Ruth Bolton was born in Oneonta, New York, and attended Oneonta High School, where she developed a passion for performing in school plays. She then went on to attend the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, Rhode Island, where she continued to act and earned a degree in painting.
Throughout her illustrious career, Ruth performed in over 70 theater productions with various companies, including the Dramashop at MIT's Kresge Little Theater, the Charles Playhouse in Boston, and the Edgartown Summer Theatre on Martha's Vineyard, among others. She often took on multiple roles, creating costumes, set decorations, and publicity posters for the plays she was involved in.
In 2000, Ruth starred as the lead in Edward Albee's "Three Tall Women" with the New England Theatre Company at Anna Maria College in Paxton, Massachusetts. Her final role was in a 2006 performance of "The Vagina Monologues" at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Worcester, Massachusetts.
In addition to her work in theater, Ruth also created a series of puppet shows in the 1960s and 1970s, making her own puppets. She began taking writing classes and workshops in 1980 and went on to write poetry, stories, and personal memoirs.
Despite battling severe depression, possibly triggered by the trauma of her mother's suicide in 1942, Ruth continued to create and express herself through her art. Much of her writing and painting explored feelings of remembrance and grief about the loss of her mother.
Ruth's artistic talents extended beyond theater and writing. She was an accomplished painter and drew using acrylics, pastels, and watercolors. Her work included still-lives, landscapes, and surreal dream-related imagery.
Ruth Bolton passed away on April 17, 2022, just weeks before her 94th birthday, leaving behind a legacy of creative expression and a life dedicated to her passions.
