady" (1965).
Also in 1965, she was cast as a movie star named Gloria Morgan in the episode "Gomer Dates a Movie Star" on the sitcom Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.. In 1963, she was cast in CBS's The Twilight Zone in the episode "A Short Drink from a Certain Fountain" as a woman whose elderly husband undergoes a scientific experiment and then ages "backward".
Lee also began appearing regularly on game shows such as Hollywood Squares, You Don't Say, and Match Game. In the early 1970s, Lee continued to perform in both film and television roles on Love, American Style and The Mod Squad, and had a role in the film The Doomsday Machine (1972). By 1974, Lee had grown frustrated by an increasing lack of roles, and took a job co-hosting the daytime game show High Rollers.[4] She remained with the show until 1976.
During the 1980s, she lent her voice to episodes of The Flintstone Comedy Show and The Smurfs, in addition to guest roles on CHiPs, Fantasy Island, The Love Boat, and Charles in Charge. Lee also performed extensively in the mid-1980s on stage, including the title character in the musical Peter Pan.[6]
From 1988 to 1989, Lee played a recurring role on the CBS sitcom Coming of Age. In 1989, she played the role of Sally Powers in the television movie Sweet Bird of Youth with Elizabeth Taylor. In the 1990s, Lee continued to appear in episodic television, most notably on the sitcom Roseanne. Lee appeared as the girlfriend of Bev Harris (Estelle Parsons), whose character disclosed she was gay.[7]
She played the wife of comedian Jerry Lewis in the British comedy-drama Funny Bones (1995), in which they play the parents of the Oliver Platt's character. In 2002, Lee was presented with one of the Golden Boot Awards for her work in Western television and cinema.
In 1976, Lee married Texas restaurant executive Webster B. "Webb" Lowe Jr.[4] They divided their time between their homes in Hollywood, Palm Springs, Fort Worth, and Mexico.[11] Webb died July 1, 2020. They had no children. Lee describes her political views as "conservative"[12] and she appeared at the 1972 Republican National Convention.[13] On August 24, 2013, Lee was inducted into the National Lithuanian American Hall of Fame.[14][15]
In February 2019, Lee had her Lithuanian citizenship restored.[16][17]
Off-camera
In 1964, Lee called then-Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, asking him to pardon her grandmother Ludvise Kamandulis,[4] who had been in an internment camp in Siberia since World War II.[5] The pardon was granted, and Lee's grandmother came to live with her in California in 1964.[4] Kamandulis died two years later.[18] Lee again rescued a relative from the former Soviet Union when she secured custody of her 18-year-old cousin, Maryte Kaseta, from Lithuania in 1987.[19]
Lee has been involved with the charitable organization The Thalians for over 50 years.[4] In addition to raising money and providing services for troubled youth and mental-health organizations, Lee, who is also the board chairman, co-produced the annual Ball of the Thalians with the late Debbie Reynolds throughout these five decades.[20] In 2011, after 55 years of involvement with The Thalians, she stepped down and is now a member emerita.
