Mary Ellen Kaye Profile

Mary Ellen Kaye

	(Mary Ellen Keaggy)
29 August 29	is born in Boardman, Ohio, of Swiss, Irish, and German descent, into a family with vaudeville and opera background. Her parents are James H. and Margueritte Keaggy.
?	does theater at the Glendale Center Theatre
?	is spotted by an agent while at the Bliss-Hayden School of Theatre
February 47	is chosen "Sweetheart of the 3rd Battalion" by the Armored Cavalry Regiment of the California National Guard
	gets the biggest break of her career as one of the guests on Eddie Cantor's "NBC Comedy Hour"
50	will remember Lex Barker, leading man in Tarzan and the Slave Girl, as very friendly and nice to everybody
13 January 51	is signed to a contract by Republic when her agent, William Morris, sends her to an audition
52	spends three days perfecting the popular running mount in The Last Musketeer
12 January 52	her contract with Republic ends
53	has a frightening riding incident while filming Vigilante Terror
June 54	marries a New York cosmetics executive. He has two sons, ages 11 and 6, from a former marriage.
	moves to New York to live with her husband in a home on 80 acres in the country. They rent a house in the Palisades to spend the winters.
c. late 54	does some test shots and costume fittings for Cecil B. DeMille’s upcoming The Ten Commandments
	while on her honeymoon in San Francisco, she turns down a call from Paramount for a new part in The Ten Commandments
12 November 55	brings her cat and her canary to an animal hospital because they are suffering from nervous exhaustion
?	her daughter, Molly, is born. She will become a Nashville singer.
c. 59	divorces after five years of marriage
?	moves from New York to Ohio to be near her mother
?	meets her future husband, Tim Ruffalo, shortly thereafter
?	moves from Ohio to Los Angeles after three months
30 April 63	marries Ruffalo in Las Vegas, Nevada
?	her son, Bill, is born
?	moves with her husband to Phoenix, Arizona
March 67	is reported busy as a housewife and mother of two youngsters. She lives with her family in Arizona.
25 April 93 ?	becomes the widow of Ruffalo, who dies at age 71 of a stroke following heart bypass surgery
?	hosts a Christian TV show in Phoenix for six years
?	is at the Sombrero Playhouse Dinner Theatre with Farley Granger in Ring Around the Moon
?	does commercials for Ford trucks
94	after 42 years at the Knoxville Film Festival, she again meets her director in The Last Musketeer, Bill Witney
99	is a guest at the Charlotte Film Fest
24 September 00	attends the Jivin’ Jacks And Jills Universal Reunion party in Studio City, California, along with Kathleen Hughes, Susanna Foster, Peggy Moran, Jane Adams, Kristine Miller, Mala Powers, and Donna Martell, among others
02	lives in Phoenix, Arizona
17	dies in Phoenix, Arizona

Sources: Giseld Dervishi, Ladies of the Western by Michael G. Fitzgerald and Boyd Magers, Classic Images, The Hubbard News, The Bridgeport Sunday Post, www.Ancestry.com
Recommended Books:
Links: Filmography An Interview with Mary Ellen Kay by Boyd Magers