Thelma Ruby

Thelma Ruby, also known as Thelma Ruby-Frye (born 23 March 1925), is a British actress. Born Thelma Wigoder, she grew up in an Orthodox Jewish family in Leeds. Her mother, Ruby, was an actress; her father, Louis, from Lithuania, was a dentist.

Early life and education
Ruby was born at Chapel Allerton in Leeds. She was educated at Leeds Girls' High School and, after evacuation with her mother to the United States during the Second World War, at Finch College in New York City.

Career
Returning to Britain in 1944, Ruby joined the Entertainments National Service Association and performed to British troops.

In 1958 she acted in Bernard Kops' play, The Hamlet of Stepney Green, at the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith in London, with Harold Lang, John Fraser, John Barrard and George Selway also in the cast. She also had a role in the British film Live Now, Pay Later in 1962. Her West End theatre roles included performing as Golde in Fiddler on the Roof alongside Topol in 1984.

In 1996 she appeared in ITV's Coronation Street as Lily Dempsey, a friend of Phyllis Pearce.

From 1980, she and her husband, Peter Frye, adapted and performed in the play Momma Golda about the life of Golda Meir, Israel's first and only woman Prime Minister. In 2018, at the age of 93, she performed extracts from Momma Golda in a one-woman show at the King's Head Theatre in London.

In 2017 she played Alice in the ITV sitcom Bad Move.

Personal life
Ruby, who lives in Wimbledon, London and is a member of Wimbledon Synagogue, was married to Canadian-born actor Peter Frye from 1970 until his death in 1991. She has a step-daughter from Peter Frye's first marriage.

Publications

 * Ruby-Frye, Thelma; Frye, Peter (1997) Double or Nothing: Two Lives in the Theatre. The Autobiography of Thelma Ruby and Peter Frye. Janus Publishing Company, 336 pp. ISBN 9781857562149