Ruth Emilissa (Robison) Swigart (1905 - 1989)

Born 1905 in Pittsburgh, Allegheny, Pennsylvania, United States

Ancestors

Wife of William S. Bailey — married 18 Oct 1927 in Manhattan, New York County, New York, United States

Died 20 Sep 1989 at about age 84 in Mount Lookout, Cincinnati, Hamilton, Ohio, United States

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Biography

Ruth was born in 1905. She is the daughter of Lester Robison and Mira Greenough.

Newspapers

“The Cincinnati Enquirer”, (Cincinnati, Ohio), 08 Oct 1989, page 131

Ruth Robison Swigart, actress

She played on TV and stage, inspired others at SCPA

BY JANE PRENDERGAST

The Cincinnati Enquirer

An actress in radio, stage and screen for nearly half a century, Ruth Robison Swigart embodied a lifelong love for the theater.

A star in the early 1950s of Rod Serling's drama The Storm on WKRC-TV, she continued her love fo acting by passing her expertise on to young aspiring actresses at Cincinnati's School for the Creative and Performing Arts (SCPA), where she was a member of the Friends of SCPA's board of trustees. She rarely missed a performance, even in her later years.

“Her own personal career was such an asset to our students," said Jack Louiso, the school's artistic director. "She brought her love of the theater and her expertise into their lives."

Mrs. Swigart died Wednesday in her Mount Lookout home. She was 84 and had suffered from cancer.

Her final performance was a Serling tribute on WKRC's 40th anniversary show April 4. She and two other former Storm performers, Cincinnatians Ed Dundon and Charlie Eckerle, read an old script for the special. Because she was ill, it was filmed at her house.

"In my book, she was a very fine actress," said Eckerle, who also knew her and Dundon through Stage Inc., a former Cincinnati civic theater group.

A native of Pittsburgh, Mrs. Swigart graduated from Vassar with a bachelor's degree in music. Aside from some social work and substitute teaching in Chicago in the mid-1930s, she spent the rest of her professional life associated with the theater. She was president and manager of the E&J Swigart Co. in Cincinnati, a 107-year- old family business that sells jewelry parts, from 1984 to 1987.

She acted in works at the Cleveland Playhouse, the Luther Greene Stock Co., Chicago, and from 1936 to 1942, she was with Radio Chicago. While living in Washington, D.C., between 1942 and 1947, she played the lead in Jane's Grief, a soap opera sponsored by Wonder Bread. She also did commercials for Washington Reports on Rationing.

She and her second husband, Eugene, moved to Cincinnati in 1947, and she did television until 1955, including Death Valley Daisy and Leave it to Kathy. In 1955, she organized the Cherry County Playhouse in Traverse City, Mich. There, she played opposite Conrad Nagel, Miriam Hopkins and Zasu Pitts, among others. She sold the theater to Pat Paulsen in 1975.

Mrs. Swigart is survived by a son, Rob, of California; and two granddaughters.

No funeral services will be held. Friends will visit at her home Friday afternoon.

Memorial contributions can be made to the Ruth Robison Swigart Scholarship Fund for the School for the Creative and Performing Arts, 1310 Sycamore St., Cincinnati, 45210.

“The Cincinnati Enquirer”, (Cincinnati, Ohio), 08 Oct 1989, page 131

HEIRS AUCTION COMING UP

SAT, OCT 21ST, 10AM

Spring Hill Ln, Mt Lookout

18c L. XV bombe chest, cherry tall clock, many inlay desks 4 tables, linen press, 7pc unusual bdrm set, breakfront, book case, 17pc dng set, much marbletop & wicker, oriental rugs, 100’s of books, autographed photos of movie stars, T.C. Lindsay, Icart Ayrton, Orloff ptngs & prints, over 50 ptngs by Myra Greenough Robison, student & colleague of W. M. Chase in 1890s, china, glass, silver from former actress Ruth Bailey Swigart’s estate.

M.D.M. Mallette & Assoc. Auctioneers 984-0400

Sources

Census

United States Census, 1920, Ruth Robison in household of Lester Robison, Cleveland Ward 19, Cuyahoga, Ohio, United States.

Marriage

New York, New York City Marriage Records, 1829-1940, William S. Bailey and Ruth Emilina Robison, 18 Oct 1927; citing Marriage, Manhattan, New York, New York, United States.

Travel

United States Passport Applications, 1795-1925, Ruth Emilissa Robison, 1921.