Ruth Brooks Flippen

Ruth Brooks Flippen
Born	Ruth Albertina Brooks (1921-09-14)September 14, 1921 Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Died	July 9, 1981(1981-07-09) (aged 59) Marina del Rey, California, U.S.
Occupation	Screenwriter
Spouse	Jay C. Flippen ​ ​ (m. 1947; died 1971)​

Ruth Brooks Flippen (born Ruth Albertina Brooks; September 14, 1921 – July 9, 1981) was an American screenwriter and television writer.[1][2][3][4][5]

The story editor for one season and later a script consultant on the popular American situation comedy series, Bewitched,[6] and the story editor for three years on That Girl, she had previously written the script for the pilot of the Gidget series. In April 1969, she was signed by television producer Sherwood Schwartz to be the story editor of Paramount Television's new sitcom, The Brady Bunch, which subsequently aired its first episode on the American Broadcasting Company's television network as part of its new prime time programming on Friday nights.[7]

Formative years and family life

Born Ruth Albertina Brooks on September 14, 1921 in Brooklyn, New York,[8] Ruth Brooks was a daughter of Charles E. Brooks. Involved in the entertainment industry during her early childhood years, she became known as "Baby Ruth, the World's Most Talented Toddler Tapster." At the age of three, she relocated with her parents to Hartford, Connecticut, where she subsequently attended the Chauncey Harris Grammar School and Hartford High School. An assistant dance instructor at a prominent dance academy in Hartford by the time she was eleven, she also "had her own radio programs on WTIC and WDRC, according to local newspapers.[9]

Employed during her high school years as a cashier at the E.M. Loew Theater in Hartford, she "worked her way through college" at Northwestern University. While there, she was a member of Alpha Chi Omega. Following her graduation, she returned to New York and began her career in the television industry.[10]

On January 4, 1947, Ruth A. Brooks married character actor Jay C. Flippen. Their marriage lasted until her husband's death from heart disease on February 3, 1971. Previously hospitalized for gangrene of the right leg, during which time his leg was amputated, he had been a wheelchair user since 1965. His recovery was covered by multiple newspapers across the United States and Canada.[8][11][12]

Film and television writing career

Following her graduation from Northwestern University and subsequent relocation to New York City, Ruth Brooks obtained a job as a staff writer with NBC. She worked on Maisie Ravier, which starred actress Ann Sothern, The Billie Burke Show, which starred former Wizard of Oz star Billie Burke, and This Is My Best.[13]

In 1945, she relocated to Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, where she was subsequently signed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Changing her name two years later to Ruth Brooks Flippen, following her marriage to actor Jay Flippen, her screenwriting credits grew as she solo or co-wrote the screenplays for multiple films during the 1950s and early 1960s,[14][15][16] including several of the Gidget films,[17][18] and then moved to television where she wrote extensively for the series That Girl and other productions.[19][20] She was nominated for a 1968 Emmy Award in the category "Outstanding Writing Achievement in Comedy" for the That Girl episode "The Mailman Cometh"[21] and a 1975 Daytime Emmy Award in the category "Outstanding Writing for a Daytime Special Program" for Oh, Baby, Baby, Baby..., a 90-minute drama aired under the aegis of The ABC Afternoon Playbreak.[22][23][24]

Politically, she supported Robert F. Kennedy during his 1968 campaign for the office of President of the United States.[25]

Flippen was briefly head writer (in 1980) of the soap opera Days of Our Lives.[26]

Illness and death

Diagnosed with heart disease, Flippen died from related complications in Marina del Rey, California on July 9, 1981.[27][8]

Writing, editing, and consulting credits

Motion pictures

• Three Guys Named Mike (1951)[28]
• Love Is Better Than Ever (1952)[29]
• Because You're Mine (1952)[30]
• Everything I Have Is Yours (film) (1952)[8][31]
• I Love Melvin (1953; "additional dialogue" credit)[32]
• Gidget Goes Hawaiian (1961)[8][33]
• Sail a Crooked Ship (1961)[33][34]
• Gidget Goes to Rome (1963)[33]
• A Ticklish Affair (1963)[33][35][36]
• Looking for Love (1964)[37]

Television

• Gidget (1965–1966; 8 episodes)[33][38]
• Bewitched (1965–1971; 38 episodes)[39]
• That Girl (1967–1969; 55 episodes)[40]
• The Brady Bunch (1969–1970; 16 episodes)[41][42]
• My World and Welcome to It (1969–1970; 2 episodes)[43]
• The Odd Couple (1970; 1 episode)[44]
• The Ghost & Mrs. Muir (1970; 1 episode)[44]
• The New Scooby-Doo Movies (1972; 16 episodes)[45]
• The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie (1972; 4 episodes)[42]
• Oh, Baby, Baby, Baby... (1974; 90-minute drama)[46]
• Let's Switch (1975; TV movie)[33][47]
• The Love Boat (1980–1981; 2 episodes)[48]

