Ruth Roman was born in Lynn, Massachusetts, the youngest of three daughters of Lithuanian-Jewish parents, Mary Pauline . She also toured nationally with theatrical productions of "Plaza Suite", "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" and "Two for the Seesaw". For the actress, who was said to disdain the trimmings of Hollywood stardom, real-life drama came when she and her son counted among the 760 survivors of the sinking of the luxury cruise liner 'Andrea Doria' in 1956. In September 1967, she jumped from her burning car, but still managed to make her scheduled performance in "Beekman Place" at the Ivanhoe Theatre. Ruth died in September 1999 at her home in Laguna Beach, aged 75.
She, her son Richard "Dickie" Hall, and Betsy Drake were first-class passengers aboard the Andrea Doria when the ship collided with the Stockholm and sank in 1956. They were among almost 1,700 saved in the sinking. Roman and her son were separated during the rescue. She arrived in New York first and waited for him, surrounded by news photographers and reporters. She was on the pier to greet him when the rescue ship arrived in New York the next day.
Dated Ronald Reagan
Died in her sleep.
Her son Richard was born in November, 1952.
In Italy, most of her films were dubbed by either Rosetta Calavetta or Lydia Simoneschi. Andreina Pagnani and Dhia Cristiani , most notably in Alfred Hitchcock s Strangers on a Train , also lent their voice to Roman.
During the late 1940s, Roman lived with Linda Christian and five other aspiring actresses in a residence they called "The House of Seven Garbos".
