Mary Ellen Kay
{{Short description|American actress (1929–2017)}}
{{Use American English|date=June 2024}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Mary Ellen Kay
| image = Mary Ellen Kay in Government Agents vs Phantom Legion (1951).jpg
| caption = Mary Ellen Kay in Government Agents vs. Phantom Legion (1951)
| birth_name = Mary Ellen Keaggy
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1929|08|29|mf=yes}}
| birth_place = Boardman, Ohio, U.S.
| death_date = {{Death year and age|2017|1929}}
| death_place =
| occupation = Actress
| years_active = 1950–1966 (film)
| spouse = {{marriage|Tim Ruffalo|1963|1993|end=died}}
| children = 1
| relatives = Phil Keaggy (brother)
}}
Mary Ellen Ruffalo ({{née}} Keaggy, August 29, 1929 – 2017), better known as Mary Ellen Kay, was an American television and film actress.Drew p.109
Biography
Kay was born in Boardman, Ohio, on August 29, 1929.{{cite book |last1=Fitzgerald |first1=Michael G. |last2=Magers |first2=Boyd |title=Ladies of the Western: Interviews with Fifty-One More Actresses from the Silent Era to the Television Westerns of the 1950s and 1960s |date=2006 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=9781476607962 |pages=112–120 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2_RTCgAAQBAJ&dq=%22Mary+Ellen+Kay%22&pg=PA112 |access-date=23 October 2018 |language=en}} She was one of ten siblings and the sister of virtuoso guitarist Phil Keaggy. Her brother credits her with introducing him to the Christian faith.{{cite AV media |people=Phil Keaggy |date=27 March 2015 |title=Worship in Song and Guitar Artistry (concert) |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjFCnLjDPlA&t=80s |access-date=5 September 2019 |location=Wheaton College |publisher=Wheaton College}} Prior to her acting career, Kay was a singer, having started at the age of 6. She later toured with Gene Ryan's orchestra, and by the time she was 17, she had become a headliner in supper clubs. Her initial foray into acting occurred through Little Theatre productions in the Hollywood area.{{cite news |last1=Adams |first1=Marjory |title=Mary Ellen Kay in Show Business at Age 6; Now Young Film Veteran|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/24763081/mary_ellen_kay/ |work=The Boston Globe |date=June 15, 1954 |location=Massachusetts, Boston |page=38|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = October 22, 2018}} {{Open access}} Kay co-starred with Rex Allen in 19 western films.
In 1963, she married her second husband, Tim Ruffalo. They had one son, Bill, and remained together until his passing from a stroke in 1993.{{cite web |title=Mary Kay Ellen interview |url=http://www.westernclippings.com/interview/maryellenkay_interview.shtml |website=Western Clippings |access-date=27 January 2022}} In an interview dated August 14, 2018, Kay's brother, Phil Keaggy, revealed that Mary Ellen had passed away in 2017 at the age of 87.{{cite web |title=God Saved Me For A Purpose – Phil Keaggy Pt. 1 |url=https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cultivated-a-podcast-about-faith-and-work/id1165528200 |website=Cultivated podcast |access-date=27 January 2022 |pages=5:30 |date=14 August 2018}}
Selected filmography
{{div col}}
- Girls' School (1950)
- Streets of Ghost Town (1950)
- Tarzan and the Slave Girl (1950)
- Fort Dodge Stampede (1951)
- Desert of Lost Men (1951)
- Rodeo King and the Senorita (1951)
- Silver City Bonanza (1951)
- Government Agents vs. Phantom Legion (serial) (1951)
- Colorado Sundown (1952)
- The Last Musketeer (1952)
- Vice Squad (1953)
- Yukon Vengeance (1954)
- The Long Wait (1954)
- Thunder Pass (1954)
- Runaway Daughters (1956)
- Voodoo Woman (1957)
- Buffalo Gun (1961)
{{div col end}}
References
{{Reflist}}
Bibliography
- Bernard A. Drew. Motion Picture Series and Sequels: A Reference Guide. Routledge, 2013.
External links
{{Commons category}}
- {{IMDb name|0443135}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kay, Mary Ellen}}
Category:20th-century American actresses
Category:21st-century American women
Category:American film actresses
Category:People from Boardman, Ohio
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