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==Background==
==Background==
Gam was born '''Rita Eleanore MacKay''' in [[Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania]], the daughter of Belle (nėe Fately), who was born in [[Romania]], and Milton A. MacKay, who was born in [[Alsace-Lorraine]], to parents from Romania. She took on the surname of her stepfather, Russian-born Benjamin Gam.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.ca/books?id=kES3iselUHAC&q=%22Rita+Gam+was+born+in+Pittsburgh%22&dq=%22Rita+Gam+was+born+in+Pittsburgh%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiZ_rLGx9XLAhVFk4MKHc8_BJYQ6AEIFzAA |title=The Bridesmaids: Grace Kelly and Six Intimate Friends |author=Judith Balaban Quine |website=Books.google.ca |date= |accessdate=2016-06-02}}</ref><ref>[https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XCCC-RBB ]{{dead link|date=June 2016}}</ref><ref>[https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KQBL-R7P ]{{dead link|date=June 2016}}</ref><ref>[https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2WKM-43G ]{{dead link|date=June 2016}}</ref> Her family was Jewish.<ref>{{cite web|last=Bloom |first=Nate |url=http://www.americanisraelite.com/jews_in_the_newz/article_a7933058-fd52-11e5-997a-7b3544d58190.html |title=Jewz in the Newz - American Israelite: Jews In The Newz |website=American Israelite |date=2016-04-08 |accessdate=2016-06-02}}</ref> Her father died in 1931. Her mother subsequently remarried, and Rita took the surname of her stepfather, Benjamin J. Gam, who was a Russian Jewish immigrant.
Gam was born '''Rita Eleanore MacKay''' in [[Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania]], the daughter of Belle (nėe Fately), who was born in [[Romania]], and Milton A. MacKay, who was born in [[Alsace-Lorraine]], to parents from Romania. She took on the surname of her stepfather, Russian-born Benjamin Gam.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.ca/books?id=kES3iselUHAC&q=%22Rita+Gam+was+born+in+Pittsburgh%22&dq=%22Rita+Gam+was+born+in+Pittsburgh%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiZ_rLGx9XLAhVFk4MKHc8_BJYQ6AEIFzAA |title=The Bridesmaids: Grace Kelly and Six Intimate Friends |author=Judith Balaban Quine |website=Books.google.ca |date= |accessdate=2016-06-02}}</ref><ref>https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XCCC-RBB |= 2016}}</ref><ref>https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KQBL-R7P |= 2016}}</ref><ref>https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2WKM-43G |= 2016}}</ref> Her family was Jewish.<ref>{{cite web|last=Bloom |first=Nate |url=http://www.americanisraelite.com/jews_in_the_newz/article_a7933058-fd52-11e5-997a-7b3544d58190.html |title=Jewz in the Newz - American Israelite: Jews In The Newz |website=American Israelite |date=2016-04-08 |accessdate=2016-06-02}}</ref> Her father died in 1931. Her mother subsequently remarried, and Rita took the surname of her stepfather, Benjamin J. Gam, who was a Russian Jewish immigrant.


==Career==
==Career==

Revision as of 02:09, 3 June 2016

Rita Gam
Gam in 1969
Born
Rita Eleanore MacKay

(1927-04-02)April 2, 1927
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, US
DiedMarch 22, 2016(2016-03-22) (aged 88)
Los Angeles
Cause of deathRespiratory failure
OccupationActress
Years active1950–1997
Spouses
​
​
(m. 1949; div. 1954)​
Thomas Guinzburg
​
​
(m. 1956; div. 1963)​
ChildrenTwo

Rita Gam (April 2, 1927 – March 22, 2016) was an American film and television actress and documentary filmmaker. She was nominated for a Golden Globe and won the Silver Bear for Best Actress.

Background

Gam was born Rita Eleanore MacKay in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Belle (nėe Fately), who was born in Romania, and Milton A. MacKay, who was born in Alsace-Lorraine, to parents from Romania. She took on the surname of her stepfather, Russian-born Benjamin Gam.[1][2][3][4] Her family was Jewish.[5] Her father died in 1931. Her mother subsequently remarried, and Rita took the surname of her stepfather, Benjamin J. Gam, who was a Russian Jewish immigrant.

Career

Gam's acting career began on Broadway and in television, after which she moved on to films. She appeared first in the 1952 film noir The Thief, which starred Ray Milland. In October 1952, she signed a long-term MGM contract.[6] Another notable role was Herodias in 1961's King of Kings.

She shared the Silver Bear for Best Actress award with Viveca Lindfors at the 1962 Berlin Film Festival, for their performances in Tad Danielewski's No Exit.[7]

In 1963, Gam was a leading member of The Minnesota Theatre Company in the opening season of The Tyrone Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis.[citation needed] Gam appeared in a few more American films before working in Europe. She returned to the U.S. to appear in small parts in films, including Klute in 1971, before taking up documentary film making.[citation needed]

In 2003, she appeared in the rotating cast of the Off-Broadway stage reading of Wit & Wisdom.[8] In 2004, she appeared in one of a series of ads for the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Personal life and death

Gam's first husband was director Sidney Lumet. The marriage ended in divorce, and Lumet married socialite Gloria Vanderbilt. In 1956 she married publisher Thomas Guinzburg. This marriage also ended in divorce.[9] She was a bridesmaid at the wedding of her close friend, Grace Kelly, to Prince Rainier in Monaco.[10]

Gam died on March 22, 2016 at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles from respiratory failure, aged 88.[11]

Selected filmography

References

  1. ^ Judith Balaban Quine. "The Bridesmaids: Grace Kelly and Six Intimate Friends". Books.google.ca. Retrieved June 2, 2016.
  2. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on April 3, 2016. Retrieved March 23, 2016. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on April 3, 2016. Retrieved March 23, 2016. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on April 3, 2016. Retrieved March 23, 2016. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. ^ Bloom, Nate (April 8, 2016). "Jewz in the Newz - American Israelite: Jews In The Newz". American Israelite. Retrieved June 2, 2016.
  6. ^ "Rita Gam". Glamourgirlsofthesilverscreen.com. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
  7. ^ "Berlinale 1962: Prize Winners". Berlinale.de. Retrieved February 7, 2010.
  8. ^ "Wit & Wisdom - Off-Broadway | Tickets, Reviews, Info and More". Theatermania.com. Retrieved June 2, 2016.
  9. ^ Staff. "RITA GAM REMARRIED; Film Actress Is Wed Here to Thomas H. Guinzburg", The New York Times, March 24, 1956; accessed September 13, 2010.
  10. ^ LIFE Magazine, May 5, 1952, p. 144
  11. ^ "Rita Gam Dead: Glamorous Actress Was 88". Hollywood Reporter. March 22, 2016. Retrieved June 2, 2016.
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