Thelma Ritter  Thelma Ritter (February 14, 1902 – February 5, 1969) was an American actress, best known for her comedic roles as working-class characters and her strong New York accent. She was the recipient of a Tony Award and six nominations for Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, more than any other actress in the category. Ritter was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1902, the first child of Charles and Lucy Ritter, both natives of the United States. According to the New York State Census of 1905, her father at that time was a bookkeeper. Ritter's acting career began as a teenager, when she appeared in high-school plays and stock companies. She later received formal training at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Although she subsequently struggled to establish a stage career, Ritter decided to take a hiatus from acting to raise her two children—Monica and Joe—by her husband Joseph Moran (whom she married in 1927), who was also an actor, but changed professions in the mid-1930s, opting to become an agent and then an advertising executive. Ritter did stock theater and radio shows early in her career. Her Broadway credits include "UTBU" (1965), "New Girl in Town" (1956), "In Times Square" (1931), and "The Shelf" (1926). Ritter's first movie role was in "Miracle on 34th Street" (1947). She made a memorable impression in a brief uncredited part, as a frustrated mother unable to find the toy that Kris Kringle has promised her son. Her third role, in writer-director Joseph L. Mankiewicz's "A Letter to Three Wives" (1949), left a mark, although Ritter was again uncredited. Mankiewicz kept Ritter in mind, and cast her as Birdie in "All About Eve" (1950), which earned her an Oscar nomination. A second nomination followed for her work in Mitchell Leisen's' ensemble screwball comedy "The Mating Season" (1951) starring Gene Tierney and John Lund. She enjoyed steady film work for the next dozen years. She appeared in many of the episodic drama TV series of the 1950s, such as "Alfred Hitchcock Presents", "General Electric Theater", and "The United States Steel Hour". Other film roles were as James Stewart's nurse in "Rear Window" (1954) and as Doris Day's maid in "Pillow Talk" (1959).