A Tireless Classic Hollywood Star Turns 90 & The Secret To A Perfect Speech with Ruta Lee and Rick Mitchell

A Golden Age Hollywood star in every sense, at just 16 Ruta Lee was  cast in the all-time great movie musical, 'Seven Brides for Seven Brothers', subsequently becoming the designated smoldering beauty, spicy sexpot and fiery vixen in  iconic TV Westerns, mysteries and dramas of  the '50s and '60s. 

She is celebrating her 90th birthday in classic Ruta fashion: with a one-woman show, fabulously titled 'Consider Your Ass Kissed! This week she brings her legendary inside showbiz lore and boundless energy to the Media Path studio!

Ruta's story begins with her Lithuanian background and parents who escaped the oppression of the Communist regime to Montreal, Quebec, where Ruta was born, singing and dancing. Her mother reached out to a Lithuanian priest in Los Angeles and thus began the plan to head for Hollywood.

Ruta’s Hollywood High training prepared her to land roles on The George Burns & Gracie Allen Show, The Roy Rogers Show and then iconic films including Funny Face with Fred Astaire and Audrey Hepburn and Sergeants Three with The Rat Pack! 

Ruta recounts her heroic efforts to extract her Grandmother from a Siberian internment camp. She took her request straight to Khrushchev! She tells us about her work with The Thalians, an organization founded by Hollywood actors to help children receive mental health care. Also, what is Audrey Hepburn's keep-slim advice? And what job yielded Ruta the most lucrative income? 

And with public speaking being our number one fear, Rick Mitchell joins us to talk about his new book, one of the most crucial reference guides of all time, 'How to Write a Funny Speech for a Wedding, Bar Mitzvah, Graduation & Every Other Event You Didn't Want to Go to in the First Place'!

In recommendations-- 

Weezy: "Reality Winner Noir" - Reality (2023) on Max and Winner (2024) on Hulu

Fritz: 'Nickel Boys' now streaming on Prime

Path Points of Interest:

Ruta Lee

Consider Your Ass Kissed by Ruta Lee

Ruta Lee in
“CONSIDER YOUR ASS KISSED”
At The Purple Room in Palm Springs, Saturday & Sunday, March 29th and 30th

at The El Portal Theatre, Friday, May 30th, 2025

Ruta Lee on Wikipedia

Ruta Lee on Facebook

The Thalians

Rick Mitchell

How to Write a Funny Speech Buy Links

Nickel Boys (2024)

Reality (2023) on Max

Winner (2024) on Hulu

Media Path Podcast