Preceded by Elizabeth Harrower

Head Writer of Days of Our Lives March 17, 1980 – April 18, 1980

Succeeded by Nina Laemmle

References

1. "Hartford Girl Makes Good in Hollywood: Ruth Flippen, Former Theater Cashier Now One of Filmdom's Top Screen Writers." Hartford, Connecticut: Hartford Courant: The Hartford Courant Magazine, April 27, 1952, p. 7 (subscription required).
2. "Ruth Brooks Flippen" in "Passings." Los Angeles, California: The Los Angeles Times, July 20, 1981, Part I, p. 14 (subscription required).
3. "10 Writers to Do Scripts for Series." Marshfield, Wisconsin: Marshfield News-Herald, June 3, 1972, p. 17 (subscription required).
4. "Galaxy of Stars Animated for Children Viewing." Logan, Utah: The Herald Journal, August 7, 1972, p. 6 (subscription required).
5. "Apple's Way to premiere." Newark, Ohio: Newark Advocate, November 8, 1973, p. 25 (subscription required).
6. Humphrey, Hal. "Making that old black magic on Bewitched." Los Angeles, California: The Los Angeles Times, January 15, 1967, p. 376 (subscription required).
7. "Ruth B. Flippen Is Story Editor for Brady Bunch." Lancaster, Pennsylvania: The Sunday News, April 6, 1969, p. 9 (subscription required).
8. "Ruth Brooks Flippen Papers" (PDF). University of California. Retrieved February 9, 2012.
9. "Hartford Girl Makes Good in Hollywood: Ruth Flippen, Former Theater Cashier Now One of Filmdom's Top Screen Writers," Hartford Courant: The Hartford Courant Magazine, April 27, 1952, p. 7.
10. "Hartford Girl Makes Good in Hollywood: Ruth Flippen, Former Theater Cashier Now One of Filmdom's Top Screen Writers," Hartford Courant: The Hartford Courant Magazine, April 27, 1952, p. 7.
11. "Funeral Rites Today for Actor Jay C. Flippen." San Bernardino, California: The San Bernardino County Sun, February 5, 1971, p. A4 (subscription required).
12. Thomas, Bob. "Carries On with One Leg." Hackensack, New Jersey: The Record, Entertainment Section, p. 23 (subscription required).
13. "Hartford Girl Makes Good in Hollywood: Ruth Flippen, Former Theater Cashier Now One of Filmdom's Top Screen Writers," Hartford Courant: The Hartford Courant Magazine, April 27, 1952, p. 7.
14. "Hartford Girl Makes Good in Hollywood: Ruth Flippen, Former Theater Cashier Now One of Filmdom's Top Screen Writers," Hartford Courant: The Hartford Courant Magazine, April 27, 1952, p. 7.
15. "Rogers Picked for Flippen Screenfare." Los Angeles, California: Citizen-News, Entertainment Section, front page (subscription required).
16. Cameron, Kate. "'A Ticklish Affair' Is for Family." New York, New York: Daily News, Movies Section, p. 63 (subscription required).
17. Fanning, Win. "World Premiere Here of 'Gidget Goes to Rome," in "The New Film." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Post Gazette, August 2, 1963, p. 7 (subscription required).
18. "Gidget Film in Color." South Bend, Indiana: The South Bend Tribune, March 26, 1966, p. 27 (subscription required).
19. "Robert Wagner Has Leading Role in 'Crooked Ship.'" Hartford, Connecticut: Hartford Courant, May 21, 1967, p. 173 (subscription required).
20. "New Family Series Stressing 'Walton' Values Being Readied." Kittanning, Pennsylvania: Leader-Times, December 1, 1973, p. 3 (subscription required).
21. "Awards for Ruth Brooks Flippen". IMDB. Retrieved February 9, 2012.
22. Shain, Percy. "'Days of Our Lives' dominates Emmy day list." Boston, Massachusetts: The Boston Globe, April 23, 975, p. 35 (subscription required).
23. "The ABC Afternoon Playbreak". IMDB. Retrieved February 9, 2012.
24. "Daytime Emmy Awards – Awards for 1975". IMDB. Retrieved February 9, 2012.
25. "Hollywood for Kennedy" (advertisement). Los Angeles, California: The Los Angeles Times, June 4, 1968, Part I, p. 26 (subscription required).
26. Russell, Maureen (2010). Days of Our Lives: A Complete History of the Long-Running Soap Opera. McFarland. p. 16. ISBN 978-0-7864-5983-4.
27. "Ruth Brooks Flippen" in "Passings," The Los Angeles Times, July 20, 1981, Part I, p. 14.
28. "Three Guys Named Mike". IMDB. Retrieved February 9, 2012.
29. "Love Is Better Than Ever". IMDB. Retrieved February 9, 2012.
30. "Because You're Mine". IMDB. Retrieved February 9, 2012.
31. "Everything I Have is Yours". IMDB. Retrieved February 9, 2012.
32. "I Love Melvin". IMDB. Retrieved February 9, 2012.
33. "Ruth Brooks Flippen". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 30, 2013. Retrieved February 9, 2012.
34. "Sail a Crooked Ship". IMDB. Retrieved February 9, 2012.
35. "A Ticklish Affair". Rovi. Archived from the original on July 18, 2012. Retrieved February 9, 2012.
36. "A Ticklish Affair". IMDB. Retrieved February 9, 2012.
37. "Looking for Love". IMDB. Retrieved February 9, 2012.
38. "Gidget". IMDB. Retrieved February 9, 2012.
39. "Bewitched". IMDB. Retrieved February 9, 2012.
40. "That Girl". IMDB. Retrieved February 9, 2012.
41. "Broadcast Trade Notes from Around the Studios." North Hollywood, California: S.F. Valley Times, August 19, 1969, p. 12 (subscription required).
42. "Ruth Brooks Flippen". IMDB. Retrieved February 9, 2012.
43. "My World and Welcome to It". IMDB. Retrieved February 9, 2012.
44. "Ruth Brooks Flippen: Credits". Movieweb. Archived from the original on August 23, 2016. Retrieved February 9, 2012.
45. "The New Scooby-Doo Movies". IMDB. Retrieved February 9, 2012.
46. "The ABC Afternoon Playbreak: Oh, Baby, Baby, Baby..." IMDB. Retrieved February 9, 2012.
47. "Let's Switch". IMDB. Retrieved February 9, 2012.
48. "The Love Boat". IMDB. Retrieved February 9, 2012.