Two Stars are Born
Ruth Gottlieb Moore
By Jackie Perrone jacper@juno.com

Ruth Gottlieb Moore holds a photograph from her appearance in The Little Foxes with Cynthia Gilliam.

Ruth Gottlieb Moore has been well known to Columbians through her appearances on local stages and broadcasts for more than 50 years. Two generations have enjoyed her presentations as The Story Lady (on radio) and on local stages.

But her autobiography, put together in the 1970s, barely mentions her award- winning theatrical performances. Instead, she tells of her life as a wife, mother, PTA president, stockbroker, broadcaster, speaker, business manager, and leader of hospital volunteers.

Ruth Moore was married to Ralph Gottlieb for 17 years until his untimely death in 1958. Their three children Jack, Joel, and Nancy, all reside in the Columbia area. In 1961, she married Raymond Moore, a professor of International Studies at USC.

She joined him in two memorable Fulbright assignments overseas when he taught American history and government in Pakistan and in Tasmania. Ruth enthusiastically studied the Pakistani language Urdu, and in both countries welcomed the locals into their home.

Her life in Columbia has included a broadcasting career, as The Story Lady.

"This came about during the time of the polio epidemic scare. I was asked by the City Recreation Department to tell a 15- minute story to be broadcast over a local radio station each day to help keep the children indoors and resting in the heat of the afternoon." (Because of the polio fears, outdoor gatherings for children such as swimming and city parks were discontinued.)

"When the danger subsided, the program was terminated. The station received hundreds of phone calls and letters to bring The Story Lady back! The program remained on the air for 17 years."

This woman of achievement, now in her 89th year, continues to seek out opportunity and adventure.

"I've appeared in probably 50 plays," she estimates. "Sometimes two or more in a year, some years none: Town Theater, Workshop Theater, Trustus, USC, Blowing Rock, N.C., Abbeville Playhouse.

"I have had the privilege of acting with some of South Carolina's finest performers, and in some of the great plays of our time. I enjoyed them all. In fact I would not appear in a play unless I respected the role. Naming a favorite? That would have to be Driving Miss Daisy . It's the quintessential drama, with everything: heart, history, racial significance, timeless appeal.

"Another favorite is a fairly recent one, Grace and Glory . It's a two- woman show about an older woman who is dying, and her influence on the younger one who comes to care for her."

Moore's S.C. acting career began with the lead in The Late Christopher Bean , in 1950. She played leading roles in many others. On Golden Pond ; Crossing Delancey set in old- time New York; and the award- winning Road to Mecca . A perennial favorite was I'm Herbert , a hilarious two- person skit (with Roy Lind) about older citizens in late marriages who couldn't remember the names of their former spouses.

Her career continues in full bloom. On Sunday afternoon, April 15, she can be seen in Relatively Speaking , at Wildewood Downs Retirement Center where she and Ray reside.