Ruta Lee recalls standing in the rafters waiting to go on as Peter Pan when the mishap occurred. The young actors playing The Lost Boys neglected to catch Wendy after she was shot and the actress playing her hit the ground hard with a sickening thud.
“I’m not realizing my mic is on,” Ruta tells Closer. “So I say, ‘I’ll kill those little [buggers]! I’ll kill every last one of them!’ And it went out across a 10,000 seat house.”
As her 90th birthday approaches, Ruta remains as funny, vibrant and engaging as ever. The actress, dancer and author, best known for her roles in 1954’s Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and 1957’s Witness for the Prosecution, has big plans for her celebration.
“The only way to approach any birthday after 21 is to work,” she says. “I’ve chosen to do my show as a benefit for The Thalians.” It’s only fitting, as Ruta has been involved with the charity organization since its inception. “I’m very proud of the fact that some crazy actors got tired of being called hard-drinking asses that had nothing to contribute to society and said, let’s do something,” she says.
Ruta Lee Shares Some of Her Favorite Hollywood Stories Before Her Milestone Birthday
For many years, Ruta’s dear friend Debbie Reynolds was the cochair at the charity, which has raised over $50 million for mental health causes.
“Debbie was one of the really good people that God put on his earth,” Ruta says. “She was a great gal.” Not long after Debbie’s 2016 passing, one of the star’s assistants arrived at Ruta’s home with a gift of candlesticks she’d long admired. “It’s nice that I have something personal of Debbie’s in my life,” Ruta says. “There’s a warm glow that comes from them that reminds me of her whenever I light them.”
Between her charity work and her career, Ruta’s worked with everyone from Marlene Dietrich to Audrey Hepburn. “Audrey was too divine for words,” says Ruta, who adds that the famed actress shared her secret for staying thin.
“She said, ‘I order everything on the menu I want, but just take one bite,’” Ruta confides. “That was her magic trick.”
Ruta Lee Is Looking Forward to Her Benefit Show Appearance to Celebrate Turning 90
Ruta notes that actors used to be more eager to give back and never expected to be compensated for charity work. “Frank Sinatra paid for everything including his orchestra to come perform for us,” she says. “Now, it’s hard to get anybody to do anything for free anymore.”
That’s a shame, because The Thalians are currently raising money for a worthy cause, UCLA’s Operation Mend, which provides mental health services to veterans. “I have been blessed in many ways,” says Ruta, who will appear in a benefit show at El Portal Theatre in North Hollywood on her May 30 birthday, “but I think that some of it is because I worked so hard to help those who couldn’t help themselves.”
