Actress/Singer/Dancer Barbara Ruick was John Williams' first wife. They were married in 1956 until her passing in 1974. She had just finished filming her part in CALIFORNIA SPLIT with George Segal and Elliott Gould on location in Reno Nevada when the next day she was found deceased in her hotel room.
Here is her scene as the Cowgirl Bartender. Her part starts at 2:35 in the video below. She was only 41 years old. Rest in Peace Barbara Ruick.
She seemed to be happy and having fun in the scene interacting with Elliott Gould.
In happier times here is a very young Barbara Ruick singing and dancing with Bob Fosse, Bobby Van and Debbie Reynolds in THE AFFAIRS OF DOBIE GILLIS (1953) She was indeed a beauty and so talented.
And in 1965 Barbara played Esmerelda, one of the wicked stepsisters in the TV version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's CINDERELLA. She's on the right in the peach headdress and gold gown. She must have been around 32 years old at the time. Wow, she would be almost 93 if she was alive now.
Robert Altman directed Ruick in CALIFORNIA SPLIT and John Williams was announced to be scoring the film as he had scored Altman's two previous movies IMAGES (1972) and THE LONG GOODBYE (1973).
After Ruick's sudden death, Williams left the film project and the music for the movie was provided by Phyllis Shotwell, an actual Reno casino pianist/singer, whose songs are interspersed with the action and serve as the film's score.
Yeah, I was well-aquainted with a teacher/basketball coach who went down two days before he turned 28. It's like having the plug pulled and you're done just like that.
The clip from Cinderella brought back childhood TV memories. Can still hum a tune or two from the viewing. And she was a vivacious Carrie Pipperidge for sure. If you know the show you know they truncated her and Mr. Snow's "When the Children are Asleep" which is such a nice piece, kept intact for the album. I'm partial, though, to this recording with Florence Henderson:
Robert Altman directed Ruick in CALIFORNIA SPLIT and John Williams was announced to be scoring the film as he had scored Altman's two previous movies IMAGES (1972) and THE LONG GOODBYE (1973).
After Ruick's sudden death, Williams left the film project and the music for the movie was provided by Phyllis Shotwell, an actual Reno casino pianist/singer, whose songs are interspersed with the action and serve as the film's score.
The end credits for the film begin with the acknowledgement, “For Barbara.”
The film track from Carousel is soundtrack bliss, though. Richard Rodgers adapted and conducted by Alfred Newman and sung by the soon-to-be Mrs. John Williams.
Mrs. Ruick was a magnificent woman. She had a Brigitte Bardot je ne sais quoi. A true gifted actress. The images her son Mark T. regularly posts on his Instagram account are testament to this.
