Charles “Buddy” Rogers and his father

Background by Claire Van Scoy

Lost and Found 15

Lillian Roth

Lillian Roth (Lillian Rutstein, 1910-1980) by Eugene Robert Richee, before a background by Claire Van Scoy.

The daughter of a stage mother, Lillian became the face of Educational Pictures when she was three; she made her Broadway début in 1917, and she had her first film part (as an extra) the following year. At seventeen she was back on Broadway as an ingenue in EARL CARROLL’S VANITIES, and she joined the ZIEGFELD MIDNIGHT FROLIC in 1929.

Roth was soon signed by Paramount Pictures; an early role, in Ernst Lubitsch’s THE LOVE PARADE (1929), shows off her endearing pert quality as well as a charming voice. (She is paired with Lupino Lane, another Ziegfeld alumnus.)

Troubles with alcohol, and marrying the wrong men, sabotaged her career; her autobiography formed the basis for Susan Hayward’s later star turn, I’LL CRY TOMORROW (1955). Still, Lillian Roth remained a draw on Broadway: she was elevated to star status (so above the title) during the Broadway run of I CAN GET IT FOR YOU WHOLESALE (1962), while Barbra Streisand (making her Broadway début) was listed below.

Ruth “Film” Taylor

Ruth “Film” Taylor (1905 or 1908-1984) by Eugene Robert Richee (1896-1972), before a background by Claire Van Scoy (1885-1968). 

Just as William “Stage” Boyd worked at the same time as William “Film” Boyd, there was a Ruth Taylor featured in the 1918 and 1919 ZIEGFELD FOLLIES, just a few years before there was a Ruth Taylor in films. They are easy to mix up, but the film Ruth Taylor was born in 1905 (or 1908), so just a child of ten or thirteen in 1918.

This 1931 New York Times headline refers to Ruth “Stage” Taylor: “FINANCIER IS SUED BY EX-FOLLIES GIRL; Ruth Taylor Asks $600,000 Damages From J.R. Harbeck for Breach of Promise. SHE GOT $200,000 IN GIFTS And He Paid Expenses of $50,000 a Year for Six Years, She Asserts, Awaiting His Divorce.”