Ruth Roman, '50s film actress
LAGUNA BEACH, Calif. — Ruth Roman, who starred opposite Gary Cooper and Errol Flynn and survived the Andrea Doria wreck at sea, died in her sleep Thursday. She was 75. In 1956, she and her 3-year-old son were returning from Italy aboard the luxury passenger liner Andrea Doria when it was struck by another ship. More than fifty people died and 760 survived after the ship went down. The Boston-born actress got her start in community plays at age 9. She attended drama school and later moved to Hollywood. Roman appeared in some minor films before her big break in Stanley Kramer's 1949 “Champion,” which featured Kirk Douglas as an unscrupulous boxer. Following the film, Warner Bros. offered Roman a contract and she starred in nine films in less than two years opposite Cooper, Flynn and James Stewart. Roman also appeared in “Beyond the Forest” with Bette Davis, “Three Secrets” with Patricia Neal and “Mara Maru” with Flynn. Roman appeared in more than 30 movies, most of them in the 1950s, and a number of television shows in the 1960s and 1970s.
— Kathleen
